Pittsburgh Pirates flatten St. Louis Cardinals 14-5 at Busch Stadium – MLB Update
Pittsburgh Pirates humiliated the St. Louis Cardinals 14-5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, June 29 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Pirates’ Manager Clint Hurdle will be very pleased with the way things have worked out for his team this season. Right now, the Pirates are placed second on the National League Central Division with a superb 41-35 record, just one game behind the league
leaders Cleveland Indians. Considering the fact the Pirates have not made it to the playoffs since 1992, Hurdle will be proud of his achievements.
The offence, once again, made the difference for the Pirates, who made the most of scoring opportunities on Friday evening. Taking advantage of Cardinals’ unforced errors to the fullest, Pittsburgh stacked up a huge total on the board.
"We have the capability to do it," manager Clint Hurdle said. "The guys connected the dots. We were able to stretch the starter's pitch count out a little bit and then we were able to pile on a little bit."
Neil Walker singled to right-centre in the first inning to put the Pirates 2-0 ahead. David Freese, Allen Craig and Carlos Beltran brought the Cardinals back in the contest but the Pirates continued to play aggressively.
Short-stop Clint Barmes hit his fourth home-run of the season to help the Pirates reclaim the lead in the sixth inning. Alex Presley and Garrett Jones also displayed some top quality hitting skills as they both homered to give their side an impassable 9-5
lead.
"It's warm for both teams," Jones said. "You've just got to suck it up, dunk your head in some cold water and just go for it. You get that good sweat going, you feel good out there, and after the first few innings you kind of forget about how hot it is."
Andrew McCutchen had four of the Pirates’ 19 hits and he smashed the last of the four home-runs. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia gave up five runs and six hits for his fourth win of the season.
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