Pirates' losing streak extended to 4 games with 5-4 defeat vs. St. Louis

Rookie Nathan Church made a leaping catch at the left-field wall, preventing Nick Gonzales from scoring a walk-off, two-run homer. The Cardinals won 5-4. Ryan O'Hearn singled with one out in the ninth, and Marcell Ozuna struck out on three straight pitches. Gonzales drove a first-pitch slider to left, and Church caught the ball above the 6-foot wall, 373 feet from home plate. The Cardinals won their third straight game in a four-game series ending Thursday. Pittsburgh lost a season-high four straight games. The Pirates went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners. Andre Pallante allowed one run and five hits in six innings, while Bubba Chandler gave up three runs, three hits, and four walks in five innings. JJ Wetherholt hit a go-ahead RBI double in the third, and Alec Burleson boosted the lead to 3-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth. Spencer Horwitz homered in the bottom half of the fifth, but Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker increased the lead to 5-1 in the seventh with RBI singles. Chris Devenski, selected from Triple-A Indianapolis, made his Pirates debut and was charged with one run in two-thirds of an inning. Nick Yorke had a two-run single in the eighth against JoJo Romero, and Oneil Cruz grounded into a run-scoring forceout. Hunter Dobbins, acquired from Boston in the Willson Contreras trade, is slated to make his Cardinals debut Thursday. The series concludes with the Pirates starting reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.