Pirates vs. Cardinals final score: St. Louis downs Pittsburgh, 2-1 in 12 innings
By Jason Marcum
The race for the National League Central crown is one of the most competitive races in baseball as the MLB season enters the final weeks of the 2013 season. The St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are all within 3.5 games of each other, and with the Pirates maintaining a three-game lead entering today’s contest with the Cardinals, there was a stronger sense of urgency for both clubs than that of a typical baseball game.
With runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of 12th inning, Cards outfielder Matt Holiday tightened up the race as his walk-off single gave S.t Louis a 6-5 win and pulled them to within 2 games of the Pirates.
This is the second extra-innings affair between the two clubs this week. Monday’s game between the two clubs ended in a 4-3 score after 14 innings in a game that lasted nearly five hours, and the two games have likely left both clubs’ bullpens depleted entering the final weeks of the season.
The Cardinals bullpen pitched seven innings and allowed just one run, while Pittsburgh’s pen tossed eight innings of shutout baseball before finally succumbing in the 12th inning.