Action-packed 10th inning lifts Pirates over Cardinals

In defeating St. Louis on Friday evening, the Pittsburgh Pirates moved to 62-73 on the year, tying their win total from a year ago when the club went 62-100.

Last season, the Pirates won their 62nd game Oct. 5, 2022, the final day of the year.

Getting to that number more than a month quicker in 2023 is sure to be something manager Derek Shelton and his players are pleased with, perhaps even more so given the wild nature of the Pirates’ 4-2 extra-innings win Friday at Busch Stadium.

Mitch Keller and his Cardinals counterpart, Dakota Hudson, were locked in a duel for the majority of the evening, with both clubs managing a lone run off each other’s starter.

After the Pirates and Cardinals both squandered opportunities in the ninth with runners in scoring position, the game headed to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, the Pirates busted the game open, scoring three runs en route to a 4-2 victory.

On a night in which they managed seven total hits, three came in the 10th, all of which were infield singles.

“I think the one thing you see with our young guys is they play hard every night,” Shelton said. “I think that’s the most important thing. Our effort is good, we’re running out balls and I think it starts with (Bryan) Reynolds and (Andrew) McCutchen.

“When you have your two best players and a guy that’s an icon in Pittsburgh — when they go hard every night, young players have to do that.”

To start things in the 10th, Liover Peguero got aboard on a soft grounder, beating a throw to first base and advancing the automatic runner at second, Endy Rodriguez, to third.

McCutchen then came to the plate and drove in the winning run on a grounder to second base that shortstop Masyn Winn failed to field cleanly.

The ball ricocheted off Winn into left field, allowing Rodriguez to score easily.

Then, Peguero scored on a wild pitch from JoJo Romero, with McCutchen eventually coming around to score thanks to an RBI flyout from Reynolds.

The Cardinals scored their automatic runner in the bottom of the 10th off David Bednar, but it was not enough, with Bednar earning his 30th save of the season.

Colin Selby (2-0, 4.61 ERA), who pitched a scoreless ninth, picked up the win.

Keller was sharp for the vast majority of his start, with the lone blemish being a solo homer allowed to Willson Contreras in the bottom of the sixth that tied the score 1-1.

Keller (11-8, 3.93 ERA) pitched six innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and three runs.

Hudson pitched seven innings of one-run baseball, with his earned run coming in the second, when Alfonso Rivas scored Peguero with an RBI double.

Peguero went 2 for 3 with a pair of runs and a walk in the win, his infield single in the 10th kick-starting the Pirates’ to victory.

While Peguero made an impact at the plate and on the bases, he made an equally if not more important defensive play in the third inning that saved a run.

With two men on and two outs, Peguero tracked down a blooper into shallow field off the bat of Nolan Gorman, making a tough, sliding over-the-shoulder catch.

“I saw (the ball) just for a little — I didn’t see it very well — but I was playing focused,” Peguero said. “I almost blacked out … I was just like, ‘Oh my god, I did it.’ ”

Peguero was the only Pirate with more than one hit.

After Keller exited, Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings.