Crooks' 416-Foot Blast Breaks It Open as STL Downs PIT 4-1
Jimmy Crooks hit a 416-foot home run to right in the third inning, a two-run shot that swung STL's win probability from 59% to 74% and effectively decided this game before Pittsburgh could blink. St. Louis never trailed, cruising to a 4-1 final behind a pitching staff that held the Pirates to a single run.
The story of the night was how quickly STL seized control and how little Pittsburgh could do to wrestle it back. Crooks' third-inning blast — a two-run shot that scored Gorman and put St. Louis up 2-0 — was the decisive blow. The Cardinals didn't stop there: Nathan Church added a sacrifice fly to center in the fourth, scoring Jordan Walker to push the lead to 3-0. Pittsburgh finally answered in the fifth when Jared Triolo singled to left, scoring Mangum and cutting the deficit to 3-1, but that's as close as the Pirates would get. Walker scored on a throwing error by Pittsburgh shortstop Gonzalez in the eighth to make it 4-1, and the game was effectively over.
On the mound, Quinn Mathews gave St. Louis exactly what it needed: 5.2 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts. That's a quality start in everything but name, and it looks like Mathews kept Pittsburgh's lineup uncomfortable all night. Jared Jones, by contrast, had a rougher go — 4.2 innings, 7 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts. The Cardinals tagged him for all three of their earned runs before he exited. Ryan Fernandez then came on and threw 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out two, before Ryne Stanek closed it out with a perfect ninth — no hits, no walks, two strikeouts.
For Pittsburgh, the offensive bright spots were limited. Oneil Cruz went 2-for-4, and Triolo was 2-for-3 with the team's lone RBI, but the Pirates managed just 1 run on a night when they needed a crooked number to compete. Jordan Walker was the engine for St. Louis, going 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored — he appeared to be everywhere STL needed him, reaching base and creating problems all evening. Jose Fermin also chipped in with a 2-for-4 night. The Cardinals' bullpen combination of Fernandez and Stanek — three combined innings, zero hits, zero earned runs, four strikeouts — appears to be a genuine weapon when St. Louis holds a lead into the late innings. Pittsburgh will need to find answers if it wants to avoid this kind of outcome again.