The St. Louis Cardinals delivered one of baseball’s most dramatic comebacks Monday night, rallying from a near no-hitter to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 with a spectacular four-run ninth inning at PNC Park.
Jose Fermin delivered the decisive blow with a two-run double that completed an extraordinary turnaround for St. Louis, which had entered the final frame trailing 2-0 and managed just one hit through eight innings.
The Cardinals faced an uphill battle against Pittsburgh reliever Dennis Santana, who entered the game boasting impressive numbers – two saves, a 0.69 ERA, and just one earned run surrendered across 13 outings this season.
Those stellar statistics quickly crumbled as backup catcher Pedro Pages and rookie JJ Wetherholt connected on consecutive home runs off Santana (2-2), knotting the score and setting the stage for Fermin’s heroics.
Pages launched his third homer of the campaign and second in his past two contests, while Wetherholt extended his power surge with his third straight game going deep and sixth long ball this season.
The victory snapped a four-game skid for St. Louis, which had dropped five of its previous six contests before Monday’s turnaround.
Pittsburgh received RBI contributions from Ryan O’Hearn and Jake Mangum but suffered its second consecutive defeat.
In other Monday action, the New York Yankees topped Texas 4-2 behind Max Fried’s six shutout innings and home runs from Ben Rice, Aaron Judge, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Yankees captured their ninth victory in 10 games while Fried (4-1) recorded his fourth scoreless outing this season.
Tampa Bay edged Cleveland 3-2 as Ryan Vilade’s eighth-inning RBI single broke the tie. Steven Matz worked seven strong innings for the Rays, who overcame a 2-0 deficit with three unanswered runs.
Boston dominated Toronto 5-0 as Ranger Suarez nearly threw a no-hitter, allowing just one hit over eight innings while striking out 10 batters. The Red Sox broke open the game early against Dylan Cease.
Minnesota crushed Seattle 11-4 behind Kody Clemens’ five-RBI performance, snapping a five-game losing streak with the lopsided victory over the Mariners.
