Alex Presley’s inside-the-park homer was the only bit of offense the Pirates were able to muster in a 4-1 loss to the Cardinals Friday night.
Charlie Morton pitched five innings and gave up two runs, one earned, while striking out six, but that wasn’t enough against Lance Lynn, who held the Pirates to four hits over seven innings. Morton also his team’s defense to contend with — the Pirates were charged with four errors (and Morton himself had one of those).
St. Louis’ first run came in the second, when Yadier Molina doubled down the line and Carlos Beltran scampered home when Clint Barmes tried to throw to the plate and lost his grip on the ball. The Bucs added a run on Beltran’s RBI single in the fifth.
The Cardinals scored two more in the ninth as reliever Jared Hughes tried to get through a third inning of work. Daniel Descalso hit a solo homer, and Rafael Furcal had an RBI double.
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