Herrera’s walk-off homer in 10th lifts Cardinals past Pirates
ST. LOUIS — Iván Herrera hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning — one of four homers by St. Louis — as the Cardinals rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Herrera’s 410-foot shot off of Mason Montgomery (1-1) was his first career walk-off RBI. It is the fifth walk-off win of the season for St. Louis, which improved to 7-1 in extra-inning games.
JJ Wetherholt, Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson also homered as the Cardinals improved to 5-0 this season against their Central Division rivals.
Gorman hit a pitch from Pirates reliever Evan Sisk 436 feet over the right-centerfield wall in the sixth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead. Burleson led off the eighth with a solo shot to add to the St. Louis lead.
Spencer Horwitz’s pinch-hit single off Riley O’Brien in the ninth capped a two-run rally by the Pirates, tying the game at 6.
George Soriano (2-0) pitched a perfect 10th inning for the win.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore struck out a career-high nine, but allowed four runs in the fifth before being pulled after 4 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits and walked two.
Wetherholt’s two-run homer off Pirates starter Mitch Keller broke a scoreless tie in the third. Three of Wetherholt’s nine career home runs have come against the Pirates.
Burleson singled to lead off the fourth and eventually scored on a Gorman double play, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Brandon Lowe singled and scored on a wild pitch to spark a four-run Pirates rally in the fifth. Bryan Reynolds’ two-run double tied the game and Oneil Cruz’s RBI single gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead.
Keller allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings for the Pirates. He gave up four hits, struck out three and walked one.