In a game in which the Pirates had little to play for except the chance to hurt the Cardinals, St. Louis prevailed 7-0 Friday night. Perhaps most deflating for the few Bucs fans paying attention was the rain delay in the eighth, after which the game was still completed despite the Pirates being down by seven.
Did I write that the Pirates had little to play for? Actually, the loss was the Pirates' 81st of the year, which means the Bucs won't have their fourth straight winning season.
Tyler Glasnow walked four and hit a batter over five innings, although he only allowed one run and he sat in the mid-90s. He struck out four and got seven ground-ball outs, effectively wiping out two of the batters he walked with double plays. His start was a nice ending to his season. But the Pirates' offense couldn't do much against Carlos Martinez, who struck out nine over seven innings.
In the meantime, things got really bad for the Bucs in the sixth, when Trevor Williams replaced Glasnow. Williams' first batter reached on an error by John Jaso, and three of the Cardinals' next four batters had extra-base hits, ending with a two-run homer by Brandon Moss. After Jared Hughes got two straight whiffs to end the inning, Zach Phillips took over in the seventh and allowed two runs on three hits, including a solo homer by Matt Holliday.