Jose Fermin’s two-run double with one out in the ninth inning capped a four-run rally as the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a near-shutout and beat the host Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Monday.
St. Louis, which had lost four straight and five of six, was hitless through 6 1/3 innings and scoreless through 8 1/3 before breaking through against Dennis Santana, who came into the contest with two saves and a 0.69 ERA with only one earned run allowed in 13 appearances.
Those numbers took a hit right away as Pedro Pages, St. Louis’s backup catcher, and rookie JJ Wetherholt hit back-to-back home runs off Santana (2-2) to even the game.
It was Pages’ third home run of the season, and second in his last two games, while Wetherholt went deep for the third straight game and sixth time this season.
Ivan Herrera walked, Alec Burleson reached base on his second infield single of the game and Jordan Walker also walked to load the bases for Fermin, who went 2-for-2 after coming in as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.
Fermin’s double to left plated pinch runner Victor Scott II and Burleson.
Ryan Fernandez (1-0) struck out four in two perfect innings of relief, and George Soriano worked around a two-out single for his first save.
Dustin May had another solid outing on the hill for St. Louis. He came in with wins in each of his last three starts. Although that streak was broken, he kept the Cardinals in the game, allowing two runs while scattering seven hits and striking out two over six innings.
The Pirates, in a bullpen game, kept St. Louis off the basepaths entirely for the first 6 1/3 innings. Mason Montgomery started, and Justin Lawrence followed, each tossing a scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Wilber Dotel, making just his third major league appearance, threw four perfect innings and struck out three.
Evan Sisk allowed the first hit in the seventh — Burleson’s first infield single — but he, Isaac Mattson and Gregory Soto kept the Cardinals off the board until Santana entered in the ninth.
Ryan O’Hearn and Jake Mangum drove in runs for Pittsburgh, which dropped its second straight game. Mangum had two hits, while Nick Gonzales extended his hitting streak to eight games with a 3-for-4 day at the plate.
