Cards give Pirates’ Paul Skenes first loss

Alec Burleson hit a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning to lift the visiting St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, handing rookie sensation Paul Skenes his first major league loss.

Nolan Arenado hit a solo home run for the Cardinals, who evened the three-game series with a win for each team.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn blanked the Pirates for five innings, surrendering four hits and three walks. He struck out two and now has 2,000 career strikeouts. Only five active pitchers have more strikeouts than Lynn.

Ryan Fernandez (1-2) earned his first win in the majors and Ryan Helsley earned his 33rd save of the season for St. Louis.

Skenes (6-1) allowed two runs on four hits in a career-high 8 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked none.

Lynn worked his way out of a bases-loaded situation in the second inning. Rowdy Tellez got a leadoff walk, Jack Suwinski hit a two-out single to left and Yasmani Grandal hit an infield single.

But Lynn made Andrew McCutchen fly out to keep Pittsburgh from getting on the scoreboard.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead when Arenado led off the fifth inning with a home run, his 10th of the year.

Pittsburgh loaded the bases again in the bottom half of the inning. Suwinski hit a leadoff double, Bryan Reynolds got a two-out walk and the runners each advanced on a wild pitch.

After Lynn Oneil walked Cruz, the right-handed pitcher escaped the inning unscathed by retiring Nick Gonzales with a dribbler down the third base line.

The Pirates tied the score at 1-1 in the eighth inning when Cruz doubled with one out against JoJo Romero and scored on a single up the middle by Gonzales.

St. Louis, however, took a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning. Michael Siani led off with a double, went to third on Masyn Winn’s groundout to second and scored on Burleson’s single.

–Field Level Media