Game 9 Recap: Pirates Knock Cardinals from Perch

With Game 9 marking the halfway point in the season, the Pirates wasted no time sending a message to the division leading Cardinals. The Pirates displayed an effort today we had not seen to this point. We jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. Although the Cardinals responded in the bottom half of the first, the Pirates followed up with a "mercy" inning in the second. Every time the Cardinals threatened, the Pirates stumped their rally and responded at the plate. Sound pitching performances by Garrison Thornton and Matthew Hamilton limited the potent Cardinals to 5 hits. In the final inning with the game tied, Jordan Lee's aggressive base running puit the Pirates up by 1. However, the Cardinals escaped a loss by tying the game in the bottom of the last inning. The Pirates ultimately play spoiler, because the tie knocks the Cardinals from their first place tie with the Tigers.

Final Score: Pirates 8, Cardinals 8