Pirates fall 7-4 after Cardinals rough up Mitch Keller

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on pittsburghbaseballnow.com.

The Pirates fell 7-4 to the Cardinals on Tuesday, with St. Louis hitting a pair of homers to rough up starting pitcher Mitch Keller for six runs—five earned—in five innings.

Jack Suwinski and Andrew McCutchen each countered by smoking homers of their own, but the Pirates couldn’t mount a comeback. The loss kickstarts what could end up a critical series in the developing National League Wild Card race: St. Louis (44-40) sits in the third and final wild card spot, four games ahead of Pittsburgh (40-44).

The Cardinals opened a 2-0 lead in the third inning when right fielder Alec Burleson golfed a full-count fastball into the right field bleachers.

Pirates fall 7-4 after Cardinals rough up Mitch Keller

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