The Cardinals turned a quiet Sunday afternoon into chaos with three ninth-inning runs, erasing a two-run deficit to defeat the Pirates 4-2 at PNC Park. Pittsburgh held a 2-0 lead for seven innings before St. Louis broke through in the final frame.
Ryan Fernandez dominated Pittsburgh's offense over three innings of relief, allowing just one hit while striking out five. The right-hander carried a 1.35 ERA into the game and preserved the Cardinals' comeback opportunity with his shutdown performance.
The ninth inning belonged to St. Louis. Pages homered to left to cut the deficit in half, then Wetherholt followed with a home run to right center that tied the game at 2-2. Fermín delivered the decisive blow, doubling to left as Scott II and Burleson both scored to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.
Pittsburgh had built its advantage early behind solid offensive contributions from Nick Gonzales, who went 3-for-4 with a double and is hitting .323 this season. The Pirates scored in each of the first two innings on RBI singles by O'Hearn and Jake Mangum, but managed just one hit over the final seven frames.
The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 16-12 while St. Louis improved to 14-13, snapping a four-game losing streak.