Church robs Gonzales of what would have been walk-off homer, preserves Cards' 5-4 win over Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Nathan Church ended the game by robbing Nick Gonzales of what would have been a walk-off, two-run homer by making a leaping catch at the left-field wall, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Ryan O’Hearn singled with one out in the ninth off Riley O’Brien and Marcell Ozuna struck out on three straight pitches. Gonzales drove a first-pitch slider to left, and Church jumped and caught the ball above the top of the 6-foot wall, 373 feet from home plate.

Gonzales' drive would have been a home run in 27 of the 30 big league ballparks, according to MLB Statcast, all but PNC Park, Camden Yards and Globe Life Field.

O'Brien escaped with his eighth save in 10 chances as the Cardinals won their third straight in a four-game series that ends Thursday.

Pittsburgh has lost a season-high four straight. The Pirates went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

Andre Pallante (3-2) allowed one run and five hits in a season-high six innings.

Bubba Chandler (1-3) gave up three runs, three hits and four walks in five innings.

JJ Wetherholt hit a go-ahead RBI double in the third and Alec Burleson boosted the lead to 3-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth.

Spencer Horwitz cut the deficit when he homered in the bottom half, but Ivan Herrera and Jordan Walker boosted the lead to 5-1 in the seventh with RBI singles against Chris Devenski.

Devenski's contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the 35-year-old right-hander debuted for the Pirates, his seventh major league team. He was charged with one run in two-third of an innings.

Pinch-hitter Nick Yorke had a two-run single in the bottom half against JoJo Romero, and Oneil Cruz grounded into a run-scoring forceout in the eighth off George Soriano.

Up next

RHP Hunter Dobbins, acquired from Boston in the Willson Contreras trade in December, is slated to make his Cardinals debut Thursday when Pittsburgh starts reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-2, 2.48).

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