Cardinals avoid getting no-hit but not the sweep in 5-0 loss to Pirates
PITTSBURGH -- Nick Kingham accomplished something Sunday that only one major league pitcher had achieved in the past century.
In his big league debut, Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He joined Johnny Cueto in 2008 as the only pitchers in the last 100 years with one hit allowed, at least nine strikeouts and no walks in his debut.
"That's how you plan it up, not to let anybody on," Kingham said. "It's incredible how it happened. Just kind of starting from the get-go, it went well. ... It's corny, but it took everybody. I'm really fortunate and really happy about it."
The 26-year-old rookie right-hander retired 20 straight batters before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two out in the seventh.
The home crowd responded with an ovation before Kingham retired Marcell Ozuna. The fans stood and cheered while Kingham walked off the field and waved. He finished with nine strikeouts on 98 pitches, 72 for strikes.
More than the numbers, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was pleased with Kingham's poise.
"It was his next start. Watching him, it was just his next start," Hurdle said. "It had to be more than that. He compartmentalized very well."
Elias Diaz went 3 for 4 with three singles and two RBIs as the Pirates won their fifth straight game and completed a three-game sweep of the Cardinals hours after Kingham was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis for a spot start.
Weaver: "You've just got to shake it off and move onto the next one." #STLCards pic.twitter.com/8h0x9vxmDj
— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) April 29, 2018
Right-hander Luke Weaver (2-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He was impressed with Kingham's performance but said he didn't feel any added pressure.
"He's obviously having a good game, so you have to stay with him and put up the zeros just like you normally would," Weaver said. "You just try to put that to the side and let him do what he's doing, and focus on the task at hand. It was just a well-pitched ballgame from him."
Weaver pitched five scoreless before walking the bases loaded with one out in the sixth.
Diaz singled down the right-field line, scoring Starling Marte and Josh Bell for a 2-0 lead. Right-handed reliever Jordan Hicks replaced Weaver before Colin Moran extended the Pirates' lead to 3-0 with an RBI single to center that drove in Corey Dickerson from third.
"Luke was good. Very good," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "Did everything we needed him to do. Just unfortunate in the sixth, an infield single and bloop single. We're in trouble there. Tried to pitch around, which is smart. Tried to give us a chance and (Diaz) came through with the big hit."
Hicks hit Adam Frazier with the bases loaded, giving Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead after six, and David Freese had a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth to make it 5-0.
HELLO ROOKIE
Pittsburgh selected Kingham in the fourth round of the 2010 draft out of Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2015, causing him to miss most of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
In four starts with Indianapolis this season, Kingham was 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: Matheny said OF Dexter Fowler was not available to play after he fell over a wall along the right-field line in St. Louis' 6-2 loss Saturday. He is expected to return Tuesday, Matheny said.
Pirates: LHP Enny Romero was placed on the 10-day disabled list with left shoulder impingement. The Pirates planned to designate him for assignment to make room for Kingham on the 25-man roster. Instead, he was placed on the DL, a move retroactive to Thursday, when it was discovered he injured his pitching shoulder during his most recent outing.
Frazier left the game after getting hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. Sean Rodriguez replaced him at second base in the top of the seventh. Following the game, Hurdle said Frazier was not injured.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (4-1, 3.62) will attempt to extend his winning streak to five games when he takes the mound against the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. Wacha has won four straight starts since last losing on March 31, when he allowed four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings against the New York Mets.
Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (2-2, 4.91) will try to get back on track when he starts against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Monday. Taillon has surrendered a combined 12 runs in 5 1/3 innings over his past two starts.
