Spencer Horwitz Homers as Pirates Blank Cardinals 7-0

spencer horwitz put Pittsburgh ahead for good with a leadoff homer in the second inning, and the Pirates finished a 7-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. The shutout snapped a four-game losing streak and gave Pittsburgh a clean response after a rough stretch.

Horwitz Sets the Tone

Horwitz drove his fourth homer of the season down the right field line to open the second. That swing made it 1-0 and gave the Pirates an early lead they never surrendered.

Konnor Griffin kept the inning moving with four singles for Pittsburgh, and the offense added more pressure later. Bryan Reynolds delivered a two-run double in the eighth, when the Pirates broke the game open with four runs against Cardinals reliever Matt Svanson.

Mlodzinski Holds St. Louis

Carmen Mlodzinski handled the early work on the mound, allowing four hits and one walk over five innings. He moved to 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 11 career appearances against the Cardinals after another scoreless start against them.

The bullpen closed it down from there. Yohan Ramírez, Evan Sisk, Justin Lawrence and Dennis Santana each worked a scoreless inning, and Pittsburgh limited St. Louis to five hits overall.

Cardinals Stay Quiet

Michael McGreevy took the loss after allowing three runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings. Jhostynxon Garcia gave Pittsburgh another run in the fourth with a two-out single up the middle that drove in Griffin for his first major league RBI.

The Cardinals were shut out for the second time this season, and they now have another blank spot on a night when their pitching could not recover after the second inning. Pittsburgh will send Braxton Ashcraft to the mound Thursday against St. Louis right-hander Dustin May in the series finale.