Pirates strive for better defensive play in finale vs. Cards

With the Major League Baseball postseason an unlikely destination again for the Pittsburgh Pirates, they probably will focus on the process more than results the rest of the way.

While pleased with some details in a 6-2 victory against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly conceded his team was lucky to escape after making multiple defensive miscues. If the Pirates want to win the series finale Sunday afternoon and what comes after, they will need to clean up their fielding.

"We gave them way too many outs," Kelly said. "You can't win many baseball games playing like that."

Rookie slugger Rafael Flores Jr. belted a three-run homer, Brandon Lowe added a solo shot and the Pittsburgh bullpen allowed one run and two hits over 6 2/3 innings. But it wasn't all good news.

The Pirates made errors on three consecutive plays that led to a Cardinals run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski limited the damage and pitched out of a jam.

"Carmen just flat-lined all the way through it," Kelly said, referring to the pitcher staying calm despite the trouble.

Three innings earlier, Mlodzinski had come in with the bases loaded and two outs when slugger Jordan Walker flied out to center. Flores, who was catching, took note of Mlodzinski's total effort with the team jammed up.

"I mean, cold-blooded," Flores said. "In those situations you want the guy with the lowest heartbeat, and that was Carmen Mlodzinski. He made sure he kept breathing, made sure he kept executing, and he got out of it."

As for the defensive lapses, which included two botched grounders by shortstop Jacob Gonzalez and a whiff by outfielder Oneil Cruz on a routine fly to center, Kelly said team meetings would not be forthcoming.

"They know they need to make the plays," Kelly said. "It's something that just snowballed right there. Everybody who's played the game knows how fast it goes, so when it starts snowballing, you have to learn how to slow it down."

Kelly noted that the Pirates also made three errors in a losing effort on Friday night.

"We need to slow down and make the plays," Kelly said.

Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.59 ERA) will get the start in the finale after producing resurgent performances in five outings this month. He owns a 1.91 ERA with 26 strikeouts, four walks and just 17 hits allowed in his past 33 innings.

Ashcraft's results against the Cardinals this season have been mixed; he allowed six runs and two homers in a loss in late April, and just one run with nine strikeouts over seven innings in a win three weeks later.

Ashcraft is 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) versus St. Louis.

The Cardinals counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore (5-12, 5.44), who owns a 7.97 ERA in his past four starts. He also allowed four runs and struck out nine in 4 2/3 innings against the Pirates in May.

Liberatore is 2-3 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 career appearances (seven starts) versus Pittsburgh.

The Cards likely hope for a longer outing from Liberatore after using right-hander Kyle Leahy for a short stint Saturday. He went three innings as the team regulates his workload. Leahy has logged 129 1/3 innings this season after performing as a short reliever previously.

"He's capped," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Leahy. "I'd love to see him go longer but that's not the plan."

The Pirates announced that rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin would start a minor-league injury rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona on Sunday. He is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list Friday after being out since early July because of a torn ligament on his left ring finger.

--Field Level Media