Two big hits from Joey Bart lead Pirates to series-opening win against Cardinals

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Apr 7, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — The Pirates had their best offensive performance of the season on a chilly Monday night at PNC Park, scoring a season-high eight runs to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-4.

The Pirates’ offense started fast, scoring a run in the first inning and adding three more in the second. Catcher Joey Bart homered in the first, his first of the season. Left fielder Tommy Pham led off the second with a grounder off third base for a single, catcher Endy Rodriguez doubled, then shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa scored them both with a single to right field. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes singled him home.

The Cardinals finally found some success against Carmen Mlodzinski in the fifth, scoring a run on a Brendan Donovan single and bringing the tying run to the plate. Mlodzinski finished his outing without further damage, getting designated hitter Alec Burleson to fly out.

Pittsburgh put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs against Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore and reliever Chris Roycroft. Kiner-Falefa started the inning with a single, Hayes walked, then designated hitter Andrew McCutchen scored them both on a double to center field. Bart followed McCutchen’s knock with a fan-assisted triple, as a fan in center field tried to catch his blast just below the yellow line. Umpires ruled it as fan interference, but gave Bart the triple and the RBI anyways.

Center fielder Oneil Cruz finished the scoring with a long sacrifice fly, scoring Bart easily.

Thomas Harrington pitched the final four innings for the Pirates, making just his second career big league appearance and first in relief. Catcher Yohel Pozo crushed a 2-0 splitter to left field for a homer in the sixth, and a pair of singles scored another run off Harrington in the eighth. A Masyn Winn solo shot added a third run in the ninth, but the decision never felt like it was in danger.

It was over when …

McCutchen’s double seemed like enough insurance on a night the Cardinals struggled to muster any offense.

On the mound

Mlodzinski was solid in his five innings. Unlike his first start, he had success in his second time through the order, though the third time seemed to give him some trouble.

Harrington did what was asked of him, finishing the game without any stress. The pair combined for 11 strikeouts.

At the plate

It was by far the best offensive performance of the season, as the Pirates finished with eight runs on 10 hits. They left just four runners on base. McCutchen, Bart, Kiner-Falefa and Endy Rodriguez all finished with multiple hits.

Most valuable player

Bart became just the 14th catcher in Pirates history to have a triple and a home run in the same game, the first since Francisco Cervelli in 2018.

Paul Skenes (1-0, 1.46 ERA) takes the mound in the second game of the Cardinals series at 6:40 p.m. ET Tuesday. He’ll face Cardinals veteran Sonny Gray (1-0, 5.73).

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