The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 Thursday afternoon. After Pirates rookie starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft pitched into the sixth inning, reliever Yohan Ramirez allowed a three-run home run in the seventh inning, which decided the game.
The outing was the longest of Ashcraft’s young major league career. He threw a career-high 73 pitches, 52 for strikes. He allowed one run on four hits, striking out five.
The Pirates lone run came from a first-inning home run by Tommy Pham. The Bucs had four other hits, but they left eight men on base, going 0-for-6 with runner in scoring position.
The Pirates are now in Boston for a three-game series. First pitch tonight is 7:10pm. Paul Skenes will be on the mound for the Bucs.