The Pittsburgh Pirates made a dramatic comeback in St. Louis last night, only to have closer Felipe Vazquez blow a three-run ninth inning lead in a 10-8 loss to open their four-game series with the Cardinals. Vazquez did not record an out, while allowing St. Louis to walk-off with five runs in the bottom of the ninth. It is the Bucs 10th loss in the past 13 games. Gregory Polanco returned to the starting lineup and had three hits. Francisco Cervelli had two hits and drove in three. Josh Bell hit his fourth home run of the season. The Pirates had battled back from 4-0 and 5-4 deficits in the game. They led 8-5 when they brought Vazquez in to close the game.
The Bucs and Cards play again tonight at 8:15pm. Pre-game on WISR 680am will be 7:45pm.
Jung Ho Kang has joined the Pirates Class-A affiliate in Bradenton and will play his first baseball in the United States since October of 2016 today. The State Department refused Kang a work visa after his third DUI conviction in his native South Korea.