Rookie pitcher Michael Wacha rose to the occasion with another gem for the St Louis Cardinals who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Monday to force a decisive fifth game in their National League Division Series.
Wacha, who came within one out of hurling a no-hitter in the regular season finale against the Washington Nationals, did not allow a hit to the Pirates until the eighth inning of a tension-packed pitchers’ duel at PNC Park.
“I did a lot of gushing about him before and everyone sees why. I don’t think you could put a kid in a tougher spot,” St Louis manager Mike Matheny said about putting the 22-year-old into an elimination game for the top-seeded Cardinals. “He’s just got a knack for getting up there, very businesslike, and getting the job done.”
Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA TODAY Sports
The Pirates had only one hit in the game while the Cardinals managed just three hits off Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton and three relievers, but one of them was a two-run homer by Matt Holliday in the sixth.
The only hit Wacha yielded was a home run to slugging third baseman Pedro Alvarez that cut the lead to 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the eighth. After a walk to Russell Martin, Carlos Martinez came on in relief to end the inning.
Rookie closer Trevor Rosenthal entered to pitch the ninth and issued a two-out walk to Neil Walker before retiring Andrew McCutchen on a pop out to second to close out the victory.
Wacha struck out nine and walked two batters in a sensational Major League Baseball post-season debut.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was thoroughly impressed by Wacha who routinely hit 156 kph with his fastball to set up the rest of his nasty arsenal.
“The whole package,” Hurdle said in admiration. “Fastball, velocity obviously there. The change-up is a very, very good pitch for him. The curve ball he sprinkled in as well. The command, the location, the sharpness; all of it was there.”
Wacha retired the first 15 batters he faced before losing the perfect game bid with a lead-off walk to Russell Martin in the sixth.
The home run pitch in the eighth to Alvarez, who tied for the National League lead in home runs, came on a 3-1 pitch.
Including the near no-hitter against Washington, Wacha has issued just two hits to the last 54 batters he has faced.
“I was just trying to attack them,” said Wacha who credited the direction he received from standout catcher Yadier Molina. “Trying to stay locked in with Yadi, and it worked out pretty well.”
Wacha said that he drew on his previous outing in Monday’s do-or-die game for the Cardinals.
“It helped a ton, just the confidence coming from that game and I was able to go back and watch the film. I was able to get the positives from that game,” he said.
Game five is scheduled to be played in St Louis today with the Cardinals starting their 19-game winner Adam Wainwright, winner of the opening game of the series, against rookie Gerrit Cole, who registered the win in game two.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
RSS