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Kang Jung-ho Hits Homer in the 9th and Kolten Wong Homers in the 14th in Wild 14 Inning Game Between Pirates and Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — After 35 innings, 37 runners left on base and three games that ended in walk-off fashion, the Pirates left St. Louis on the wrong end of a sweep.

Kolten Wong did the honors Sunday, homering in the 14th inning as the Pirates lost, 3-2, to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. After sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Pirates lost five of their final six games on the road trip.

The Pirates played 11 hours, 26 minutes of baseball in their three games against the Cardinals, who have won six games in a row and are 18-6. Each game went to extra innings tied at 1-1 after strong performances from each side’s starting pitchers.

“I always had World Cup soccer on my bucket list,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “And I just got a weekend of it.”

The Pirates had plenty of chances to score more than the four runs they got, but went 2 for 25 with runners in scoring position. They stranded 18 men Saturday, 13 Sunday.

“It’s never fun to lose games, but all we can do is try to take as much positives as we can from each situation,” Pedro Alvarez said. “We all played good baseball. Unfortunately we were on the losing end of all three. I don’t think it’s anything to hang our heads about. Just continue to compete every day.”

Radhames Liz allowed Wong’s homer and lost the game, allowing two runs and five hits and a walk in 2⅓ innings. He loaded the bases in the bottom of the 12th after Alvarez had given the Pirates a lead with a solo home run in the top half. Yadier Molina singled, Pete Kozma grounded into a forceout and Wong singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Liz walked Jon Jay to load the bases and push the winning run into scoring position.

Peter Bourjos grounded down the third-base line. Josh Harrison dived for it and stopped it, but the ball deflected off his glove and one run scored. Matt Holliday struck out swinging. Alvarez dived to his right to stop Adams’ ground ball and threw to Liz at first for the inning’s final out.

Alvarez hit a 1-1, 97 mph fastball from Cardinals reliever Sam Tuivailala 423 feet into the Cardinals bullpen in the 12th to put the Pirates ahead, 2-1. He had not homered since April 19.

Jung Ho Kang hit his first major league home run on Trevor Rosenthal’s first-pitch curveball in the ninth to tie the score.

“I was ready at bat and the timing was perfect. I got a good swing on it,” Kang said in Korean, with HK Kim interpreting.

In the three-game series, Pirates starters allowed two runs in 20 innings. The staff as a whole entered Sunday’s game behind only the Cardinals in team ERA.

Vance Worley followed A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano with another good start, allowing one run and four hits in six innings. He threw only 89 pitches, but was due up in the top of the seventh with the Pirates trailing, so Neil Walker pinch-hit for him.

“[Sunday was] the first time I’ve had [catcher Chris] Stewart for more than one batter,” Worley said. “We had a good talk before we went out to go start playing catch and had a good game plan going and knew with this lineup we needed to mix it up and not be predictable.”

Neither team scored until the fourth, when Matt Carpenter hit Worley’s full-count fastball out to center field. Andrew McCutchen leaped for the ball but couldn’t grab it, and Carpenter had his fourth home run. McCutchen’s glove fell off over the top of the wall, and when a fan tossed it back, McCutchen gave a thumbs-up.

Pirates pitchers had not allowed a home run in 95 consecutive innings before Carpenter’s homer.

via St. Louis Cardinals defeat Pirates, 3-2 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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