Aug. 4 (UPI) — Chris Archer had six strikeouts, but allowed five runs in his debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pittsburgh still came away with a 7-6 victory Friday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals jumped on Archer early, with Matt Carpenterhitting a solo home run in the top of the first inning.
Yairo Munoz smacked an RBI double in the top of the second inning for the Cardinals to make the score 3-2. Polanco returned for another RBI in the bottom of the next inning, plating Adam Frazier on a sacrifice fly.
Francisco Cervelli hit and RBI single before Josh Harrison brought in Moran on another RBI single, giving the Pirates a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the third inning.
Then the Cardinals mounted a comeback. Jedd Gyorko hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth frame. Dexter Fowler followed with another RBI single, before Jose Martinez made it a one-run game by plating Gyorko on a ground out in the fifth.
Gyorko brought in Marcell Ozuna on a ground out in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 6-6.
Adam Frazier stepped in to face Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks in the bottom of the eighth inning with runners on first and second base and two outs down in the frame. Hicks threw six consecutive fastball’s exceeding 100 mph. Frazier worked the count to 2-2 before Hicks tossed in a 101.4 mph sink in his final offering of the exchange. Frazier ripped the fireball to center field for a ground ball single, scoring Harrison for what would be the winning run.
Archer allowed seven hits, five runs, four earned runs, four walks and a home run in 4.1 innings of work, but did not earn a victory. He is now 3-5 on the year with a 4.49 ERA.
Photo credit – Christopher Horner / Pittsburgh Tribune-Review / Pittsburgh, PA