PITTSBURGH _ John Gant made a determined bid to remain in the Cardinals' rotation, or at least on their staff, with a brilliant outing through five innings Friday night at PNC Park.
It is commonly assumed that Alex Reyes, who torched minor-league hitters in four starts on the medical rehabilitation program, will take Gant's next turn in Milwaukee next week. Gant seemed unbothered by that prospect as he blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates on two hits, striking out seven, for five innings.
But the Cardinals' offense yet again was offensive in an 8-1 loss to the Pirates. The Cards' bats did nothing with Pirates' starter Joe Musgrove, just off the disabled list and whom they were seeing for the first time.
Musgrove not only shut out the Cardinals for seven innings but he singled past first baseman Jose Martinez for his first major-league hit in six at-bats to start a decisive three-run Pirates' sixth. Musgrove came all the around to score on Josh Harrison's double and Gant then retired Gregory Polanco on a hard grounder before he hit Francisco Cervelli with a pitch.
Josh Bell's sacrifice fly off reliever Brett Cecil, who has allowed six of 15 inherited runners to score, brought in Harrison and then Corey Dickerson tripled to right to chase home catcher Cervelli.
That three-run inning was all the Pirates really needed to run off their victory, which was Pittsburgh's fourth straight here this season over the Cardinals, who have dropped three in a row overall.
It was the ninth time the Cardinals have scored two or fewer runs in their last 16 games and they have tallied but four runs in the last three games. Their run on Friday came on a home run by Tommy Pham, who ended a nothing-for-17 skid by hitting his ninth homer to right-center field off Michael Feliz in the eighth inning.
The Cardinals' bullpen, in the persons of Cecil, John Brebbia and Greg Holland, allowed nine base runners and five runs over the last 22/3 innings.
