PITTSBURGH _ Down to their last out and their last strike, the Cardinals got new life from a guy who was supposed to have the day off.
Matt Carpenter, assigned a break Tuesday because of how heavy he looked after three strikeouts Monday, came off the bench to pinch hit with two outs in the ninth inning. Pirates closer Tony Watson got ahead 0-2 on the Cardinals' usual leadoff hitter. Watson was one strike away from a Pirates win, one strike away from knocking the Cardinals back a game in the wild-card race, one strike away from putting the Mets into a tie with the Cardinals.
One strike away.
These Cardinals, however, are always one swing away.
Carpenter drilled Watson's 0-2 pitch for a game-tying home run. What followed was a little dash of history and the most thunderous reversal the Cardinals have had this season. Carpenter's home run was the first of three in the ninth inning that led to a 9-7 victory Tuesday at PNC Park. The Cardinals had it all with a four-run lead early; lost it all with a mangled fifth inning; and got it all back with their calling card for the season: home runs.
Carpenter's shot with two outs was the Cardinals' 15th pinch-hit home run of the season, setting a new major-league record. The Cardinals got five home runs total in the game to extend their streak to 25 consecutive games with at least one home run. That ties the National League record. They can set it in the series finale Wednesday at PNC Park.
The late muscle cleaned up a game made hazy by the pollution of errors in the middle innings, a quick hook for starter rookie Luke Weaver, and a bullpen rupture. The Cardinals got to the final innings and though they had the middle of their order coming up, they turned to rookie Mike Mayers to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Mayers had been torched in his only previous major-league appearance, and the Cardinals promoted him Tuesday with the idea he might leave the season with a "better taste" for the majors. Mayers, an unusual call for the assignment, worked a clean inning and got his first major-league win due to the late gush of homers.
The Cardinals maintained their hold on the second wild-card berth, pushing the Bucs 5 { games back with only four games remaining against the Cardinals this season. If the Giants lose to Colorado late Tuesday, the Cardinals would overtake then for the first wild-card berth.
The game flipped on the Cardinals in the fifth inning with a move made quickly and one not made quickly enough.
Both were illuminated by a smog of errors.
The Pirates take a 6-5 lead into the later innings as a result.
With Weaver having reached 83 pitches by the end of the fourth inning, the Cardinals went to the bullpen from some flex innings from sinkerballer Matt Bowman. To squeeze that extra inning out of Bowman, manager Mike Matheny double-switched cleanup hitter Matt Adams. All Adams had done was homer for the second consecutive day, and outside of Carpenter he remains the teams finest fielder of the regular first baseman. The moves left Brandon Moss at first and the pitcher at cleanup, where he would invite the Pirates to pitch around Moss if they preferred a pinch-hitter and not the Cardinals' leading homer.
All of these things were compounded in the fifth inning with a couple fielding errors.
Bowman had a chance to get a forceout at second base, but he misfired on the throw, and the ball veered away from shortstop Jedd Gyorko. The error allowed Josh Harrison to reach third and Andrew McCutchen to stand safely at first. Instead of two outs _ or perhaps a double play to end the inning _ Bowman had runners at the corners. The Cardinals still held a 5-2 lead at the time. It was fleeting.
Gregory Polanco dropped a single to right field and slammed his bat in euphoria as Harrison scored. The single broke a zero-for-18 for the Bucs' outfielder.
Another RBI single brought home McCutchen.
The Cardinals still had a 5-4 lead and Bowman was still in there pitching. Lefty Zach Duke, acquired to pitch later in games and bridge leads to the ninth, was warming in the bullpen. Left-handed hitter Matt Joyce got to hit against Bowman and scalded a ball down the first-base line. Moss fumbled it for an error and that loaded the bases. Jordy Mercer took advantage, he connected on an elevated pitch from Bowman for a double into left field.
The tying and go-ahead run scored.
The Pirates sent nine batters to the plate in the inning before Duke got a double play to end it. Out of two Cardinals errors and four hits they conjured a rally for a one-run lead.
