PITTSBURGH _ Yadier Molina started out of the batter's box, whipped his bat against the dirt and glared briefly toward the pitcher's mound. Joaquin Benoit stood there, his legs still cemented in his follow-through, and watched Molina's RBI single hop into center field. Three pitches after nearly taking a fastball to the noggin, Molina had pounded perhaps the final nail in Benoit's coffin.
Entrusted with the seventh inning Thursday, Benoit failed to protect the Pirates' one-run lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. After Benoit recorded his only out, a long fly ball, Dexter Fowler roped a two-run triple to right field, and Molina dusted himself off after almost being beaned and added insurance. The Cardinals piled on and took the series opener, 11-7, at PNC Park.
It was not until after Fowler's triple when manager Clint Hurdle called for another reliever, Daniel Hudson, to loosen in the bullpen. Hudson entered after Molina's hit and closed the seventh, but damage already had been done. Three earned runs were added to Benoit's ledger. It is unclear whether any of Hurdle's other relievers were unavailable to pitch Thursday.
Benoit, 40, has done little to endear himself to the Pirates and their fans since he arrived in a trade-deadline deal for minor leaguer Seth McGarry. In six appearances this month, Benoit has recorded 16 outs while surrendering 10 hits, nine runs, eight earned, two walks and a hit batter.
The Pirates (59-63) lost a game on the Cardinals (62-59) in the standings and did not gain ground on the Chicago Cubs, who lost Thursday and lead Pittsburgh by 5 { games.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon allowed four runs in five innings, a start which may have been halted prematurely by a 1 hour, 12 minute rain delay that arrived in the sixth inning. Taillon struck out seven, allowed seven hits, including a solo home run, and walked three.
St. Louis right-hander Adam Wainwright turned in the shortest outing in his 29 career starts against the Pirates. Working with a fastball, which did not exceed 89 mph, the 35-year-old Wainwright departed after three innings. He was charged with five runs on seven hits and a walk.
The Pirates already were dancing before they saw Wainwright hum his first mid-85 mph fastball or loop a curveball somewhere in the 60s. While stretching in shallow left field prior to first pitch, Harrison heard "Cotton-Eyed Joe" boom over the ballpark speakers and started into the familiar jig. The dance delighted the fans. They clapped along as he spun, clapped and kicked.
The patrons' applause peaked again a short time later when Harrison timed a 65 mph curveball and parked it past the left-field corner. The two-run shot glanced off left fielder Tommy Pham's mitt and landed in the seats for Harrison's 13th home run this season, tying a career-high set in 2013.
After Andrew McCutchen singled, giving the Pirates three hits in three hitters to start the game, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny phoned the bullpen to request that right-hander Luke Weaver warm. That backup plan was made moot when Josh Bell bounced into a rally-killing double play, and Weaver sat down. He was back up in the third when Bell atoned for his early mistake.
When Bell returned to the batter's box, a two-out rally was afoot. With the lead halved by Jedd Gyorko's second-inning solo homer, Harrison singled and McCutchen walked. Bell shot an RBI single the other way, and David Freese followed by ripping an RBI single up the middle on an 0-2 offering, the third curve he saw in four pitches from Wainwright, his old Cardinals teammate.
Wainwright was at 50 pitches and, with Weaver warm for the second time, the hook was close. Adam Frazier capped the three-run, two-out rally with a seeing-eye RBI single through the right side of the infield. Wainwright captured the third out of the third inning, but he did not return for the fourth. Since returning earlier this month from a trip to the 10-day disabled list for back tightness, Wainwright has allowed 15 hits, nine walks and nine runs in 11 innings.
Before the rain, Taillon's command invited the Cardinals back into the hunt. After Fowler walked in the fourth, Molina's single moved him and Kolten Wong's two-out knock scored him. In the fifth, Matt Carpenter and Pham walked with two outs, and Paul DeJong struck a line drive off the left-field wall. A run scored, but DeJong was tossed trying to advance to second base. Fowler followed with a run-scoring single, cutting the Cardinals' deficit to 5-4.
The rain chased Taillon. Reliever A.J. Schugel carried the sixth and was lifted for pinch-hitter John Jaso, who walked. Benoit entered in the seventh, and his Pirates ERA soared to 11.81. In a four-run ninth, Pham smoked a 440-foot moonshot to the left-field rotunda off lefty Wade LeBlanc.
