PITTSBURGH _ The Pirates walked off against the St. Louis Cardinals for the second time in three games Sunday, winning 4-3 at PNC Park.
Adam Frazier's single made the difference. After Jordy Mercer's ninth-inning double tied the game, Frazier drove in Mercer with a single against Brett Cecil.
Twice the Pirates led, and twice the Cardinals tied it. They broke the tie in the eighth.
Juan Nicasio previously allowed a home run Sept. 10 of last season. He kept the ball in play in his next 53 1/3 innings, including 40 2/3 innings this season, until Yadier Molina homered in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie.
The score was tied because Carlos Martinez drove in a run. Trevor Williams had runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth. Retire the Cardinals starter and he's through six innings with a 2-1 lead. But Martinez flared a single to center that tied the game. He followed the lead of Lance Lynn, who drove in a run with a double Saturday night.
Magneuris Sierra's flight to Pittsburgh did not arrive in time for him to be active for Saturday's game. The outfielder, who replaced the injured Stephen Piscotty on the roster, started in right field Sunday and went 4 for 4. Martinez sacrificed him over after the second hit, and Matt Carpenter's double to the right-field corner tied the game in the fifth.
Entering this season the idea was, Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang would start in left field and third base, with Frazier and David Freese working in off the bench. A steroid suspension and visa denial later, Frazier and Freese are starting and Jose Osuna and Max Moroff are on the bench.
Contact issues plague Moroff this season. He hit 13 home runs with Class AAA Indianapolis, to go with a .385 on-base percentage and .269 average. Upon reaching the majors he struck out 37.5 percent of the time (18 times in 48 plate appearances) and hit .083 with a .196 OBP and .104 slugging percentage. That average dropped to .065 batting left-handed with 11 strikeouts in 31 at-bats.
As Josh Harrison got the day off to work through his slump, Frazier moved to second base and John Jaso, a left-handed bat, started in left field against the righty Martinez. Rather than go with righty Phil Gosselin or play Freese in a day game after a night game, manager Clint Hurdle started the switch-hitting Moroff at third.
In Moroff's second at-bat, leading off the bottom of the fifth, Martinez made a mistake. He split the plate with a first-pitch fastball in the middle of the zone and Moroff clanged it off the right-field foul pole. Moroff's first major league homer gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
The Brewers come to town Monday for four games.
