Pirates blank Cardinals over entire series sweep

PITTSBURGH -- Through the highs and lows from the offense and pitching this season, defense has been a constant for the Pirates. And when that defense pairs with a hot pitching staff, the end result is something this organization hadn’t accomplished in nearly 50 years.

The Pirates capped a dominant homestand at PNC Park with a 5-0 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon. Now winners of six straight, the Pirates didn’t allow a run in their three games with the Cards. It’s the first time they threw three shutouts in a series since Oct. 2-3, 1976 (also against the Cardinals).

“Three shutouts in a row -- that’s pretty special,” shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. “I feel like the pitchers have done a great job the last two nights -- defensive shutouts, as well. So it’s nice to finally see these one-run games going our way. We’re finding a way to have that big inning. It’s exciting.”

A lot goes into three straight shutouts. Of course you need starting pitching, and Mitch Keller certainly delivered in that department by striking out seven over seven innings. His third-inning strikeout of Masyn Winn was also his 384th at PNC Park, moving past Paul Maholm (383) for the most in ballpark history.

“It's a huge honor,” Keller said. “It just kind of means I've been here the longest, probably, out of anybody. Yeah, it's definitely cool. Time flies by, honestly. If you told me I'd break a record at PNC Park, I would never even think of that, which is cool.”

Keller had to work around a couple of early doubles, but he was able to keep the Cardinals off the barrel and avoid the big hit with runners in scoring position. He allowed five hits and walked one, eventually settling in to retire the last 11 Cardinals he faced.

“He did a phenomenal job today,” manager Don Kelly said. “Seven innings shutout, and he got better -- it seemed -- as the game went on. Just continued to throw strikes, threw everything for strikes, commanded both sides of the plate. Just did a great job.”

The saying goes that pitching is contagious. That’s been the case for the Pirates of late. The bullpen recorded a 2.48 ERA in June, the unit’s best for a month since 2017. Overall, Pirates pitchers allowed just four runs over the six-game homestand. This is the first time Pittsburgh has allowed two runs or fewer in six straight games since May 22-27, 2015.

“It's just a testament to how hard we're working and the scouting that we're going through,” Keller said. “We're going through these hitters. We've got a really good plan. [Catchers] Henry [Davis] and Joey [Bart] have been just rocks back there, man. We lean on those guys. They're doing their homework. We just have a really good plan going in, which I think gives confidence to everybody when they know what the plan is -- and when we execute it, it works.”

The pitching staff has gotten plenty of help to make that streak possible. On Tuesday, the Pirates made two big outs at the plate, one from left fielder Tommy Pham and then another by first baseman Spencer Horwitz in the ninth to protect a one-run lead. In the third inning on Wednesday, Kiner-Falefa was able to get to a Thomas Saggese roller deep in the hole and throw him out at first. With runners on the corners, an early RBI single could have changed the trajectory of the game.

“Just going off the momentum,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Everybody’s making big plays. I’ve got to watch [Ke’Bryan Hayes], probably one of the best fielders I’ve ever played with. If he can’t get to it, I’ll try to be as close as I can behind him. I think we’re just feeding off everyone’s energies.

"We’re getting great jumps on defense. Like yesterday, that ball was hit to Tommy, I knew he was going to throw him out. We’re just playing with a different confidence. It’s nice to see that confidence actually go in our favor.”

The first half of the season had plenty of challenges, but the Pirates finished their first-half home schedule strong with six straight wins. Now, they’ll try to keep that momentum going during a nine-game road trip ahead of the All-Star break.

“It was special,” Kiner-Falefa said. “On paper, you’re looking at these games, like, trying to win a couple games, then going out there and really dominating. That’s the biggest thing: These aren’t just wins -- these are dominating wins. It’s nice. You build off the confidence of domination at home. It’s hard not to feed off that.”