PITTSBURGH — One burly, bearded Cardinal who came through in the clutch considered an open-ended question about another burly, bearded Cardinal who came through in the clutch and could have gone anywhere with it.
“He kind of looks like my dad,†Alec Burleson said of Lance Lynn.
He then paused to do some quick math.
“That’s a good thing, I guess,†Burleson said. “I don’t know what the age difference is.â€
Separated by 12 years on the calendar, the young, ascending bopper and the cagey, veteran right-hander had essential feats separated by only a few innings Tuesday night in one of the more impressive wins of the season for the Cardinals. Burleson doesn’t get to finish the night with an RBI single for a 2-1 victory against the Pirates at PNC Park if Lynn doesn’t start it with five scoreless innings. Nolan Arenado’s 100th homer as a Cardinals doesn’t help lead to Ryan Fernandez’s 1st win in the majors without Lynn’s 2,000th career strikeout in the middle.
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And all of that added up to a first for Pittsburgh.
µþ³Ü°ù±ô±ð²õ´Ç²Ô’s ninth-inning RBI line drive off Pirates budding ace Paul Skenes drove the right-hander to the first loss of his major-league career. Skenes had been unbeaten in 11 previous MLB starts and 23 pro starts. He had not lost a game he started since college, when Arkansas toppled his LSU Tigers. Leave it to an Ole Miss swashbuckler like Lynn to go zero-for-zero opposite the Pirates’ whippersnapper with 32,422 at PNC Park for a Tuesday night to see Skenes.
“Are you kidding me? Yeah,†manager Oliver Marmol said when asked if Lynn relished such a matchup. “That’s what he’s done in his entire career – just out-compete guys. He’s going to tell you what’s coming. And he’s going to still beat you with it. Did a nice job of exactly that. Two good guys going at each other. It was fun to watch. Two really good competitors.â€
Where Skenes (6-1) buzz-sawed through the Cardinals’ lineup with only three notable exceptions, Lynn bulldozed through the Pirates with two notable escapes.
Pittsburgh loaded the bases against Lynn in the second and fifth innings, and despite having seven plate appearances with runners in scoring position, the Pirates managed only to do what Pirates once did aplenty – maroon teammates. Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal got an infield single by ricocheting a grounder off Lynn to load the bases in the second. Lynn held firm for a fly out and retired the next seven consecutive Pirates, including Jared Triolo for his 2,000th career strikeout. He’s one of six active pitchers with that many, 88 overall.
The next inning, the fifth, began with a leadoff double. Lynn complicated his inning with a wild pitch and two walks. He then fed cleanup hitter Nick Gonzales three consecutive cutters to get a meek groundout that Willson Contreras pounced on to turn into an inning-ending out.
This season opponents have had 17 plate appearances vs. Lynn with the bases loaded.
He has allowed three hits.
Pittsburgh had none.
“I don’t know if you want to have a knack for that,†he said. “But if you’re going to load them up you better. You never want to load the bases up and give teams those opportunities. But if you do do it, you better be able to make pitches.â€
The last of the Cardinals’ starters to take his turn in the second half, Lynn landed the assignment in Pittsburgh to get him the most rest of any of the starters. He needed 86 pitches to get through the five shutout innings, and due to the grind of those bases-loaded innings and the matchup in the sixth the Cardinals opted to go to the bullpen to hold a 1-0 lead created by Arenado’s solo homer off Skenes. While he was in the game, Lynn didn’t miss bats like Skenes – the rookie had eight strikeouts – but he kept pumping fastballs like him.
In his 104 pitches through eight-plus innings, Skenes threw 72 pitches that were types of fastballs. Lynn threw 71 in his 86.
Lynn hasn’t lost his fastball post-game either.
He barely entertained questions about the matchup with Skenes.
“I don’t care who I’m facing,†he said.
He dodged, so the questioner weaved.
What about the atmosphere?
“I like pitching in the big leagues,†Lynn said. “I enjoy it. That’s why I’m still here.â€
He blocked, so the questioner pivoted.
What about the division game, the stage, the setup?
“Big leagues?†Lynn countered. “Yes.â€
He dug in, so the questioner delivered.
What about a big crowd there for the other guy and doubting you?
“I’ve been doubted for a long time,†Lynn said.
He batted it away, so the questioner cut to the point.
What about Skenes?
“He’s had a good start to his career,†Lynn said. “Time will tell.â€
And it was there, near the start of the game for Skenes, that part of how it finished began. While Lynn emerged from bases-loaded quagmires, Skenes blitzed through the Cardinals’ lineup the first time without a ball leaving the infield. Nolan Gorman’s base hit in the third was a groundball to second. That came immediately before one of the more consequential at-bats of the game – though its importance would not be clear until later.
The Cardinals’ No. 9 hitter, center fielder Michael Siani, worked Skenes in the third inning for a 10-pitch at-bat. Siani saw five four-seam fastballs and fouled it off thrice. He saw Skenes’ slider twice, fouled it off once. He got three sinkers and eventually that was what he swung over for a strikeout. Five of the pitches Siani saw left Skenes’ hand at 95 mph or faster. The slowest of the four-seam fastballs Siani faced was 98.5 mph. This mattered when Siani came up to lead off the ninth. It was why Marmol stuck with him instead of a pinch-hitter coming in cold against Skenes’ heat.
Siani had already seen 13 of Skenes’ first 91 pitches.
“I was able to see pretty much everything he had,†Siani explained. “I think it always helps. The first at-bat, you’re seeing pretty much everything he’s got. Gives you a good idea of how he’s going to attack a guy like me. And then you go from there and you keep battling. Visually, seeing it out of his hand a good amount of times just puts you in a better spot. Seeing all of his pitches, not just heater after heater. Seeing that sinker. Seeing the slider.â€
In the ninth, Siani saw the curve a couple of times too.
On back-to-back pitches, Siani fouled off a 100-mph fastball from Skenes and then a 83.5-mph curveball. When Skenes came back with the fastball, Siani hooked it to left field for a double. The Cardinals had to challenge the initial call at second for replay to show Siani was safe at second.
Masyn Winn hit a grounder to get him to third.
Burleson got a fourth look at Skenes. He fouled off back to back 99.8-mph fastballs before lacing a 98.8-mph fastball to outfield for the decisive hit on Skenes’ final pitch.
“You have to honor the 100-mph fastball,†Burleson said. “It’s a lot easier to hit when you have Siani at third base and you know he’s going to score on a lot of different things.â€
The hit made a winner of rookie reliever Ryan Fernandez, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning as a bridge to Ryan Helsley’s 33rd save. After the game, the Cardinals gathered as a team for the celebratory spin cycle after notable milestones. In a game that featured Arenado’s 10th homer of the season and 100th as a Cardinal and µþ³Ü°ù±ô±ð²õ´Ç²Ô’s 60th RBI of the season, the Cardinals who got the bath in whatever was available – beer, mostly – were pitchers separated by 11 years in age and at opposite ends of the milestone chart.
Fernandez is beginning his career with his first big-league win.
Lynn is burnishing his career with a 2,000th strikeout.
He said it meant a lot to do it for the Cardinals, his first club.
In a win, opposite a phenom – well, it’s the big leagues.
“He feeds off of it,†Burleson said. “We feed off of it. And we feed off of him, too.â€