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The Pittsburgh Pirates extended their season-best winning streak to five games Tuesday night, edging the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 in a tense showdown at PNC Park. While pitching and defense carried the day once again, it was catcher Henry Davis’ highlight-reel tag at home plate that proved to be the difference-maker.
Henry Davis with the incredible tag to preserve the lead 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nt7p0CEbSf
— MLB (@MLB) July 2, 2025
After scoring 37 runs over their previous four games, the Pirates were locked in a pitching duel that required a more old-school brand of baseball — and they delivered. Rookie sensation Paul Skenes navigated early traffic in his 18th start, throwing five scoreless innings and striking out five, despite allowing five hits and a walk.
His biggest moment came in the third inning, when the Cardinals put runners on the corners with no outs. Skenes buckled down, striking out Masyn Winn and then inducing a double play off Alec Burleson’s bat, turned brilliantly by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Spencer Horwitz.
Pirates stay hot with win over Cardinals thanks to Henry Davis
The most pivotal play of the night, though, came in the fourth. After two early baserunners reached for St. Louis, Pedro Pagés lined a single to left field. Willson Contreras attempted to score from second, but Tommy Pham fielded the ball cleanly and fired a one-hop strike to Henry Davis. Davis applied the tag just in time to nail Contreras at the plate, preserving the scoreless tie.
The Pirates finally broke through in the eighth inning. Ke’Bryan Hayes, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games, led off with a single. Adam Frazier, pinch-hitting for Pham, dropped a ground-rule double down the line, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Davis followed with a sacrifice fly to center, bringing Hayes home for the only run of the night.
Even then, the drama wasn’t over.
Closer David Bednar came in for the ninth and allowed a walk to José Fermín, who then advanced to third on a double by pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo. With one out and the tying run 90 feet away, Victor Scott II chopped a grounder to first. Horwitz fired home, and Davis once again made a clean tag on Fermín for the crucial second out. Though the Cardinals challenged the play, the call stood after review.
Bednar then struck out Brendan Donovan looking to lock down his 13th save in as many chances, capping off a thrilling finish to a game that featured few offensive fireworks but plenty of grit.
“This is the kind of baseball we want to play,” Hayes said. “Clean defense, strong pitching, and just enough offense to win.”
The Pirates (37-50) will look to complete the sweep in Wednesday’s series finale against the Cardinals, with first pitch set for 12:35 p.m.
