The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 last night to win their sixth game in a row. The Bucs came back from a 2-0 deficit in the game. Newly acquired catcher Eric Fryer drove in three runs with two hits. David Freese and Andrew McCutchen each had two hits. Steven Brault made his major league debut in the game, allowing one earned run over four innings. He walked two and struck out five. Juan Nicasio won the game in relief. Mark Melancon earned his 25th save.
The Bucs play St. Louis again tonight. Jeff Locke will start for the Pirates. First pitch is 8:15pm. Pre-game is 7:50 on WISR 680am.
The Pirates are now a 1/2-game behind the Cardinals in the National League Central Division. They are 9-1/2 games behind first-place Chicago and 2-1/2 games out of a Wild Card. They play two more games in St. Louis before hosting the Cubs for three games prior to the All-Star break.
Major League Baseball announced the players who will participate in the All-Star game July 12th. Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon has been named to the National League All-Star team. Melancon, who receives the honor for the third time, was selected by National League manager Terry Collins. Pirate outfielder Starling Marte is up for a final vote by fans for selection to the team. A 2015 Gold Glove Award winner, Marte shares the National League lead in outfield assists (nine) after leading the circuit with 16 last season. He is also second in the league with 24 stolen bases and ranks second among NL outfielders with a .321 batting average.
The Chicago Cubs today had seven players named to the National League All-Star team, with the entire infield starting for just the second time in Major League Baseball history.
Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang has been accused of sexual assault in Chicago while the Pirates were in town there in June. It is alleged Kang met a woman via a dating app and she claims he gave her an alcoholic drink that made her pass out. Chicago police are continuing their investigation.
Gerrit Cole made a minor league rehab start last night for Indianapolis. He pitched three scoreless innings and struck out six. He is expected to return after the All-Star break. Injured pitcher Ryan Vogelsong also threw 61 pitches in a simulated game with injured catcher Francisco Cervelli. Both could return by late July.The post Piraets win sixth in a row/Kang facing investigation/Melancon to All-Star game appeared first on Inside Butler County – Butler, PA.
