ST. LOUIS — The baseball disappeared over the outfield wall, and Busch Stadium went silent. John Jaso had just smashed a two-out, go-ahead home run off St. Louis Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh, washing away the messes and mistakes that had pressed the Pirates’ backs to the wall.
With two outs in the ninth inning of the Pirates’ 4-3 win, Jaso clobbered the seventh offering from Oh for his fifth home run this season. Left-hander Felipe Rivero, whose entrance in the eighth had necessitated the double-switch which brought in Jaso, recorded the final five outs.
Jaso’s swing was the difference in a meeting between teams limping through similar seasons.