PITTSBURGH — If there was a sense of dread for what was ahead Friday night, it began on the bases where, inning after inning, the Cardinals marooned three teammates.
Three times in the middle innings the Cardinals loaded the bases, and three times the Cardinals left them loaded without scoring a run, leaving their lead vulnerable to plunder. And plunder the Pittsburgh Pirates did. With six runs in the seventh inning and two homers off reliever Giovanny Gallegos, the Pirates capsized the Cardinals lead and cruised late for a 7-5 victory at PNC Park.
A collapse of a game the Cardinals once led by five runs plunged instead to new depths for the team, to new questions for the bullpen, and to renewed frustrations for the offense.