PITTSBURGH • Cardinals cleanup hitter Stephen Piscotty was called out at home as he tried to advance in the third inning Sunday when the ball got away from Pirates catcher Eric Kratz, who threw to second to try to nab Yadier Molina, who had stopped running.
Shortstop Jordy Mercer fired back to the plate and Kratz tagged out Piscotty, who had attempted to score hand-first.
Cardinals manager Matheny challenged the home-plate collision rule, citing that Kratz hadn’t given Piscotty any room. He lost.
“How do you not win that (challenge)?” said Matheny. “The crew chief (Dana DeMuth) said that what he saw was that (Kratz) gave (Piscotty) a lane between his legs.