PITTSBURGH • Seung Hwan Oh, a revelation in his first year with the club last year, was defrocked as Cardinals closer this year largely because he couldn’t get lefthanded hitters out anymore. Having issues with his slider, Oh was tagged for a .337 average but lefthanded hitters, as opposed to just .243 by righthanded batters entering Sunday’s game.
In the space of two batters in the fifth inning of a tie game, Oh, the third Cardinals’ pitcher of the day, lost successive battles to righthanded hitters. Chris Bostick singled off a slider and Starling Marte launched a fastball over the left-field wall to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-1 lead.