Pirates Comeback Falls Short in Walk-Off Defeat to Cardinals
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates came back after an early blown lead, but still fell short on a walk-off in a 7-6 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The Pirates end their four-game winning streak, as they swept the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park, Aug. 22-24, and won the series finale vs. the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 20.
Pittsburgh drops to 57-75 overall and 18-45 on the road, while St. Louis improves to 65-67 overall and 36-30 at home.
Right fielder Ronny Simon led off the game with a single, then after second baseman Nick Gonzales struck out, designated hitter Bryan Reynolds hit a ground-rule double, putting two runners on for the Pirates with one out.
The Pirates scored one run, as first baseman Spencer Horwitz grounded out, scoring Simon, but left fielder Tommy Pham grounded out and ended the top half of the inning.
Third baseman Jared Triolo led off the top of the second inning with a double and center fielder Jack Suwinski walked, putting two runners on for the Pirates with no outs.
The Pirates didn't add onto their lead, as catcher Joey Bart struck out and then shortstop Liover Peguero hit into a double play.
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo threw a quick, scoreless first inning, but then loaded the bases to start the bottom of the second inning, walking Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman and giving up back-to-back singles to second baseman Thomas Saggese and right fielder Jordan Walker.
Oviedo didn't allow a base runner the rest of the inning, but gave up a run on a sacrifice fly from center fielder Nathan Church, as the Cardinals tied the game up at 1-1.
Gonzales hit a one out single in the top of the third inning and then Reynolds crushed a fastball from Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Matt McGreevey, sending it 432 feet into the right field seats, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead on the two-run home run.
That marked the 14th home run of the season for Reynolds and his first since he hit two home runs in the 12-5 defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers in the series finale at American Family Field on Aug. 13.
It also served as Reynolds' 136th home run with the Pirates, moving past Al Oliver (1968-77) in 13th place and tying him with Kevin Young (1992-95, 1997-2003) for 11th place in Pirates' history.
Horwitz then hit a home run himself, hitting a cutter over the plate 413 feet and making it a 4-1 lead for the Pirates.
That served as the seventh home run for Horwitz in 2025 and his second in four games, hitting on in the 9-0 victory over the Rockies in the series opener at PNC Park on Aug. 22.
Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz go baaaaaaaaack to back 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/ya9c2s6qvF
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 26, 2025
Oviedo threw two more scoreless innings and finished his short outing after 53 pitches and four innings, posting five strikeouts and allowing just three hits, one walk and an earned run.
The Pirates then went with left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, who made his third relief appearance and his first since Aug. 17 in the series finale vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Heaney struck out Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés, gave up a single to Church, who moved to second base on an error from Simon, then got a ground out from left fielder Lars Nootbaar, moving Church to third base.
While it looked like a quick inning for Heaney with two outs, he gave up four straight hits and the Pirates' lead away over the next four batters.
Heaney allowed a single to shortstop Masyn Winn, scoring Church, a ground-rule double to first baseman Alec Burleson, a single to designated hitter William Contreras scoring Winn and Burleson, and then a double to Gorman, scoring Contreras, as the Cardinals took a 5-4 lead.
Pirates manager Don Kelly took Heaney out and brought in right-handed pitcher Colin Holderman, who gave up a single to Saggese, scoring Gorman, as the Cardinals added onto their lead at 6-4.
Heaney finished his outing with five earned runs allowed, bringing his August ERA up to 7.11, with 10 earned runs allowed over 12.2 innings pitched,
The Pirates didn't give up in this contest, as they loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh inning, as Suwinski walked, Bart singled and Peguero reached first base safely on an error.
Simon struck out, Gonzales hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Suwinski, then Reynolds grounded out, as the Pirates only scored one run, trailing 6-5.
The Pirates got two runners on with one out in the top of the eighth inning, as Pham walked and Triolo singled, moving Pham to second base.
Andrew McCutchen came on as a pinch-hitter and grounded into a double play, ending another scoring opportunity for Pittsburgh.
Holderman threw a scoreless sixth inning and then right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramírez threw two scoreless innings with five strikeouts, keeping the Pirates within one run.
Peguero made it to first base after getting hit by a pitch, then stole second base with one out in the top of the ninth inning.
Simon came through for the Pirates, hitting a double to left field and scoring Peguero, tying the game at 6-6.
Right-handed relief pitcher Dennis Santana came on for the bottom of the ninth inning and got the first two outs on two pitches.
Santana then threw three pitches to Burleson, who hit a slider below the knees and sent it 409 feet to center field, just past the jumping glove of center fielder Alexander Canario for a walk-off home run, as the Cardinals won 7-6.
ALEC BURLESON WINS IT! pic.twitter.com/9bSWan1di7
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 26, 2025
The Pirates will try and even up the second game of the series with the Cardinals on Aug. 26. First pitch is set for 7:45 p.m. (EST).
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.