PITTSBURGH — Gregory Polanco turned boos into cheers with the decisive two-run double during an eight-run seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for an 11-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
Polanco’s double put the Pirates ahead for good at 9-7 and was one of six straight hits off reliever Genesis Cabrera.
Down 7-3 going into the seventh, the Pirates tied it with two-run singles by Bryan Reynolds and Wilmer Difo. Polanco then one-hopped the left-center field wall with his double before pinch-hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo capped the outburst with a two-run home run.
The Cardinals led 7-1 midway through the third inning.
Polanco has been booed regularly at PNC Park recently. He entered Thursday hitting .205 and made a pivotal error in a loss to Arizona on Wednesday night.
The highest-paid player on the team with an $11.6 million salary, Polanco was placed on waivers last weekend but went unclaimed. The 29-year-old said prior to Thursday’s game that he was saddened by the treatment he was getting from fans.
“It’s tough. It’s not nice,” Polanco said. “They have to understand that I’m a human being, too. This is my work. This is my job. I don’t want to do bad. I eat because of baseball. That’s how I get paid, so I want to do great every time. That’s not nice to hear that, the fans like, ‘Oh, release him. DFA him. Send him back.’”
Polanco had three of the Pirates’ 17 hits in helping last-place Pittsburgh win for the fifth time in seven games. Polanco doubled twice.
Michael Chavis had the second four-hit game of his career, the other coming with Boston in 2019 as a rookie. Colin Moran also had four hits, including a two-run homer in the fourth off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. Difo added three hits.
Chad Kuhl (4-6) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Cabrera (2-5) was charged with six runs while not retiring a batter.
Nolan Arenado and Edmundo Sosa hit two-run home runs off Pirates starter Mitch Keller.
Arenado connected in the first with a drive high off the left-field foul pole. Sosa hit a blast deep into the right-center field seats in the third.
Tommy Edman had a two-run double in the second inning for St. Louis, which dropped 4 ½ games behind Cincinnati in the race for the second NL wild card.
Keller was tagged for seven runs in 5 1/3 innings. Mikolas gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings in his second start since missing nearly three months with a strained forearm.
KIM RETURNS TO ROTATION
Left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim will start Sunday for the Cardinals. He takes the place of ace Jack Flaherty, who was placed on the inured list Wednesday with a right shoulder strain.
Kim has made 19 starts this season. However, he was used in relief Tuesday against Detroit after spending two weeks on the injured list because of left elbow inflammation.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: LF Tyler O’Neill (lower back tightness) missed his second straight game but is likely to play Friday. … LHP Wade LeBlanc (strained left elbow) did not respond well to his bullpen session Tuesday and has been shut down indefinitely. … RHP Justin Miller (right elbow nerve irritation) has started playing catch.
Pirates: RHP Blake Cederlind (Tommy John elbow surgery), who made his MLB last season, is playing catch at 75 feet.
UP NEXT
Cardinals LHP J.A. Happ (7-6, 5.88 ERA) will face LHP Dillon Peters (0-1, 1.86) on Friday night. Happ is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in four starts since being acquired from Minnesota in a trade. Peters will be making his third start since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis.
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