St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates, August 28, 2026

PiratesPIT
1-4
Final
CardinalsSTL

August 28, 2026, 8:15 PM ET | Busch Stadium

Last 5 Form

Pittsburgh Pirates

2-3

Last 5
L 0-4
@ LAD
W 3-2
@ SD
W 1-0
@ SD
L 0-3
@ SD
L 1-4
@ STL

St. Louis Cardinals

2-3

Last 5
L 4-6
@ PHI
L 1-13
vs BAL
L 7-8
vs BAL
W 7-5
vs BAL
W 4-1
vs PIT

Starting Pitchers

Pittsburgh Pirates

Jared Jones headshot
Jared Jones
Recorded starter

St. Louis Cardinals

Quinn Mathews headshot
Quinn Mathews
Recorded starter

Standings Snapshot

Full standings
Season recordsRecord, division and wild card rank, games back. Standings as of Aug 28, 11:25 PM ET
TeamW-LPCTDivWCGB
Pittsburgh Pirates65-71.478#4#719.5
St. Louis Cardinals68-68.500#3#616.5
PCT
winning percentage
Div
division rank
WC
wild card rank
GB
games back

Season Comparison

2026
Pittsburgh PiratesSt. Louis Cardinals
.734
OPS
.691
186
HR
167
767
Runs
720
4.14
ERA
4.26
1.30
WHIP
1.36
1496
Strikeouts by pitchers
1278

Lower is better for ERA and WHIP; bars show each value against the larger of the two.

Top Players

Across up to five recent games with recorded boxscores.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Hitters

Oneil Cruz headshot
Oneil Cruz

3 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Jared Triolo headshot
Jared Triolo

6 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI

Esmerlyn Valdez headshot
Esmerlyn Valdez

2 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Pitchers

Paul Skenes headshot
Paul Skenes

6.0 IP, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA

Gregory Soto headshot
Gregory Soto

3.0 IP, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA

Khristian Curtis headshot
Khristian Curtis

3.0 IP, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA

St. Louis Cardinals

Hitters

Nathan Church headshot
Nathan Church

4 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Alec Burleson headshot
Alec Burleson

6 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI

José Fermín headshot
José Fermín

4 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Pitchers

Luis Gastelum headshot
Luis Gastelum

3.1 IP, 6 SO, 0.00 ERA

Ryan Fernandez headshot
Ryan Fernandez

4.0 IP, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA

Gordon Graceffo headshot
Gordon Graceffo

3.0 IP, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA

Top Performers

Picked by MLBDB from this game's box score. MLB's own list of top performers can differ.

Quinn Mathews headshot
Quinn Mathews
St. Louis Cardinals, MLBDB pick
Jared Jones headshot
Jared Jones
Pittsburgh Pirates, MLBDB pick
Jimmy Crooks headshot
Jimmy Crooks
St. Louis Cardinals, MLBDB pick

Line Score

St. Louis Cardinals 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 1: PIT 6 hits, STL 8 hits; PIT 3 errors, STL 0 errors.

Runs by inningThen runs (R), hits (H) and errors (E) for the game
Team123456789RHE
Pittsburgh Pirates000010000163
St. Louis Cardinals00210001x480

Box Score

Batting

Jared Triolo and Oneil Cruz led Pittsburgh Pirates with 2 hits each.

Pittsburgh Pirates batting
PlayerABRHRBIBBSOHR
Jared TrioloSS3021000
Jacob GonzalezPH/SS1000000
Esmerlyn ValdezRF4000020
Bryan ReynoldsDH3000110
Oneil CruzCF4020020
Nick Gonzales2B/3B3010100
Rafael Flores Jr.1B/C4000020
Jake MangumLF3100010
Nick Yorke3B2010010
Brandon LowePH/2B1000010
Henry DavisC2000010
Spencer HorwitzPH/1B1000000
Totals311612110

Jordan Walker led St. Louis Cardinals with 3 hits.

St. Louis Cardinals batting
PlayerABRHRBIBBSOHR
JJ WetherholtSS4000020
Iván HerreraDH4000000
Alec Burleson1B4000010
Jordan WalkerRF4230010
José Fermín2B/LF4020010
Nathan ChurchCF3001000
Joshua BáezLF4010010
Ramón Urías2B0000000
Nolan Gorman3B3110110
Jimmy CrooksC3112011
Totals33483181

Pitching

Jared Jones went 4.2 innings for Pittsburgh Pirates (6 SO, 3 ER); Quinn Mathews went 5.2 innings for St. Louis Cardinals (7 SO, 1 ER).

Pitching lines
PitcherIPHRERBBSOHR
Pittsburgh Pirates
Jared Jones4.2733161
Evan Sisk1.1000010
Gregory Soto1.0000000
Yohan Ramírez1.0110010
St. Louis Cardinals
Quinn Mathews5.2511170
Ryan Fernandez2.0000120
Caleb Ferguson0.1100000
Ryne Stanek1.0000020
AB
at-bats
R
runs
H
hits
RBI
runs batted in
BB
walks
SO
strikeouts
HR
home runs
IP
innings pitched
ER
earned runs

Scoring Summary

  • B3

    Home Run Jimmy Crooks homers (5) on a fly ball to right field. Nolan Gorman scores. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B4

    Sac Fly Nathan Church out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Oneil Cruz. Jordan Walker scores. PIT 0, STL 3

  • T5

    Single Jared Triolo singles on a line drive to left fielder Joshua Báez. Jake Mangum scores. Henry Davis to 3rd. Jared Triolo to 2nd. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B8

    Field Error Joshua Báez reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. Jordan Walker scores. PIT 1, STL 4

Play-by-Play

All 69 recorded plate appearances, newest first.

  • T9

    Strikeout Jake Mangum strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 4

  • T9

    Strikeout Rafael Flores Jr. strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 4

  • T9

    Flyout Nick Gonzales flies out to right fielder Jordan Walker. PIT 1, STL 4

  • B8

    Strikeout Nolan Gorman strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 4

  • B8

    Field Error Joshua Báez reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. Jordan Walker scores. PIT 1, STL 4

  • B8

    Groundout Nathan Church grounds out, second baseman Brandon Lowe to first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Jordan Walker to 3rd. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B8

    Groundout José Fermín grounds out softly, pitcher Yohan Ramírez to first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Jordan Walker to 2nd. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B8

    Single Jordan Walker singles on a line drive to center fielder Oneil Cruz. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T8

    Single Oneil Cruz singles on a ground ball. Bryan Reynolds out at 2nd, hit by batted ball, first baseman Alec Burleson unassisted. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T8

    Walk Bryan Reynolds walks. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T8

    Flyout Esmerlyn Valdez flies out to center fielder Nathan Church. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T8

    Lineout Jacob Gonzalez lines out to left fielder Joshua Báez. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B7

    Groundout Alec Burleson grounds out, shortstop Jared Triolo to first baseman Spencer Horwitz. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B7

    Flyout Iván Herrera flies out to right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B7

    Groundout JJ Wetherholt grounds out, shortstop Jared Triolo to first baseman Spencer Horwitz. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T7

    Lineout Spencer Horwitz lines out to third baseman Nolan Gorman. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T7

    Strikeout Brandon Lowe strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T7

    Groundout Jake Mangum grounds out, second baseman José Fermín to first baseman Alec Burleson. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B6

    Lineout Jimmy Crooks lines out to shortstop Jared Triolo. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B6

    Flyout Nolan Gorman flies out to left fielder Jake Mangum. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B6

    Strikeout Joshua Báez strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T6

    Strikeout Rafael Flores Jr. called out on strikes. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T6

    Single Nick Gonzales singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Joshua Báez. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T6

    Strikeout Oneil Cruz strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T6

    Strikeout Bryan Reynolds strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B5

    Groundout Nathan Church grounds out, pitcher Evan Sisk to first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B5

    Single José Fermín singles on a line drive to left fielder Jake Mangum. Jordan Walker to 2nd. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B5

    Single Jordan Walker singles on a ground ball to right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B5

    Strikeout Alec Burleson strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 3

  • B5

    Groundout Iván Herrera grounds out, shortstop Jared Triolo to first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T5

    Strikeout Esmerlyn Valdez strikes out swinging. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T5

    Single Jared Triolo singles on a line drive to left fielder Joshua Báez. Jake Mangum scores. Henry Davis to 3rd. Jared Triolo to 2nd. PIT 1, STL 3

  • T5

    Forceout Henry Davis grounds into a force out, shortstop JJ Wetherholt to second baseman José Fermín. Jake Mangum to 3rd. Nick Yorke out at 2nd. Henry Davis to 1st. PIT 0, STL 3

  • T5

    Single Nick Yorke singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Jordan Walker. Jake Mangum to 2nd. PIT 0, STL 3

  • T5

    Hit By Pitch Jake Mangum hit by pitch. PIT 0, STL 3

  • T5

    Groundout Rafael Flores Jr. grounds out, third baseman Nolan Gorman to first baseman Alec Burleson. PIT 0, STL 3

  • B4

    Groundout JJ Wetherholt grounds out, pitcher Jared Jones to first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. PIT 0, STL 3

  • B4

    Strikeout Jimmy Crooks strikes out swinging. PIT 0, STL 3

  • B4

    Walk Nolan Gorman walks. PIT 0, STL 3

  • B4

    Double Joshua Báez doubles (2) on a sharp line drive to left fielder Jake Mangum. José Fermín to 3rd. PIT 0, STL 3

  • B4

    Sac Fly Nathan Church out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Oneil Cruz. Jordan Walker scores. PIT 0, STL 3

  • B4

    Single José Fermín singles on a line drive to right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez. Jordan Walker to 3rd. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B4

    Single Jordan Walker singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Jake Mangum. PIT 0, STL 2

  • T4

    Lineout Nick Gonzales lines out to shortstop JJ Wetherholt. PIT 0, STL 2

  • T4

    Single Oneil Cruz singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jordan Walker, deflected by first baseman Alec Burleson. Jared Triolo to 3rd. PIT 0, STL 2

  • T4

    Lineout Bryan Reynolds lines out to left fielder Joshua Báez. PIT 0, STL 2

  • T4

    Strikeout Esmerlyn Valdez strikes out swinging. PIT 0, STL 2

  • T4

    Single Jared Triolo singles on a line drive to right fielder Jordan Walker. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B3

    Flyout Alec Burleson flies out to right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B3

    Field Error Iván Herrera reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Jared Triolo. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B3

    Strikeout JJ Wetherholt strikes out swinging. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B3

    Home Run Jimmy Crooks homers (5) on a fly ball to right field. Nolan Gorman scores. PIT 0, STL 2

  • B3

    Double Nolan Gorman doubles (5) on a sharp line drive to center fielder Oneil Cruz. Nolan Gorman to 3rd. Nolan Gorman advances to 3rd, on a fielding error by center fielder Oneil Cruz. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B3

    Flyout Joshua Báez flies out to center fielder Oneil Cruz. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T3

    Strikeout Henry Davis strikes out swinging. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T3

    Strikeout Nick Yorke strikes out swinging. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T3

    Lineout Jake Mangum lines out to right fielder Jordan Walker. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B2

    Bunt Groundout Nathan Church bunt grounds out softly, pitcher Jared Jones to first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B2

    Strikeout José Fermín called out on strikes. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B2

    Strikeout Jordan Walker strikes out swinging. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T2

    Grounded Into DP Rafael Flores Jr. grounds into a double play, third baseman Nolan Gorman to second baseman José Fermín to first baseman Alec Burleson. Nick Gonzales out at 2nd. Rafael Flores Jr. out at 1st. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T2

    Walk Nick Gonzales walks. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T2

    Strikeout Oneil Cruz called out on strikes. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B1

    Flyout Alec Burleson flies out sharply to center fielder Oneil Cruz. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B1

    Groundout Iván Herrera grounds out, first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. to pitcher Jared Jones. PIT 0, STL 0

  • B1

    Strikeout JJ Wetherholt called out on strikes. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Flyout Bryan Reynolds flies out to center fielder Nathan Church. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Lineout Esmerlyn Valdez lines out sharply to left fielder Joshua Báez. PIT 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Lineout Jared Triolo lines out to center fielder Nathan Church. PIT 0, STL 0