Monday, April 23, 2012
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
Erik Bedard keeps going out and giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a chance to win.
If only Pittsburgh’s offense could do the same, wasting another solid effort from the veteran left-hander again on Sunday in a 5-1 loss to St. Louis.
Bedard gave up three runs on six hits, walking four and striking out seven in seven innings but it wasn’t enough to keep his record from falling to 0-4.
The Pirates have scored three runs with Bedard on the mound this season.
“All you can do is battle,” Bedard said. “Runs will come and right now they’re just not coming. You keep doing what you can and put zeroes up there.”
Kyle Lohse (3-0) scattered six hits while pitching into the eighth inning for the Cardinals, who won their sixth straight series to start the season.
David Freese had a two-run single for the St. Louis and Rafael Furcal had three hits as the Cardinals extended their strong start behind another superb outing from Lohse , who struck out five without issuing a walk even though his ERA actually ticked up from 0.89 to 0.99.
“Man he’s unreal,” Freese said of Lohse. “I’ve heard other guys say that when he hits his spots, he’s one of the toughest in the game to string some hits together. And he’s showing it, for sure.”
Lohse improved to 8-2 in his career against Pittsburgh, having his way with baseball’s worst offense. His only mistake came in the eighth, when Mike McKenry led off with a double and scored on Casey McGehee’s pinch-hit single to trim St. Louis’ lead to 3-1.
Mitchell Boggs came on in relief and quickly shut the door. Nate McLouth flied to left and Boggs held onto Jose Tabata’s sharp grounder back to the mound to start an inning-ending double play.
The Cardinals tacked on two runs in the ninth off Evan Meek for the final margin.
Bedard, as he has in each of his starts, kept the Pirates in it despite a rocky first inning in which the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs, just as they did against A.J. Burnett on Saturday night.
Burnett, however, settled down and escaped the inning unscathed. Bedard wasn’t quite so fortunate, giving up a run when Carlos Beltran hit into a double play.
St. Louis made it 3-0 in the third when Furcal led off with a double and Tyler Greene walked. Bedard managed to get through Matt Holliday and Beltran and came within a strike of getting out of the jam before Freese lined a sharp single to right.
The hit ended a 1-for-25 funk by the Cardinals with runners in scoring position.
“I didn’t even know it was that bad,” Freese said. “But you feel it a little. You definitely understand what’s happening, what’s been going on.”
Bedard didn’t give up another hit over his final four innings.
Pittsburgh hasn’t scored more than five runs or given up more than five runs in a game this season, the longest such streak to start a year in the NL since the 1965 Pirates.