St. Louis

Cardinals

Donovan put the Cardinals on the board with a two-run blast off Jake Woodford in the second inning. He added a base hit in the third, then drew a walk in the seventh before scoring on a double by Jordan Walker. The versatile 27-year-old is up to 13 homers, 63 runs scored, and 66 RBI while slashing .271/.338/.408 across 610 plate appearances.

Winn’s only hit came in a big spot. After the Pirates took a one-run lead in the sixth, Winn took David Bednar deep for a game-tying solo homer to lead off the seventh. It was the 14th home run of the season for the 22-year-old shortstop. He’s slashing .271/.318/.411 with 75 runs scored, 51 RBI, and 11 steals across 595 plate appearances.

Gray had tossed three scoreless innings, stranding two runners in the second and third, before the Pirates put two runs on the board in the fourth on three hits and a sacrifice fly. After a scoreless fifth, he left with two outs and two runners on in the sixth at 90 pitches. Matthew Liberatore would come in a surrender a three-run homer to blow the lead. Gray finished with eight strikeouts. The 34-year-old right-hander will take a 3.84 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and a 203/39 K/BB ratio across 166 1/3 innings into a start against the Rockies in Colorado on Tuesday.

This was how the rotation was initially set up, but Lance Lynn was angling to come back on Sunday for the home finale. Now that Lynn is on the IL, Pallante is the confirmed starter. Steven Matz could get a start next week in Lynn’s place.

McGreevy is up to replace Lance Lynn after Lynn was placed back on the injured list with knee inflammation. McGreevy should take Lynn’s spot in the rotation, but it’s worth pointing out his first start will take place in Colorado against the Rockies if that’s the case.

Assuming the Cardinals don’t make the postseason, Lynn’s thrown his last pitch in 2024. The right-hander was just activated off the injured list September 11, and apparently the 37-year-old is still dealing with the problem. Michael McGreevy is up to replace Lynn on the roster. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the year.

McGreevy was scratched from his start Tuesday for Memphis, and for good reason. The right-hander will be up as a multi-inning bullpen option for St. Louis, but could make a start before the season comes to a close.

Lynn has allowed two runs in two starts since coming off the IL. Including his three starts before going down with a knee injury, he’s given up five runs in five starts, lowering his ERA from 4.48 to 3.84. He’ll face the Rockies in Coors in what will probably be his final start of the season. He actually has a 2.36 ERA in five career starts in Denver.

Helsley needs three more saves to tie Trevor Rosenthal’s Cardinals record of 48 from 2015. It’s possible he’ll get there, but the Cardinals aren’t going to want to be too aggressive with him here; he’s already topped his career high for appearances by seven.

This one was a 425-foot solo shot off Bailey Falter. Walker is striking out plenty since his recall, but it is encouraging that his groundball rate has gone down some. He hits the ball plenty hard enough, but too much of his hard contact has tended to be on the ground.