PITTSBURGH — The Cardinals hit another solo home run on Monday night, but that wasn’t enough to beat the Pirates.
Nolan Gorman’s homer leading off the fifth inning produced their only run, and the Cardinals lost the game in Pittsburgh when the Pirates scored a run off John King in the eighth inning.
Andre Pallante allowed just one run over his six innings of work but was not involved in the decision.
Here is how Monday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Gorman’s homer, off the right field foul pole, broke a tie with Alec Burleson for the team lead with his 19th homer of the season … Burleson had a single in four at-bats but saw his six-game RBI streak come to an end … The Cardinals left runners on second and third in the second and two more runners on base in the fifth, going 0-of-3 with a runner in scoring position … Paul Goldschmidt, hitting seventh for the second game in a row, was the only Cardinal with two hits, a pair of singles … The top four hitters in the lineup were a combined 2-of-18.
On the mound: The Pirates scored a run off Palante in the third when Andrew McCutchen doubled in front of a single by Oneil Cruz … In the eighth, King allowed a leadoff single, then threw a wild pitch, before giving up an RBI single to Nick Gonzales that broke the 1-1 tie.
Key stat: Ten of the last 11 home runs hit by the Cardinals have been solo shots. So far in July, they have 16 solo homers out of their total of 25 with seven two-run homers, one three-run homer and one grand slam.
Worth noting: The loss dropped the Cardinals to an even .500 (15-15) against the NL Central. They are 4-3 against the Pirates and Reds, 6-3 against the Cubs and 1-6 against the Brewers … Tommy Edman is set to rejoin Double A Springfield on Tuesday night and is expected to resume his rehab assignment on Wednesday. He had been shut down over the All-Star break and the following weekend to care for his sore ankle.
Looking ahead: Lance Lynn will get the start for the Cardinals in the second game of the series on Tuesday night while rookie Paul Skenes, who started the All-Star game last week, will start for the Pirates. The Cardinals expect to have a bullpen game on Wednesday but have not identified a starter.
Follow Rob Rains on X @RobRains.