PITTSBURGH — Drew Rom’s major-league debut did not go the way he had hoped.
Promoted by the Cardinals from Memphis to start Monday night’s game in Pittsburgh, Rom was knocked out of the game in the fourth inning as the Pirates jumped on him for eight runs in the opener of the three-game series.
The 23-year-old lefthander was one of three players acquired at the trading deadline from the Orioles in exchange for Jack Flaherty. He had made two starts in Memphis, allowing just two runs and striking out 18 over a combined 11 innings.
He did not have that kind of luck against the Pirates, who scored twice in the first inning, added two runs in the third and then blew the game open with four runs in the fourth, including a three-run homer by Jose Palacios, the brother of the Cardinals’ Richie Palacios.
The loss dropped the Cardinals to 55-71, once again hitting their low-water mark of 16 games under .500. They have lost five of their last six games.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals’ only run came on a home run by Andrew Knizner leading off the fifth inning. It was his 10th home run of the season, the 10th Cardinal to reach double figures in home runs this season … They had just five hits and were 0-of-5 with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Rom allowed eight hits and walked four over 3 2/3 innings. He was able to get out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the first inning with one of his four strikeouts. Rom was the 10th pitcher to start a game for the Cardinals this year and the 27th pitcher to appear in a game for the team … Casey Lawrence covered the final 4 1/3 innings, also allowing eight hits and giving up three runs. It was only the second time since 2014 that the Cardinals gave up 16 or more hits in a game at PNC Park.
Key stat: Rom became the third starting pitcher to make his major-league debut for the Cardinals in the last 100 years and allow eight or more runs. The other two times it happened was Mike Mayers, who allowed nine runs on July 2, 2016 and Mike Busby, who gave up 13 runs on April 7, 1996.
Worth noting: The Cardinals fell to 0-4 in Pittsburgh this season … To make room for Rom on the 25-man roster, Guillermo Zuniga was optioned to Memphis … Tekoah Roby, one of the pitchers acquired from Texas in the trade for Jordan Montgomery, was activated from the injured list on Monday and assigned to Double A Springfield. He likely will make first appearance since the trade later this week … With his 10th homer, Knizner joined Willson Contreras with double digit homers for both of the team’s catchers.
Looking ahead: Adam Wainwright, still looking for his 199th career win, will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
