Corey Dickerson's grand slam leads to early exit for Luis Ortiz as Cardinals pound Pirates

Luis Ortiz had been electric in his first three starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the rookie right-hander dazzled with a four-seam fastball that sat at 99 mph and touched triple digits.

With his velocity down a few ticks and his command spotty Saturday night, the St. Louis Cardinals hit Ortiz hard and forced Pirates manager Derek Shelton to pull the plug before the end of the first inning.

A two-run single by Albert Pujols and a grand slam by Corey Dickerson sparked a six-run first, as the Cardinals cruised to a 13-3 win Saturday night at Busch Stadium to hand the Pirates a second consecutive loss.

It marked the Pirates’ 14th game this season where an opponent has scored 10 or more runs, and their 10th loss by double digits. The Pirates (59-99) are one defeat from losing 100 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since going 42-112-1 in 1952, 50-104 in ’53 and 53-101 in ’54. The Pirates finished 61-101 last year.

Ortiz got off to a rough start when Brendan Donovan hit a leadoff double and Lars Nootbaar and Paul Goldschmidt drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Nolan Arenado grounded into a forceout at home plate, but Pujols followed with a single to left to score Nootbaar and Goldschmidt for a 2-0 Cardinals lead.

Ortiz walked Alec Burleson on four pitches to load the bases again, setting the stage for Dickerson to hammer an 0-1 slider 433 feet to right center for his sixth home run and a 6-0 lead.

Zach Thompson replaced Ortiz, who was pulled after giving up three hits and three walks on 38 pitches without a strikeout after recording 17 in his first three starts. Ortiz’s fastball velocity averaged 97.4 mph, down 1.2 mph, and his maximum velocity was 99.4 mph.

The Pirates got a leadoff single by Miguel Andujar and a double by Diego Castillo to set up Jason Delay’s two-run single that bounced under the glove of shortstop Paul DeJong to cut it to 6-2 in the second.

Thompson hit Donovan with a pitch to start the second, then got Nootbaar to fly out to right and Goldschmidt to hit into a would-be double play. Instead, Thompson bobbled it and his throw to second was late as was the relay to first. Arenado doubled to right-center to score Donovan for a 7-2 lead.

Thompson walked Pujols, and Burleson followed with a two-run single to center to score Goldschmidt and Arenado as the Cardinals increased their lead to 9-2. Dickerson singled to load the bases, and Pujols scored when Yadier Molina hit into a 4-6-5 double play to make it 10-2.

Thompson then pitched four scoreless innings before giving way to Junior Fernandez, the 25-year-old right-hander claimed off waivers from the Cardinals last month who made his Pirates debut. Fernandez became the 67th player used by the Pirates this season, extending their club record and tying the Seattle Mariners for second-most in MLB history, behind the 2021 Chicago Cubs (69).

Fernandez walked three Cardinals to load the bases with two outs before getting Andrew Knizner to ground into an inning-ending forceout. Cal Mitchell doubled for the second time, reaching third on a Ke’Bryan Hayes groundout and scoring when Ji Hwan Bae reached on an error by DeJong to cut it to 10-3.

Dylan Carlson’s two-out single to left off lefty Manny Banuelos in the eighth to score Donovan and Nootbaar as the Cardinals stretched their lead to 12-3. Banuelos hit Ben DeLuzio with a pitch, then Carlson scored when Castillo – making his first career start at first base – missed Banuelos’ throw and the ball rolled into the outfield to stretch it to 13-3.