Dennis Santana Blew It and the Pirates' Bullpen Dominance Just Vanished in One Ninth Inning

Thirty-six innings. Over a year of silence. That's how long the Cardinals hadn't scored on the Pirates in Pittsburgh until Monday night, when St. Louis absolutely unloaded four runs with one out in the ninth inning to steal a 4-2 win and kick off a four-game series at PNC Park.

This was supposed to be a breather. Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly handed the ball to his bullpen, a unit that rolled into the game on a 24 1/3 inning scoreless streak dating back to a win at Texas on Wednesday. The relievers were locked in. Mason Montgomery and Justin Lawrence each threw clean innings. Wilber Dotel, making just his third major league appearance, was absolutely unhittable for four perfect innings with three strikeouts. Kelly thought he was maxing out at four from Dotel, and everybody was doing their job.

Then Dennis Santana Walked In to Blow the Whole Thing Up

Santana came in with a 0.69 ERA and two saves in 13 appearances. He was supposed to be a lock. Instead, he served up back-to-back home runs to backup catcher Pedro Pages and rookie JJ Wetherholt. Then Jose Fermin stepped in with the bases loaded and crushed a two-run double to end it. One inning. Four runs. Season-series over.

The loss marked the Pirates' second straight defeat, the first time Pittsburgh has dropped consecutive games all season. Nick Gonzales was the only bright spot, going 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He's batting .484 during the stretch with three RBIs and five runs.

Here's Where It Gets Interesting

The Pirates haven't announced who starts Tuesday yet. Cam Sanders, a right-hander, is a possibility for his first major league start. He threw the final out Monday after the Santana disaster, and he's never faced St. Louis. The Cardinals will counter with Kyle Leahy (2-3, 5.63 ERA), who's alternated wins and losses in his five starts. Leahy gave up four runs on eight hits in a five-inning appearance against Miami on Wednesday. This will be his first start against Pittsburgh, though he's been lights out in relief against them: 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings across seven relief appearances.

St. Louis snapped a five-game losing streak with Monday's win and they're coming back Tuesday ready to keep rolling. Pittsburgh's bullpen has questions to answer.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.