Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Game 4: Live Score, NLDS Highlights

With the Pirates looking to punch their ticket to the NLCS today at PNC Park, the Cardinals responded and they were able to force a Game 5.

Starting pitcher Michael Wacha was absolutely dominant today, relying on his fastball and changeup throughout the game. Wacha pitched 7.1 innings of one-hit, one-run baseball and had nine strikeouts. He had a no-hitter going eighth until Pedro Alvarez launched a home run to end Wacha's bid at history.

After giving up a walk to Russell Martin, Wacha appeared rattled by the situation and by the wild PNC Park crowd. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny decided to take his rookie out looking to hold their one run lead.

Matheny went from one 22 year-old to another when he brought in reliever Carlos Martinez. After a caught-stealing, Martinez retired Jose Tabata to end the inning.

Trevor Rosenthal closed the door on the Pirates by getting Andrew McCutchen, who was the winning run at the plate, to pop-up to second.

The pivotal Game 5 of the series will be on Wednesday at St. Louis at 5:07 on TBS. We should be in for a treat.

Scoring Plays

Top of the 6th Inning: Matt Holliday hits a home run to center against Charlie Morton and the Cardinals grab a 2-0 lead.

Bottom of the 8th Inning: Pedro Alvarez hits a deep home run to right center for the Pirates' first hit and run of the game. Cardinals are up 2-1.

Erick Fernandez is the creator No Layups

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