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Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol discusses Michael McGreevy’s lack of command in Wednesday’s 7-0 loss to the Pirates.
ST. LOUIS – When the 102.6 mph drive left César Prieto’s bat at 26 degrees in Wednesday’s sixth inning – one that very much had the look and feel of a potential grand slam – the Cardinals briefly appeared to be poised for yet another come-from-behind win.
However, when Prieto’s 380-foot smash was run down by sliding Pirates right fielder Jake Mangum just in front of the wall, those hopeful thoughts morphed into frustration.
Michael McGreevy struggled through his rockiest outing of the season and the offense failed to figure out Carmen Mlodzinski once again asPittsburgh beat the Cardinals 7-0 before 27,185 fans at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.
"Yeah, I really did think (the drive was gone for a grand slam) because I made really good contact there," Prieto said of his sixth-inning smash via an interpreter. "My plan was to look for the fastball middle-up and he threw it there. I was able to make good contact there."
Cardinals star slugger Jordan Walker was hit by a pitch in the right hand in the sixth inning, and he left the game before an eighth inning at bat. Alec Burleson was hit twice during the game – on the left foot and the left shin – but was able to remain in the game. Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol said both players were fine and were removed from the game because of the lopsided score.
Prieto nearly got hit before flying out to the wall in the sixth inning. He admitted afterward that getting hit and plating a run would have been preferrable, saying, "He had a sweeper and didn't throw the ball where he wanted. I really wanted that ball to hit me there."
Cards believe first baseman Alec Burleson could someday win a Gold Glove
Pittsburgh (25-24) got four hits from standout rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin and five scoreless innings of work from Mlodzinski to beat the Cardinals for the first time in 2026. St. Louis swept four games in Pittsburgh at the end of April and then rallied to beat the Pirates 9-6 in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
McGreevy came into Wednesday sixth in the National League in ERA (2.10), but he had to pitch around traffic in four of his last five innings. Usually featuring pinpoint control, McGreevy threw first-pitch strikes to just 12 of the 26 batters he faced. He allowed a season-most 10 hits – eight of them being singles.
"If it's a day where I'm not making great decisions, I don't have my best stuff and I'm not getting ahead and I can still limit them to two or three runs, that's fine," McGreevy said.
Lefty Justin Bruihl pitched out of trouble in the sixth inning and held the Pirates scoreless in the seventh inning. Struggling reliever Matt Svanson didn’t fare much better than McGreevy, allowing five hits and four earned runs over just 2/3 of an inning of work.
Cards beat the Pirates on Ivan Herrera's first-ever walk-off homer on Tuesday
The Cardinals stranded runners on the corners in the first inning, but they didn’t mount much of an offensive assault until the sixth inning. Still training 3-0, Prieto came to the plate with the bases loaded – a spot where the Cards have thrived all season. Coming into Wednesday, the Cardinals had MLB’s best batting average (.448) with the sacks packed.
Prieto, who added muscle over the offseason in hopes of hitting for more power, showed tremendous promise earlier this season with seven doubles, a triple and six homers in 28 games at Triple-A Memphis. He timed up a 95.8 mph four-seam fastball from Yohan Ramirez to send a jolt through the Busch Stadium crowd, but Mangum ran it down just in front of the wall in right field.
Prieto, who was promoted when Ramon Urias went on the Injured List with tendon discomfort in his right forearm, dropped to 0 for 12 in his second big league stint. The native of Cuba was 1 for 6 with five strikeouts in 2025 after making his MLB debut.
"I'm not really frustrated," he said. "I'm not paying attention to that (bad luck). I'm focused on making good contact and I can't control what happens next. It's just part of baseball."
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ST. LOUIS – When the 102.6 mph drive left César Prieto’s bat at 26 degrees in Wednesday’s sixth inning – one that very much had the look and feel of a potential grand slam – the Cardinals briefly appeared to be poised for yet another come-from-behind win.
However, when Prieto’s 380-foot smash was run down by sliding Pirates right fielder Jake Mangum just in front of the wall, those hopeful thoughts morphed into frustration.
Michael McGreevy struggled through his rockiest outing of the season and the offense failed to figure out Carmen Mlodzinski once again asPittsburgh beat the Cardinals 7-0 before 27,185 fans at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.
"Yeah, I really did think (the drive was gone for a grand slam) because I made really good contact there," Prieto said of his sixth-inning smash via an interpreter. "My plan was to look for the fastball middle-up and he threw it there. I was able to make good contact there."
Cardinals star slugger Jordan Walker was hit by a pitch in the right hand in the sixth inning, and he left the game before an eighth inning at bat. Alec Burleson was hit twice during the game – on the left foot and the left shin – but was able to remain in the game. Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol said both players were fine and were removed from the game because of the lopsided score.
Prieto nearly got hit before flying out to the wall in the sixth inning. He admitted afterward that getting hit and plating a run would have been preferrable, saying, "He had a sweeper and didn't throw the ball where he wanted. I really wanted that ball to hit me there."
Cards believe first baseman Alec Burleson could someday win a Gold Glove
Pittsburgh (25-24) got four hits from standout rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin and five scoreless innings of work from Mlodzinski to beat the Cardinals for the first time in 2026. St. Louis swept four games in Pittsburgh at the end of April and then rallied to beat the Pirates 9-6 in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
McGreevy came into Wednesday sixth in the National League in ERA (2.10), but he had to pitch around traffic in four of his last five innings. Usually featuring pinpoint control, McGreevy threw first-pitch strikes to just 12 of the 26 batters he faced. He allowed a season-most 10 hits – eight of them being singles.
"If it's a day where I'm not making great decisions, I don't have my best stuff and I'm not getting ahead and I can still limit them to two or three runs, that's fine," McGreevy said.
Lefty Justin Bruihl pitched out of trouble in the sixth inning and held the Pirates scoreless in the seventh inning. Struggling reliever Matt Svanson didn’t fare much better than McGreevy, allowing five hits and four earned runs over just 2/3 of an inning of work.
Cards beat the Pirates on Ivan Herrera's first-ever walk-off homer on Tuesday
The Cardinals stranded runners on the corners in the first inning, but they didn’t mount much of an offensive assault until the sixth inning. Still training 3-0, Prieto came to the plate with the bases loaded – a spot where the Cards have thrived all season. Coming into Wednesday, the Cardinals had MLB’s best batting average (.448) with the sacks packed.
Prieto, who added muscle over the offseason in hopes of hitting for more power, showed tremendous promise earlier this season with seven doubles, a triple and six homers in 28 games at Triple-A Memphis. He timed up a 95.8 mph four-seam fastball from Yohan Ramirez to send a jolt through the Busch Stadium crowd, but Mangum ran it down just in front of the wall in right field.
Prieto, who was promoted when Ramon Urias went on the Injured List with tendon discomfort in his right forearm, dropped to 0 for 12 in his second big league stint. The native of Cuba was 1 for 6 with five strikeouts in 2025 after making his MLB debut.
"I'm not really frustrated," he said. "I'm not paying attention to that (bad luck). I'm focused on making good contact and I can't control what happens next. It's just part of baseball."
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Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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