{
  "id": 4503105,
  "title": "Pirates Hold on to Take Series With Rubber Match Win vs. Cardinals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/pirates-hold-on-to-take-series-with-rubber-match-win-vs-cardinals",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-30T21:15:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pirates-hold-series-rubber-match-211506756.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up a nine-game road trip with a series win, securing a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sunday. Esmerlyn Valdez launched a two-run homer off Matthew Liberatore to put the Pirates ahead in the second inning. A critical error by third baseman Ramón Urías allowed a run to score in the third when Brandon Lowe misplayed a pop-up with two outs, enabling Oneil Cruz to score from second. Jared Triolo hit a solo home run in the fifth to extend the Pirates' lead to four runs. The Cardinals attempted a rally in the bottom of the fifth, but managed to score only two runs. In the seventh inning, a two-out rally saw Iván Herrera score from first on a single, followed by Alec Burleson's RBI hit. The Pirates extended their lead to five when Brandon Lowe added an insurance run with a base hit in the seventh. A pair of runs scored for the Cardinals in the bottom of the seventh, trimming the deficit to four. The game came down to Brandon Lowe's two-out RBI single in the seventh, which proved to be the decisive moment. Oneil Cruz led the Pirates with two doubles, a walk, two steals, and two runs scored. Braxton Ashcraft became the first Pirate to record 14 wins in a season since Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams in 2018. Mason Montgomery recorded his seventh save of the season. The Pirates will take a brief break on Monday and return to PNC Park on Tuesday for a matchup against the Giants.",
  "summary": "The Pirates concluded a nine-game road trip with a series win by holding on to beat the Cardinals 5-4 on […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}