The lead
May 20, 2026 - St. Louis - The Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a four-game skid with a 7-0 blanking of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, behind Spencer Horwitz's homer, Konnor Griffin's four singles, and Carmen Mlodzinski's five scoreless innings, per the Associated Press recap on CBS Sports.
Mlodzinski (4-3) allowed four hits and a walk while improving to 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 11 career appearances against St. Louis, AP noted. Four Pirates relievers finished the combined five-hitter.
How the game turned
Horwitz led off the second with his fourth homer of the season down the right-field line for 1-0. Jhostynxon Garcia's two-out single in the fourth scored Griffin for 2-0—Garcia's first major league RBI.
The Pirates added a run in the sixth before a four-run eighth capped by Bryan Reynolds's two-run double off Matt Svanson. St. Louis loaded the bases in the sixth but Yohan Ramírez struck out Masyn Winn and got César Prieto on a deep fly that Jake Mangum tracked down on the warning track.
Pitching and matchup notes
Michael McGreevy (3-3) allowed three runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings, ending a stretch of four straight starts with two runs or fewer across 24 innings. St. Louis was shut out for the second time in 2026 after Sunday's blanking by Kansas City.
AthX Engine graded Pittsburgh at 17 team FP with Mlodzinski posting 13 pitching FP.
Bats that changed the board
Griffin's 4-for-5 night and 15 team hits overwhelmed a Cardinals lineup that never solved Mlodzinski early.
AthX Engine fantasy angle
Shutouts with starter length plus late-inning offense inflate team FP even when no single hitter clears 12 FP—AthX Engine captured the Pirates' spread-out night separately from dynamic pricing.
What comes next
The series finale Thursday pits Braxton Ashcraft against Dustin May per AP's probables.
*Sources: MLB.com schedule, MLB gameday wrap, CBS Sports recap, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*
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