Gonzales hits go-ahead single in 8th, Keller allows 1 run in 7 innings as Pirates beat Cardinals 2-1

PITTSBURGH — Nick Gonzales hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning after Mitch Keller allowed one run in the first seven, and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the seventh time in eight games, 2-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals in a matchup of NL wild card contenders on Monday night.

Bryan Reynolds led off the eighth with a single to left before advancing to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Gonzales sneaked a slow dribbler off John King (3-2) through the right side of the infield.

Gonzales hit a late-inning, go-ahead single for the second time in four games. He did it in the ninth inning against Philadelphia on Friday, giving the Pirates an 8-7 win.

“People that have the ability to slow their heartbeats down and hit in those situations, it’s something that can’t be taught,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. "It’s something that you have to do. I think we’ve got a couple guys that have it.”

Keller gave up six hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking two, before Aroldis Chapman (2-4) pitched a perfect eighth. David Bednar allowed a two-out single to Paul Goldschmidt in the ninth before striking out Nolan Gorman for his 18th save.

“Huge team win, especially against the Cardinals," Keller said. “Every win’s great but especially against a division rival. These are games we need to win.”

The Cardinals are second in the NL Central, one game ahead of the Pirates. They are in position for the second NL wild card, with Pittsburgh one-half game back of the third and final spot.

“That's why every decision, every pitch, every at-bat seems extremely magnified,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “Because there is no room for error. The margins have been really thin all year. We've played a lot of these games, like the one we played tonight. Yeah, one ball in the dirt leads to the runner moving up and it just changes the game a little bit.

“But listen, their side did a really nice job of scoring a run. So, that's what it comes down to.”

Andrew McCutchen doubled to left in the third inning and Oneil Cruz put Pittsburgh ahead on a two-out RBI single to left.

Gorman tied it 1-all with a leadoff home run in the fifth, his 19th, driven 362 feet off the right-field foul pole. Brendan Donovan then hit a sharp grounder off Keller’s curveball with runners on first and second, but first baseman Rowdy Tellez made a diving stop to keep it from slipping down the line.

The Pirates left a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings.

Cruz stole second in the first and third innings ahead of groundouts from Gonzales. Tellez led off the second with a double but only reached third. Jack Suwinski stole second with two outs in the fourth, but Andre Pallante struck out Connor Joe.

Pallante went six innings for St. Louis, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

“You saw Keller,” Pallante said. “Keller did a great job. Just trying to compete with him. It was important get every inning we can. ... Especially in a 1-1 game, someone's got to give, right? And our bullpen has been great and will continue to be great. I think we stand a really good chance as long as we can keep the game within those three runs.”

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Pirates rookie RHP Paul Skenes (6-0, 1.90 ERA) will pitch Tuesday for the first time since starting the All-Star Game for the National League, going opposite Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (5-4, 4.39).