Jake Mangum saw Cardinals left fielder Joshua Báez fail to field the ball cleanly and discovered another gear. Mangum’s helmet went sailing. He was nearly called out at third base, though the Pirates saw third baseman Nolan Gorman drop the ball,

The Pittsburgh Pirates needed their eldest player to lead the way.

Vasquez (10-6) earned the win Wednesday over the Pirates, allowing just one hit and two walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out two.

Roberts loved to see his team battle back against the pesky Pirates, who are trying to climb back in the NL Wild Card standings.

Three significant developments from a truly uplifting, 1-0 Pirates win Tuesday night in San Diego: • Paul Skenes did a terrific Paul Skenes impersonation, posting his first scoreless outing since May 12.

Marcus Semien hit a three-run home run and Carson Benge drove in two more runs to lead the New York Mets to a 6-4 ​win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

The Pirates’ second-half offensive struggles continued in a 4-1 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Friday night.