PITTSBURGH — Rookie Nathan Church ended the game by robbing Nick Gonzales of what would have been a game-ending, two-run homer by making a leaping catch at the left-field wall, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Ryan O’Hearn singled with one out in the ninth off Riley O’Brien and Marcell Ozuna struck out on three straight pitches. Gonzales drove a first-pitch slider to left, and Church jumped and caught the ball above the top of the 6-foot wall, 373 feet from home plate.

O’Brien escaped with his eighth save in 10 chances as the Cardinals won their third straight in a four-game series that ends Thursday.

Pittsburgh has lost a season-high four straight. The Pirates went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

Andre Pallante (3-2) allowed one run and five hits in a season-high six innings.

Bubba Chandler (1-3) gave up three runs, three hits and four walks in five innings.

JJ Wetherholt hit a go-ahead RBI double in the third and Alec Burleson boosted the lead to 3-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth.

Spencer Horwitz cut the deficit when he homered in the bottom half, but Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker boosted the lead to 5-1 in the seventh with RBI singles against Chris Devenski.

Devenski’s contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the 35-year-old right-hander debuted for the Pirates, his seventh major league team. He was charged with one run in two-third of an innings.

Pinch-hitter Nick Yorke had a two-run single in the bottom half against JoJo Romero, and Oneil Cruz grounded into a run-scoring forceout in the eighth off George Soriano.

Up next

RHP Hunter Dobbins, acquired from Boston in the Willson Contreras trade in December, is slated to make his Cardinals debut today when Pittsburgh starts reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-2, 2.48).

Roster moves

The Pirates selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Chris Devenski from Triple-A Indianapolis, and optioned left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco to Indianapolis.

The 35-year-old Devenski had a 1.13 ERA, 14 strikeouts, a .143 batting average against and a 0.75 WHIP in five appearances (one start) with Indianapolis. He also tossed 2ª scoreless innings over two rehab appearances with Low-A Bradenton.

He posted a 2.16 ERA, with 14 strikeouts, a .179 batting average against and a 0.90 WHIP in 13 appearances (one start) with the Mets last season.

Devenski, who was an American League All-Star and a World Series champion with Houston during the 2017 season, has a lifetime 3.91 ERA over 316 games (eight starts) with Houston (2016-20), Arizona (2021-22), Philadelphia (2022), the Angels (2023), Tampa Bay (2023-24) and the Mets (2025) in his Major League career.

Right-handed pitcher Ryan Harbin was designated for assignment to make room for Devenski on the 40-man roster, which remains full.

Additionally, right-handed pitcher Jared Jones (recovery from right UCL surgery on May 21, 2025) will begin a rehab assignment with Low-A Bradenton.

The 24-year-old Jones last pitched in a live game on March 13, 2025 against Minnesota in Fort Myers (spring training). He went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 22 starts as a rookie during the 2024 season. His 132 strikeouts ranked sixth among all rookies in Major League Baseball.