Thirty-six innings. More than a year. That’s how long it had been since the Cardinals scored against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

St. Louis quickly made up for lost time.

The Cardinals exploded for four runs with one out in the ninth inning against the usually reliable Dennis Santana as St. Louis posted a 4-2 win in the opener of a four-game series with the Pirates on Monday.

The teams go right back at it Tuesday night.

The Cardinals went scoreless in the last inning of a 2-1, 13-inning defeat at Pittsburgh on April 9, 2025, dropping the decisive contest of a three-game series.

The Pirates then swept a three-game home series against St. Louis early last July, shutting out the Cards in all three games and outscoring the visitors 13-0.

And then came the 2026 season-series opener on Monday. Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly scheduled a bullpen game, and his relievers came into the contest in fine form, having combined for 24 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings extending back to a win at Texas on Wednesday.

The Pirates kept St. Louis off the basepaths entirely for the first 6 1/3 innings. Mason Montgomery started for the second time this season, and Justin Lawrence followed, each tossing a scoreless inning.

Wilber Dotel, making just his third major league appearance, threw four perfect innings and struck out three.

“We had targeted four innings from him, and we thought that would be the absolute max,” Kelly said. “I thought (the pitchers) did a tremendous job. I mean, from Monty to Lawrence and then Dotel came in firing and (Evan) Sisk as well.”

The Cardinals’ first hit didn’t blow the doors off. Alec Burleson beat out a ground ball to third against Sisk in the seventh, but Sisk, Isaac Mattson and Gregory Soto kept the Cardinals off the board until Santana entered in the ninth.

Santana came into the contest with two saves and a 0.69 ERA in 13 appearances, but he gave up back-to-back home runs to backup catcher Pedro Pages and rookie JJ Wetherholt.

“Everybody loves him,” Cardinals teammate and former West Virginia University teammate Victor Scott II said of Wetherholt. “It’s kind of hard not to love that guy. He’s a very infectious kid to be around. Just an awesome player.”

Jose Fermin followed four batters later with a bases-loaded, two-run double for the win. The Pirates lost their second straight game, marking the first time this season they lost on consecutive days.

Pittsburgh did not list a starting pitcher for Tuesday. Right-handed reliever Cam Sanders (0-0, 12.00 ERA) could be a possibility for his first major league start, but he got the last out on Monday after Santana’s meltdown. He has never faced the Cardinals.

St. Louis, which won for the first time in five games, will give the ball to right-hander Kyle Leahy (2-3, 5.63 ERA), who has alternated losses and wins in his five starts. He allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings of an 8-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Leahy will be starting against the Pirates for the first time. In seven career relief outings vs. Pittsburgh, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales went 3-for-4 on Monday, extending his season-best hitting streak to eight games. Gonzales is batting .484 (15-for-31) with three RBIs and five runs during the streak.

–Field Level Media

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Trey Yesavage will try to duplicate his magic from late in 2025 when he makes his season debut Tuesday night against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

The Blue Jays dropped the opener of the three-game series against Boston 5-0 on Monday when they were held to two hits.

Yesavage began the season on the injured list with impingement in his right shoulder. He completed a minor league rehabilitation assignment, splitting four games (three starts) between Class-A Dunedin and Triple-A Buffalo, going 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA.

“He checked all of the boxes that we had hoped for,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I wasn’t really looking at results, more looking at his stuff and the plan we had laid out since spring training.”

Yesavage went from Class-A to the majors in one swoop last season. He found himself back in the minors to start this season while working his way back to health, but this time he knew he would soon be back with Toronto.

“I think I’ve handled it well,” Yesavage told Sportsnet. “My mindset was kind of like how I was in the minors, play so they have to bring you up here and whatnot, so just still having that competitive nature and being able to prove that I should be here. The toughest part is it’s kind of slow. I wish I could have been up here sooner.”

In three regular-season starts in 2025, Yesavage went 1-0 with a 3.21 and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings. In the postseason, he posted a 3-1 mark with a 3.58 ERA in six games (five starts), including a 1-0 record and a 2.08 ERA in the World Series, when he struck out 12 and walked one in 8 2/3 innings.

Yesavage has not faced the Red Sox, who will start Payton Tolle (0-0, 1.50 ERA). The left-hander allowed one run in one inning in relief in his only appearance against Toronto, last Sept. 24.

Boston has won three straight for the first time this season, the past two for interim manager Chad Tracy, who replaced the fired Alex Cora.

Red Sox left-hander Ranger Suarez allowed one hit and one walk with a season-best 10 strikeouts in eight shutout innings on Monday. In three career appearances (two starts) against Toronto, he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 17 1/3 innings.

“Today is who he is,” said Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez, who homered in the eighth inning. “That’s who has been the last five, six, seven years. We used all pitches, all locations, so that is fun.”

The Red Sox continued the process of reorganizing the coaching staff after six were let go with Cora’s departure.

One of the moves was shifting Jose David Flores from first base coach to bench coach, a position he held from 2022-24 at Triple-A Worcester, where Tracy was the manager.

“One of our most experienced guys left here as far as baseball knowledge,” Tracy said before the game on Monday. “So having him with me, next to me, as well as (pitching coach) Andrew Bailey in there, is important. He’s a great baseball man and one of my closest friends, so the combination of those two and having him by my side is huge.”

Pablo Cabrera will take over as first base coach and Jack Simonetty will become an assistant hitting coach.

Toronto put starter Max Scherzer on the injured list on Monday due to right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation.

“Doctor’s order was just get rest,” Scherzer said on Monday. “There’s nothing structurally wrong.”

Chase Lee was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, and he allowed the homer to Narvaez in a 1 1/3-inning outing during his Toronto debut.

–Field Level Media

Back-to-back home runs from Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas sparked the Chicago White Sox to a seven-run outburst in the seventh inning on Monday night.

While the long ball proved the key to an 8-7 home victory against the slumping Los Angeles Angels, the White Sox also are confident in their ability to play small ball — including bunting — as they seek to secure a series victory Tuesday night in the second contest of a three-game set in Chicago.

“We’ve been talking about bunting as a weapon starting in spring training and how important that was going to be for guys in certain spots,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Some more than others. But that’s got to be part of our game as we’re trying to find ways to score runs.”

Los Angeles, meanwhile, is seeking answers for preventing runs late in the game. A beleaguered bullpen again was unable to hold a lead Monday in a game that was delayed by rain and thunderstorms for three hours.

Los Angeles has lost four straight games and eight its last nine. The past two defeats have been frustratingly similar, with left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz allowing tying or go-ahead home runs to the first batter he faced in the seventh inning or later.

On Sunday, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone reached Pomeranz for a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth to force extra innings.

Murakami took his turn in Monday’s series opener against the White Sox, greeting Pomeranz with a three-run blast in the seventh for his major-league-leading 12th homer. Vargas followed with a solo shot.

“We mingle together a lot, so I’m just glad that he’s a teammate and I’m glad to have him here,” Murakami said through a translator.

The Angels have kick-started their attack recently after a dry spell. Paced by two hits apiece from Mike Trout, Vaughn Grissom, Nolan Schanuel and Bryce Teodosio, Los Angeles out-hit the White Sox 14-9 on Monday.

A day earlier, the Angels built an early 6-0 advantage before losing 11-9 in 10 innings.

Grissom started at second base Monday as the Angels faced left-handed starter Anthony Kay. Grissom hopes to translate his success to more regular time in the lineup.

“It’s not my decision,” he said, “but that would be sick. As a ballplayer, you want to be in there every single day. So it’s definitely something that I’d love, but I do whatever helps the team win.”

Tuesday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of ace right-handers as Davis Martin (3-1, 2.01 ERA) of Chicago faces Jose Soriano (5-0, 0.24) of Los Angeles.

Martin will aim to close a sharp April in which he has pitched to a 1.37 ERA over 26 1/3 innings covering four starts.

Soriano has been even more dominant, allowing only one run in 25 2/3 innings in four starts this month. He pitched five shutout innings in a no-decision against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. The Angels won 7-3.

“He’s got serious stuff,” Schanuel said. “I feel bad for hitters who have to go face him three or four times in a game. I saw it while standing in there during spring training. He’s got [a] Wiffle ball. I’ve never seen a baseball move that much.”

Soriano has flourished in two career appearances (one start) vs. the White Sox, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He has allowed two hits and struck out 10 batters over nine scoreless innings.

Martin is 0-1 with a 3.07 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) against the Angels.

–Field Level Media