ST. LOUIS -- "It was so wet out," Jacob Stallings was observing late Thursday afternoon here at Busch Stadium, and he wasn't talking about a storm of any sort. Rather, it was the sweaty, sticky Missouri humidity that only a mosquito could love. As in 88 degrees with, like, an 800 percent heat index.
"Seriously," Stalling would add, "you couldn't even grip the ball."
Still, these Pirates stuck it out, persevering through the temps as well as the two-game beatdown they'd just absorbed in Chicago, to split this makeup doubleheader with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, taking the opener, 4-3, on Chad Kuhl's sharp start, then the nightcap, 2-0, on a career-first win for Cody Ponce and a career-first save for Nik Turley.