ST. LOUIS • By at least one count, Cardinals reliever Kevin Siegrist had to get seven outs in the eighth inning Wednesday to hold a one-run lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates. There were the three outs that show up in the box score for him. There is the strikeout the umpire’s Delaware-shaped strike zone took from him, and there were the three plays not made.
Two were tagged with errors.
One could have been a double play.
It’s no wonder then how after the game, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny fielded a question about Siegrist’s ability to weather the inning and pivoted into an answer about the defense.