Pirates 2, Cardinals 0: Jones Retired the First 16

Sixteen up, then a opposite-field double that ended the bid

September 22, 2026 - Pittsburgh - Jared Jones retired the first 16 Cardinals. Wind in from center at 11 mph. Overcast. 60 degrees. He had 59 pitches through five perfect innings and a look at a game nobody wanted to take from him.

Nathan Church sliced a ball the other way with one out in the sixth. Jacob Gonzalez could not reach it. It trickled into left for a double. That was St. Louis's hit. That was the perfect game and the no-hitter. Jones stranded him.

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 at PNC Park. First pitch 6:40 p.m. Attendance 11,375. The game lasted 2 hours, 29 minutes. Pittsburgh had five hits. St. Louis had one, and an error. Jones (5-6) threw seven scoreless: one hit, no walks, nine strikeouts, 86 pitches.

"Yeah, I keep flirting with it, but I can't ever get it done," Jones said. "I'll take that start every time of the week. Just really happy to give the guys an opportunity to win and we did."

A September that still has gas

Jones started the year two months late after internal brace surgery on his right arm in May 2025. September is supposed to be when starters run out. He has a 1.08 ERA in 25 innings this month, 35 strikeouts, and a .174 opposing slugging percentage that leads pitchers with at least 20 innings. Four starts. Three runs.

"You can say I have gas in the tank because I missed the first two months of the season," he said. "So I know guys are out there feeling worse than what I am as of right now. For me, it should be like July or something right now."

He went perfect through six against Atlanta on July 8 and came out on pitch count. He took a no-hitter into the seventh against the White Sox on September 10. Manager Don Kelly started doing the math in the fifth on Tuesday. He said he loves when Jones pitches well enough to make the decision hard.

"It's a tough one because ultimately our goal is for Jared Jones to be pitching really well into '27 and beyond," Kelly said. "Where that line is, I don't think we know. Fortunately we didn't have to make that decision."

Andre Pallante (12-8) threw six innings the other way: three hits, one earned, two walks, two strikeouts, 89 pitches. He left a 1-0 game. The Cardinals never put a second runner in scoring position.

Cruz scored, then a wild pitch made it two

Oneil Cruz reached in the sixth. Ryan O'Hearn singled to left, Cruz scoring. 1-0, and Jones finally had a lead to protect after 16 up. Pittsburgh added the second run in the seventh on a wild pitch. Luke Weaver threw a scoreless eighth, three strikeouts, one walk, 21 pitches. Gregory Soto threw the ninth for his 16th save: no hits, one walk, two strikeouts, 18 pitches.

O'Hearn went 1-for-4 with the RBI. Cruz went 0-for-3 with a walk and the run. Konnor Griffin went 2-for-4 with a triple and a steal. Spencer Horwitz went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk, and a run. Bryan Reynolds doubled. Brandon Lowe went 0-for-4. Five hits were enough when the other club had one.

Church's double was the Cardinals' entire offense. Iván Herrera went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. JJ Wetherholt went 0-for-4 with three. Alec Burleson went 0-for-4. Masyn Winn walked and did not get a hit. Jordan Walker went 0-for-3. St. Louis struck out 14 and left four on. That is a 2-0 you lose when the starter you are facing does not walk anyone for seven innings.

80 wins, a fifth straight, and a Sunday still on the card

Pittsburgh is 80-77. It is the club's fifth 80-win season since 1993, and the fifth straight win. St. Louis is 76-81. Jones is scheduled to pitch the finale Sunday. "The past four months, it's been either really good or really bad," he said. "So glad I'm ending here on a good month so far."

A 2-0 in late September does not rewrite a season. It does put Jones on a board that does not care that Pittsburgh sat 15th in team fantasy points. Seven zeros. One hit. Nine strikeouts. The first 16 never reached. Church's double was the only thing that did.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Jones at 33 pitching fantasy points, tied with Carlos Rodón for first on the slate. Weaver had 10. Soto had 9. Pallante had 13 in a loss. Pittsburgh finished at 7 team FP. St. Louis finished at minus-3.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*