PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Interstat) — Paul Skenes struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings as Pittsburgh edged St. Louis 2-1 on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 24, 2026, at PNC Park. Skenes allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks for Pittsburgh. Cooper Hjerpe pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts for St. Louis, and Kyle Leahy gave up one earned run over two innings. Alec Burleson went 1 for 4 with a home run and one RBI for the Cardinals. St. Louis finished with five hits, while Pittsburgh had seven. Brandon Lowe singled in Oneil Cruz in the first, and Spencer Horwitz’s sacrifice fly scored Ronny Simon in the eighth. Luke Weaver earned the win in relief, Ryne Stanek took the loss, and Mason Montgomery recorded the save after striking out three in a perfect inning. Pittsburgh improved to 83-79; St. Louis fell to 79-84. Attendance was 15,822, and the game took 2 hours, 39 minutes.