Cardinals defeat Pirates, but unnerved by serious injury to Piscotty

PITTSBURGH _ The defiant Cardinals, two innings removed from a horrific injury that left a stadium stunned silent, conjured the first runs of the game and took one long stride toward securing a division title Monday.tmpplchld Matt Carpenter scored on an error for the first run of the game against the Pirates, and Mark Reynolds offered welcome security with a two-run homer. The combination broke a scoreless tie in the ninth.tmpplchld The Pirates got the tying run to the plate in the ninth before Trevor Rosenthal closed the game and the 3-0 victory for his club-record 48th save.tmpplchld However, the win was overshadowed by the injury to Cardinals rookie Stephen Piscotty after he collided with teammate Peter Bourjos in left-center field and collapsed to the grass, immobile.tmpplchld Bourjos waved frantically for trainers, anyone to come to the outfield.tmpplchld While tracking down a fly ball for the first out of the seventh inning, Bourjos reached out and snagged the ball, but in the process he also ran into Piscotty. Bourjos’ knee connected with the rookie’s head, crumpling Piscotty’s neck. When trainers and doctors from both sides of the game reached him, he was not moving much, if at all.tmpplchld Piscotty was placed on a stretcher and removed from the field by a cart.tmpplchld He was initially diagnosed with head contusion, though he was being taken to a local hospital for further exams.tmpplchld The game was delayed 16 minutes as he was tended to.tmpplchld The packed ballpark was silent the entire time.tmpplchld As he left the field he waved his left hand slightly, and the lifted it and waved it more to a cheer from the crowd. Before the cart pulled away, manager Mike Matheny leaned in close to the rookie outfielder.tmpplchld The scene was jarring, especially for his teammates.tmpplchld Many of them gathered in left-center field, some standing near Bourjos who was shaken by the sight of his teammate’s injury. Carpenter stayed near the infield, in a squat and constantly running his hands through his hair or covering his mouth.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 St. Louis Post-Dispatchtmpplchld Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld