Jared Jones exits with right lat tightness but Oneil Cruz’s walk-off in 10th lifts Pirates over Cardinals

In Jared Jones’ return to action Wednesday at PNC Park following a skipped start for load management-related reasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 in 10 innings.

Oneil Cruz’s walk-off base hit against JoJo Romero was the difference, with Bryan Reynolds also collecting an RBI single in the 10th that tied the game at four.

Jones’ start was over after five innings and 78 pitches, with the 22-year-old rookie’s lighter workload making sense given the Pirates’ well-documented objective of preserving his arm.

But following the game, manager Derek Shelton revealed Jones’ departure was due to tightness in his right lat, leading to Kyle Nicolas taking over in the sixth.

Shelton pulled Jones out of an “abundance of caution,” he said, with specifics of the injury still unknown.

Jones said he wasn’t worried, with further medical evaluations to come Thursday.

“I kind of felt it later in the game,” Jones said. “It kind of got really tight on me in the fifth inning there. Told (the coaches), so yeah, here we are. … It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Jones (5-6, 3.56 ERA) allowed one run on four hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts in a no-decision.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (6-7, 5.19) lasted six innings and allowed two runs.

Jones was in line to pick up a win, with the Pirates leading 3-1 in the eighth, but Colin Holderman gave up a game-tying, two-run homer to Willson Contreras to tie the score.

After the Pirates (41-44) came up empty in the eighth and ninth, extra innings were required.

Aroldis Chapman pitched a quick and easy ninth, but staying on in the 10th and allowed an infield single to Masyn Winn which advanced automatic runner Dylan Carlson to third.

Winn’s grounder was hit to Rowdy Tellez at first, but Chapman failed to cover the bag, resulting in the single.

Then Alec Burleson plated Carlson with a deep sacrifice fly to center field, putting St. Louis ahead 4-3.

The Pirates proved capable of mustering the necessary response in their half of the 10th.

With automatic man Jared Triolo (pinch-running for Joey Bart) on second, Michael A. Taylor struck out on an failed sacrifice bunt attempt.

After Andrew McCutchen drew a walk, Reynolds ripped a game-tying single into center field off Andrew Kittredge.

The Cardinals replaced Kittredge with Romero to face Cruz, but unsuccessfully, as the Pirates shortstop delivered the game-winner, his third career walk-off and second of the year following an RBI single in the 11th inning of a 5-4 home win over Baltimore on April 6.

“It felt good, for sure, but it was a team effort,” Cruz said postgame through Pirates assistant coach and translator Stephen Morales. “Everybody played their part in it, and that’s why we came back at the end and could win that game.”

Personifying Cruz’s point was the performance of Tellez, who went 3 for 4 with a solo opposite-field home run in the seventh.

Tellez also made a great defensive play at first base in the top of the ninth, laying out to rob Carlson of a hit.

In the fifth after singling, he hustled from first to third on a Nick Gonzales hit and then scored on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ RBI groundout.

Like Cruz, Tellez, who raised his batting average to .243, distributed praise around the clubhouse.

“It felt pretty good,” Tellez said. “Jones threw a good game. Kept it tight and in the end pulled it out. Some really good at-bats late. Clutch at-bats. Whenever everybody’s picking each other up, it’s always good. It’s always comforting. I always say that. When other players are playing well, it’s easier to play well.”

St. Louis got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the fifth when Winn singled home Brandon Crawford.

Following Jones’ exit, the Pirates went ahead 2-1 courtesy of Hayes’ RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly by Bart.

Chapman (1-3, 3.66) was Wednesday’s winning pitcher, with Nicolas and Carmen Mlodzinski pitching scoreless innings in relief of Jones.

Cruz and Reynolds both went 2 for 5 with an RBI, while Hayes (2 for 4, RBI) had a multi-hit night, as well.