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Pallante surrendered five runs in a first inning that began with four consecutive hits allowed. The Cardinals’ starter did not record an out until he faced the seventh batter of the frame. After he got through the frame, Pallante’s struggles continued in the form of two runs allowed in the second inning and another in the third on a solo home run from Henry Davis in an 8-3 loss to Pittsburgh.

Pallante left his start after five innings and with a career-high in runs allowed with eight, seven of which were earned. He surrendered eight hits, marking his most in a start since giving up eight to the Rockies on July 23. The outing was Pallante’s eighth consecutive during which he was not able to complete six innings.

With an ERA already above 5.00 entering Tuesday, Pallante’s struggles against the Pirates left him with a 5.44 ERA. The losing decision marked his fifth consecutive loss. He dropped to 1-9 with a 6.83 ERA in his previous 11 outings dating back to his final start of June.

Pallante finished his outing by retiring the final eight batters he faced following Davis’s home run to left field. In relief, right-handers Gordon Graceffo (two innings), Jorge Alcala (one inning), and Ryan Fernandez (one inning) combined to pitch the final four innings of Tuesday’s loss.

The Cardinals (65-68) were held scoreless through the first 3 2/3 innings of Mitch Keller’s outing before Nolan Gorman clubbed a 415-foot two-run homer with two outs in the fourth inning against the Pirates right-hander. They pushed across a third run against Keller in the sixth inning on a groundout by Willson Contreras that scored Lars Nootbaar from third base.

Keller notched a season-high nine strikeouts vs. the Cardinals. Eight of his nine strikeouts came swinging.

A troubling start

Pallante opened Tuesday’s start by allowing back-to-back singles from the first two hitters he faced on his first four pitches. By his sixth pitch, the first of the five runs he allowed in the game’s opening frame scored as Bryan Reynolds connected on a double that plated Jared Triolo.

The right-hander did not record the game’s first out until Davis, Pittsburgh’s No. 7 hitter, hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Andrew McCutchen from third base. The first six batters Pallante faced collected five hits, including a pair of doubles, and drew one walk against him. Four of the five hits in the innings came on Pallante’s fastball.

The only batter Pallante got two strikes on before Davis stepped to the plate was Oneil Cruz, who Pallante had in a 1-2 count but walked on eight pitches.

The lengthy first inning left Pallante’s pitch count at 30. Six of his first 30 pitches went for either a called strike or a swing and a miss.

Keller totals K’s

While they looked to chip away at the early hole Pallante’s rough start left them in, Keller’s swing-and-miss success vs. the Cardinals left them mostly quiet through his six innings.

After getting Contreras to ground into an inning-ending double play in the first, Keller struck out the side in order in the second inning. He followed that by collecting two strikeouts in the second, one in the fourth before Gorman’s home run, and struck out the side in order once again in the fifth.

The Pirates righty’s nine strikeouts marked his most in a game this year since he struck out eight Mets on May 13.

Keller’s six-pitch repertoire combined for a 38% whiff rate, per Statcast. His sweeper, which was used for a putaway pitch on four of his five strikeouts, induced five whiffs on six swings. The righty’s fastball, which touched 97.7 mph and averaged 93.9 mph, got seven whiffs and was landed for a called strike seven times.

Pitch-to-contact hurts Pallante

On the 91 pitches Pallante threw across five innings, Pallante got six whiffs for a 12% swing and miss rate, per Statcast.

Pallante got three whiffs on his slider, two on his knuckle curveball, one on his sinker, and one on the 20 fastballs he threw.

Pirates hitters produced an average exit velocity of 93.3 when attacking Pallante’s fastball. The hardest hit ball Pallante allowed on the pitch was a 107.2 mph single from McCutchen in the first inning that went for a two-run single and marked the fourth hit of the frame.

Gorman gets into one

A night after collecting two hits that included a double, Gorman continued his August production with a swing that got the Cardinals their first runs against Keller.

With at least one hit in each of his previous four games entering his start Tuesday at Busch Stadium, Gorman pulled a 95.8 mph fastball from Keller 415 feet to right field for a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The home run came in a 3-2 count and jumped off Gorman’s bat with a 110.7 mph exit velocity, per Statcast.

It was Gorman’s third home run in a span of 10 games.