Adam Wainwright pitched into the seventh inning with a lead and provided three RBI as the Cardinals extended their National League Central lead with a 6-4 win over the Pirates on Tuesday night.
Wainwright didn’t have his normal unhittable stuff allowing three Pirate home runs in the game, but his three RBI and the ineffectiveness of Jeff Locke kept the Cardinals in front.
Locke could not find the strike zone in only three-plus innings of work. After escaping a bases loaded jam in the first, Locke continued to falter allowing a leadoff walk and a single to start the second. Wainwright then put the Cardinals on the board with a RBI groundout. Matt Carpenter followed with a sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals (75-63) chased Locke in the fourth after he walked the first two batters of the inning. Peter Bourjos then singled a run in and Wainwright followed with a two-run single ending Locke’s night early.
Brandon Cumpton helped keep the Pirates within striking distance pitching three shutout innings in relief and John Axford allowed a run in one inning of work.
The Pirates (71-67) were paced by solo home runs by Russell Martin and Jordy Mercer while Starling Marte hit a two-run home run to chase Wainwright in the seventh.
They couldn’t get anything done against the Cardinals bullpen as Seth Maness and Pat Neshek combined for three innings of one-hit, no-run ball.
Final Score: Cardinals 6, Pirates 4.
The Pirates now fall four games behind the Cardinals for the National League Central lead while remaining two games behind the Brewers for the second National League Wild Card spot.
Worth Noting
John Holdzkom — who was pitching in Independent ball earlier this season — worked a scoreless inning while striking out the side in his Major League debut for the Pirates.
Starters Lines
Locke (L, 6-4): 3+ IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K’s. 86 Pitches (46 Strikes).
Wainwright (W, 16-9): 6+ IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K’s, 3 HR. 100 Pitches (62 Strikes).
The Pirates will look to salvage a game in the series tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow’s Starters
(RHP) Edinson Volquez (PIT): 11-7, 3.45 ERA
(RHP) Shelby Miller (STL): 8-9, 4.19 ERA
First pitch is set for 1:45 EST
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
