Matt Carpenter’s three-run pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning Friday helped lift the visiting St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tyler O’Neill added a solo homer among three hits, and Nolan Arenado hit two RBI doubles for St. Louis, which has won six of its past eight games.
Cardinals starter John Gant (2-2), in five innings, gave up one run and three hits, with five walks and two strikeouts.
Kevin Newman hit an RBI single for the Pirates, who had won three of four.
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Pittsburgh starter J.T. Brubaker (2-2) pitched five innings. He allowed a season-high three runs, along with seven hits, seven strikeouts and no walks.
In the first, St. Louis’ Dylan Carlson hit a double to right with one out and moved to third on Paul Goldschmidt’s groundout. Arenado drove in Carlson with a bloop double to left for a 1-0 lead.
Tommy Edman led off the third with a walk, and Arenado doubled to left to make it 2-0.
On the first pitch in the fourth, O’Neill crushed his fifth homer over the bullpens in center for a 3-0 edge.
Bryan Reynolds and Colin Moran walked in the bottom of the fourth. Two outs later, Newman roped a base hit to left to bring in Reynolds and make it 3-1.
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After O’Neill’s one-out single and Andrew Knizner’s walk in the sixth, Harrison Bader flied out. Carpenter, pinch-hitting for Gant, hit his third homer, to right-center, to double St. Louis’ run total, 6-1.
Tyler Webb came on in relief for the Cardinals in the sixth. He walked Jacob Stallings, and Gregory Polanco reached on a fielder’s choice. Newman’s single sent Polanco to third, and Ka’ai Tom walked to load the bases.
Kodi Whitley, recalled earlier in the day, entered for the Cardinals. With pinch-hitter Todd Frazier up, Whitley balked in a run, then allowed another with a wild pitch to cut the Pirates’ deficit to 6-3.
Two hit batters by Clay Holmes and an error gave St. Louis a run in the ninth.
Pittsburgh’s Phillip Evans got ejected in the ninth after a called third strike.
–Field Level Media