|
 Jason Bay hit a two-run homer and Freddy Sanchez had two hits and scored two runs for Pittsburgh, which has won two in a row after snapping a six-game losing streak.
With the game tied at 4 in the eighth, Ryan Doumit singled to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out base hit by Bautista. After Brian Bixler doubled to left, moving Bautista up to third, Mientkiewicz singled down the left-field line off Anthony Reyes (1-1) to make it 7-4.
Damaso Marte (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn the win, and Matt Capps pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.
Skip Schumaker, Albert Pujols and Adam Kennedy each had a pair of hits for the Cardinals, who have lost four of their past five.
Six of the Cardinals' first seven batters reached base against the Pirates' Ian Snell. Troy Glaus made it 2-0 with a double down the right field line that scored Schumaker and Pujols, and two batters later, Kennedy's single to center drove in Chris Duncan and Glaus.
After the rocky start, Snell shut down St. Louis for the remainder of his six innings
-- though he did allow 13 total baserunners. Snell gave up eight hits, four walks and hit a batter while allowing four earned runs. He struck out one.
Todd Wellemeyer held Pittsburgh hitless through three innings, but the Pirates got back into the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. The inning began with three consecutive singles, capped by Doumit's run-scoring base hit to right. Nady followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Bay and made it 4-2.
Bay tied it in the fifth with his fourth home run of the season. The shot to left-center landed in the front row of seats, just beyond the reach of left fielder Duncan.
Wellemeyer lasted six innings and was charged with four earned runs on seven hits and a walk, with five strikeouts.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
|
