LDN - Sports

Wainwright, Cardinals too much for Pirates

[July 08, 2016] ST. LOUIS -- The dark skies and thunderstorm that drenched Busch Stadium before Thursday's game might as well have served as a metaphor.

Not only had the St. Louis Cardinals lost three straight games to the Pittsburgh Pirates to drop into third place in the National League Central, they had to send All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter to the disabled list with a right oblique strain.

But as the day went on and the clouds were replaced by filtered sunlight, St. Louis emerged from the gloom that permeated most of its series.

Adam Wainwright tied a season high with nine strikeouts and an offense which had been mostly shackled broke through with a pair of timely homers as the Cardinals avoided the sweep with a 5-1 win.

"Cardinal baseball is all about picking up guys when they are down," right fielder Stephen Piscotty said. "We did it a lot last year, and it's not foreign to this team. We have to stay the course. I think we'll do a good job."

Wainwright (8-5) certainly offered a positive response against a Pittsburgh squad that entered the day with a season-high seven-game winning streak. Over 114 pitches and seven innings, Wainwright allowed just five hits and one run, walking only one.

The veteran right-hander retired 10 straight hitters after Matt Joyce's leadoff double in the second, fanning five of six at one point by blending a 91-mph fastball with his patented curveball and an effective cutter.

"I was having fun mixing and matching four-seams and two-seams and cutters and curveballs," Wainwright said. "I was pitching out there. That's how I did it in 2014. I've kind of found that again."

In his 239th career start, Wainwright dueled with a 22-year old making his major-league debut. Pirates right-hander Tyler Glasnow was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to make the start, and displayed the stuff and poise of someone rated as one of the top prospects in the minors.

Glasnow sailed through the first three innings without allowing a hit, flashing a 96-mph fastball and picking up three strikeouts along the way. He even rapped out his first major-league hit in the fifth, a clean single to left.

"I think my stuff didn't have as much bite to it, but it definitely was nice going out here and being able to control it," Glasnow said. "It was a really fun experience."

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But Glasnow's curve betrayed him twice and it cost him. Aledmys Diaz launched a triple off the top of the left-center field wall to start the fourth and scored when Glasnow tossed a two-out wild pitch with Matt Adams hitting.

An inning later, Glasnow teed one up for Randal Grichuk, who cracked a 441-foot blast into the bleachers in left-center that gave St. Louis (44-41) the lead for good.

In the sixth, Glasnow departed after giving up a leadoff double to Greg Garcia and walking Matt Holliday with one out. Reliever Arquimedes Caminero entered and served up a three-run blast to Piscotty that barely cleared the wall in right-center.

The play was originally ruled a two-run double, but a crew chief review led the umpires at MLB offices in New York City to overturn the ruling.

"I didn't think so," Piscotty said when asked if he felt it was a homer. "I was watching first base to make sure I hit it. I saw the ball on the ground and then I saw the replay."

Glasnow's final line was 5 1/3 innings, four runs, three hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

The Cardinals snapped a 10-game home losing streak against teams with winning records, passing Pittsburgh (44-42) for second place.

The Pirates' only run occurred in the second on an infield out by Jordy Mercer that scored Joyce.

NOTES: To replace Carpenter, St. Louis purchased the contract of C Michael McKenry from Triple-A Memphis. McKenry batted .341 in 82 at-bats with Memphis after signing with the Cardinals' organization on May 27. ... Prior to Thursday's defeat, Pittsburgh had come from behind to win its last six games, the first time it's done that since July 11-16, 1983. ... Diaz was named to replace Carpenter on the NL All-Star team. Diaz entered Thursday batting .319 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs.

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