 allowed three runs and six hits with four strikeouts for the win. Right-hander Seung Hwan Oh picked up his 19th save.The Cardinals survived a late Pirates push.Max Moroff hit a two-run home run, Pittsburgh's third of the game, 420 feet into the Allegheny River on a bounce beyond the right field wall to make it 11-5 in the eighth. Josh Bell hit an RBI double and Elias Diaz drove in two runs with a double to cut the deficit to 11-8 later in the inning.Pittsburgh scored two more in the ninth, but left the bases loaded.The Pirates' losing streak reached six games. They are 6 1/2 games behind the Cubs.Tommy Pham homered in the first inning to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead and Paul DeJong made it 6-2 with a solo shot in the third. St. Louis scored two runs in the fourth inning to take an 8-2 lead and chase Pirates starter Trevor Williams.Williams (5-6) lasted three innings while allowing eight runs, three home runs and seven hits with three strikeouts.Starling Marte hit an RBI triple to cut the Cardinals' lead to 8-3 in the fifth inning.DeJong, who was 3 for 5 with two RBIs, drove in Martinez with a single and Dexter Fowler followed with an RBI double to push the lead out to 10-3 in the top of the sixth and Jose Martinez extended it to 11-3 with a single in the eighth.Josh Harrison tied it 1-1 in the first inning with his second home run in the past two days. His 14 home runs are a career high, topping his 13 from 2014. David Freese led off the bottom of the second with a home run to cut Pittsburgh's deficit to 5-2.TRAINER'S ROOMCardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Friday with right elbow impingement. He went just three innings while allowing five runs and seven hits in his start against the Pirates on Thursday night. RHP Mike Mayers was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to fill the roster spot.Pirates: LHP Wade LeBlanc went on the 10-day disabled list with a left quad strain. He allowed four runs in the ninth inning to the Cardinals on Thursday. LHP Steven Brault, who allowed two runs and four hits in four innings in relief of Williams, was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.UP NEXTNeither team announced a starting pitcher for Saturday.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Cards look to build on series-opening win at Pittsburgh 1h ago• 2 min read PITTSBURGH -- Coming out of the opener of an important four-game National League Central series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates are upbeat going into the Friday rematch.The Cardinals (62-59) were happy with their come-from-behind, 11-7 win Thursday; and, even in the loss, the Pirates (58-63) found reason to think they have some momentum.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny liked what he saw in a 15-hit attack and the ability to shrug off an early 5-1 deficit, including batting around in the ninth."They keep coming," he said of his hitters. "This is the kind of offense, too, that no matter how they're playing, they're always going to be able to put a strong push like they did there at the end when we needed the extra cushion."I think we talked about it before: We've been able to put on some good offense early and then not add on. It was good (conversely Thursday) to see guys grind through the bats all the way through." The Cardinals began the ninth inning with a 7-5 lead but needed the four runs they scored, as Pittsburgh scored twice in the bottom of the ninth.That late rally gave the Pirates something to build on."I'm not going to sit here and say (we're) disappointed," said Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison, who was 3-for-5 with a homer. "We would have liked to win, yeah. Any time you lose like that, it's tough."You look at us in the ninth inning, we kept fighting, kept plugging. We're going to keep playing until the game's over. Nothing to hang our heads about. Just got to keep plugging." St. Louis and Pittsburgh are chasing the first-place Chicago Cubs in the division. The third-place Cardinals moved within 1 1/2 games of Chicago. The fourth-place Pirates, who keep flirting with a run toward contention only to fall back, have lost five games in a row and are 5 1/2 behind Chicago.Right-hander Trevor Williams (5-5, 4.19 ERA), scheduled to start Friday for Pittsburgh, has pitched better at home, where he is 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA in his past 17 starts. He also is keeping the ball in the park pretty effectively, allowing a homer in just three of his past 16 outings.His last time out, Saturday, Williams gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings in Pittsburgh's 7-2 loss at Toronto.Against the Cardinals, Williams is 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA in four career appearances.St. Louis will counter with right-hander Carlos Martinez (9-9, 3.56). He ranks in the top 10 in the National League in ERA, strikeouts (165) and opponents' batting average (.227). Martinez has registered four double-digit strikeout games.The Pirates might need to get to Martinez early. He has allowed 18 earned runs in 24 first innings."Finding his rhythm," Matheny said of Martinez's mission, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We've got to keep tinkering with whatever it is. Going to have to keep making adjustments until he's sharp coming right (into) the game." Martinez pinpointed one area of concern."I need to focus, try a little bit harder to focus a little more, in the first inning," he said through a translator, according to the Post-Dispatch.
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