ST. LOUIS (AP) – Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run home run and Randal Grichuk also went deep to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 5-1 on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep and end the Pirates’ season-best seven-game winning streak.
Adam Wainwright (8-5) worked seven effective innings for St. Louis, which reclaimed second place in the NL Central by a half-game over Pittsburgh to end a rough 4-5 homestand. All-Star Matt Carpenter (oblique) joined Brandon Moss (ankle) and Brayan Pena (knee) on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day.
Piscotty’s 11th homer off Arquimedes Caminero was initially ruled off the top of the center-field wall but the call was overturned after review.
Tyler Glasnow (0-1) was charged with four runs in 5 1/3 innings in his debut. The 22-year-old right-hander was the 11th starter used by the Pirates and, like Steven Brault earlier in the series, got his first career hit.
Jordy Mercer doubled and had an RBI for the Pirates, who had come from behind to win the previous six games. They haven’t swept a four-game series in St. Louis since 1997 and the Cardinals haven’t been swept in four games at home by anyone since Colorado in 2009.