ST. LOUIS _ Cardinals starter John Gant finessed his way through a potentially problematic first inning, settled into a groove, and the Cardinals reached a milestone they haven't reached in almost a decade.
Gant also hit his second home run of the season _ which was also his second hit of the season _ as the Cardinals beat the Pirates, 5-0, and won their 10th consecutive series, something they last did in 2009. In that stretch, the Cardinals have gone 26-6. The Cardinals used six pitchers to get the shutout, their seventh of the season.
After Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove retired the first seven Cardinals he faced, throwing strikes on each of his first 21 pitches, Harrison Bader homered with one out in the third and Gant followed it with one of his own. Coming into the game, Gant had one hit in 24 at-bats, with that one hit being a home run. He now has two hits in his big-league career, both home runs.
For a while, it looked like Gant may not get that far. The Pirates loaded the bases in the first inning, with help from two walks, before Gant struck out Colin Moran to end the inning. Gant, though, found his groove, retiring 11 in a row at one point before coming out after a walk and an error in the sixth.
The Cardinals added a run in the fourth on three singles and a force out, and then scored two in the fifth when Matt Carpenter walked, Yadier Molina doubled and then a two-run single by Jose Martinez, who was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. Carpenter, who left Wednesday's game because of nausea, came out of Thursday's game in a double switch in the sixth with Yairo Munoz taking his spot at third base.
Gant went 52/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out six as he improved to 6-5.
The Pirates threatened a couple times against the Cardinals bullpen. With Dakota Hudson on the mound, the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh before Carlos Martinez came in to get Francisco Cervelli to fly out to end the inning. In the eighth, the Pirates had runners on first and second with one out against Chasen Shreve before Jordan Hicks came in to get two strikeouts to end the inning. The Pirates left 12 runners on base.
