ST. LOUIS _ Don't underestimate the danger of issuing Chris Stewart an intentional walk. St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny made the move in the sixth inning Saturday night and paid dearly, as the Pirates piled on with three runs in an inning in which they had only one hit.
In the Pirates' 7-3 win at Busch Stadium, right-hander Gerrit Cole rebounded from a leadoff home run to toss six innings of one-run ball. The offense delivered one timely hit after another, scoring six two-out runs, and took a few hits too, as back-to-back bases-loaded hit by pitch forced home a pair of runs in the sixth, fueling a rally stoked by Stewart's intentional walk.
The Pirates (35-40) on Sunday will aim for their first sweep since April 14-16.
Cole (6-6) scattered five hits, walked two and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 4.11. After a five-start stretch in which he had a 10.71 ERA, he's allowed three runs over 20 innings in his past three starts. Cole improved 6-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 12 regular-season starts against St. Louis.
The three sixth-inning runs brought right-hander Lance Lynn's ledger to seven earned runs in 52/3 innings. He allowed five hits, including two apiece to Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison, who homered and doubled, and a two-run home run from Jordy Mercer, who had three RBIs.
In 20 previous appearances against the Pirates, Lynn had experienced mixed results, with a 4.41 ERA over 102 innings. His previous two starts against them, however, hard been devoid of runs, as he threw five scoreless innings Sept. 29, 2015, and seven shutout frames April 17.
The Pirates had long failed to manufacture power against Lynn, averaging 0.79 home runs per nine innings. They had never _ not until Saturday _ homered twice off him in a start.
But before the home runs came their first rally. Harrison doubled with one out in the first inning, and David Freese was hit by pitch with two away. Josh Bell bounced a one-strike fastball back through the middle for a single, scoring Harrison to put the Pirates ahead, 1-0, off the bat.
Matt Carpenter, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, set the tone for the St. Louis approach against Cole, prioritizing patience in his first plate appearance. Carpenter watched two balls, worked the count full and fired on a fastball, pulling it into the right-field. The solo shot, Carpenter's 14th homer this season, improved him to 12 for 30 (.400) with four home runs against Cole.
The Cardinals (33-40) appeared ready to add on in the second. After Cole walked Greg Garcia, Lynn lifted a high fly ball up the right-center alley. McCutchen could not reach the ball, and Gregory Polanco seemed to slow as it descended. The ball landed on the warning track and bounced into the Cardinals bullpen, a fortunate hop since it stopped Garcia third.
With two on and two out, Cole claimed a measure of revenge, whiffing Carpenter.
Lynn had retired nine batters in a row before McCutchen stepped into the batter's box with two outs in the fourth inning. He was ahead of a two-strike curveball yet managed to bloop it into right field for a single. When he reached first base, McCutchen laughed at the dinky base hit.
He may have laughed all the way around the bases. The next batter, Mercer, drilled a two-run home run to left field. The next inning, Harrison hit his ninth homer this season, four off a career-high.
For Lynn, the wheels loosed in the sixth. After Freese walked leading off, McCutchen knocked a one-out single to right field, the Pirates' only hit of the inning. Mercer scored Freese with a groundout. Matheny elected to intentionally walk Stewart, and Lynn _ unintentionally, presumably _ walked Cole, the last batter he faced before being lifted.
Reliever John Brebbia hit the Pirates where it hurt. He dropped a curveball on Frazier's foot. He smacked Harrison in the hip with a fastball. Harrison added to his league-leading hit-by-pitch count, which now totals 16. Brebbia's back-to-back RBI hit by pitch made the score 7-1.
Tempers flickered in the bottom of the inning, as Cole fired a fastball at 98.3 mph behind Jose Martinez's back. Martinez stared out toward the mound, hoping an extended glare might rattle the pitcher, and then chirped all the way to first on a broken-bat bloop single. Cole remained quiet, but third baseman David Freese, the former Cardinals star, had words with Martinez.
No further relation occurred. The Pirates decided the scoreboard sufficed.
