PITTSBURGH _ Even in the rain, Chad Kuhl delivered.
The right-hander outlasted a one hour, 56 minute mid-game rain delay and was even stronger afterward, tossing five innings of one-run baseball Saturday as the Pirates snapped their six-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.
The Pirates offense, which mounted a late seven-run rally in a one-run loss Friday, showed up earlier Saturday. Pittsburgh collected 12 hits. Adam Frazier singled, doubled and homered. Starling Marte homered and had two singles, his fifth consecutive multiple-hit game. Jose Osuna added insurance with a pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning.
The Pirates (59-64) stayed 6{ games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs. They will fly Sunday morning to Williamsport, Pa., for their series finale against the Cardinals (63-60).
Kuhl allowed only three hits and issued one walk. He also chipped in on offense with a double in the Pirates' five-run second inning. It was an encouraging start for Kuhl, who had given up five runs in his start Sunday in Toronto on four hits, including a home run, and five walks. The one-run outing Saturday brought Kuhl's ERA to 4.52, the lowest it has been since April 18.
A steady rain already was falling when Jose Martinez doubled to right field leading off the second inning. Kolten Wong's RBI single skittered through the right side to open the scoring. Staring through downpour toward catcher Elias Diaz, Kuhl was readying to deliver a 2-2 pitch to Randal Grichuk before the grounds crew rushed the field and a rain delay commenced.
The Grichuk at-bat, it turned out, would not conclude for nearly two hours.
Manager Clint Hurdle typically lifts his starting pitchers after 90 minute delays. This time, with the Pirates badly in need of distance from their starting pitcher, Kuhl stayed warm and remained on the rubber. When he and Grichuk took their places again after play resumed, Kuhl painted the corner with a 98-mph fastball for a called third strike, ending the marathon at-bat.
The Cardinals were quieted. Kuhl retired nine consecutive batters following the rain delay. After Grichuk doubled leading off the fifth and advanced to third base on a wild pitch, Kuhl stranded him there by sandwiching two strikeouts around pinch-hitter Luke Voit's line drive to shortstop.
The Pirates, on the other hand, awakened after two hours down. Six of their first seven hitters in the second inning reached safely, including a double from Kuhl _ his first career extra-base hit _ and two-run home runs from Frazier and Marte. It was Marte's third homer this season, and his first since April 15, three days prior to the start of his steroid suspension.
The bullpen relieved Kuhl in the sixth. Right-handers Dovydas Neverauskas and George Kontos worked a scoreless inning apiece. Set-up reliever Juan Nicasio gave up a two-run home run in the eighth to the Cardinals' Paul DeJong. In the ninth, Martinez stroked a long solo home run off closer Felipe Rivero, whose ERA rose from 1.21 to 1.34.
