ST. LOUIS _ In retrospect, maybe David Freese's first-inning homer threw the Pirates off their game. They've been so good at erasing deficits. Why take an early lead?
The Pirates gave the lead back, but eventually recaptured it. They won their seventh game in a row, 7-5, against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium Wednesday, and the past six of those victories were in come-from-behind fashion.
Jonathan Broxton took over in the top of the seventh and walked Freese with one out. Andrew McCutchen' single put runners on the corners. Jung Ho Kang doubled, both runners scored and a one-run deficit became a one-run lead. Josh Harrison's grounder allowed Kang to score.
Kang continues to play as Chicago police investigate allegations of sexual assault against him when the Pirates visited the Cubs in June. He has not been charged.
Aledmys Diaz's solo home run in the third inning tied the game. Nine Cardinals batters came to the plate in the four-run fourth.
Stephen Piscotty singled. So did Randal Grichuk, Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia. With one run already in, Jaime Garcia's sacrifice fly brought home another and Kolten Wong came to the plate with runners on second and third and two outs.
Wong entered the game in the third inning in the middle of a plate appearance after Matt Carpenter injured his oblique. In the fourth, Wong bunted to the right side of the infield. First-base umpire Dan Iassogna originally ruled Wong out, ending the inning, but the Cardinals challenged. A replay review overturned the call and a run scored. Diaz's third hit of the night drove in the final run of the inning.
Jeff Locke allowed eight hits and five runs in four innings, and the bullpen pitched five scoreless innings.
Jaime Garcia surrendered two home runs on the first pitch of the at-bat, to Freese in the first inning and Sean Rodriguez, starting in right field in place of Gregory Polanco against the left-handed Garcia, in the fifth. Garcia ended his night by walking the first two batters he faced in the sixth inning.
Harrison and Rodriguez hit RBI singles, bringing the Pirates within a run, and manager Clint Hurdle went to his bench. He pinch-hit Polanco for Erik Kratz, leaving him only one catcher, and also used Matt Joyce, but Polanco popped out and Joyce struck out looking.
