ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jameson Taillon won his fourth straight start, Jacob Stallings drove in three runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates slowed the Cardinals with a 4-3 victory Wednesday that stopped the Cardinals’ three-game winning streak.
St. Louis entered 34-18 under new manager Mike Shildt and with the most wins in the NL after the All-Star break. The Cardinals’ lead for the second NL wild card was cut to two games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Taillon (13-9) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, leaving with a 4-1 lead after the first two Pirates reached in the eighth. Taillon has given up 19 runs over 71 innings in his last 11 starts.
Daniel Poncedeleon (0-2), making his fourth start for St. Louis, allowed two runs and five hits in five innings.
Marcell Ozuna had a run-scoring single in the first for the Cardinals, but Stallings hit a sacrifice fly in the second, Jordan Luplow had a go-ahead single in the third and Stallings boosted the lead to 4-1 with a two-run single off Mike Mayers in the sixth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: INF Jedd Gyorko was activated from the 10-day DL. He had been bothered by a left groin strain. … C Yadier Molina remains out with a sore hamstring.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (4-7, 4.56) will face LHP Gio Gonzalez (8-11, 4.40) in the opener of a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday. Archer is making his eighth start for the Pirates after he was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31.
Cardinals LHP Austin Gomber (5-0, 2.93) is to take on LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-5, 2.32) in the start of a four-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
Photo credit – Billy Hurst / Associated Press / St. Louis, MO
