Cardinals sweep Pirates, extend winning streak to five games
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Cardinals have a .500 overall record for the first time since April 16.
Behind seven scoreless innings from starting pitcher Sonny Gray, St. Louis (19-19) earned a 5-0 shutout win over Pittsburgh (12-26) to close out its six-game homestand. Wednesday's sweep marked the team's fifth consecutive win.
Gray tossed a two-hitter on the mound, allowing zero runs and striking out eight batters over seven innings to clinch his fourth victory of the season. The veteran right-hander has given up three runs or less in five of his seven starts this year.
Offensively, the Cardinals out-hit the Pirates by an 11-4 margin, led by a three-hit performance from Lars Nootbaar. He sparked a two-run rally for St. Louis in the third inning with an RBI single to right field and, moments later, scored on an RBI double from Masyn Winn to give the Redbirds a 2-0 lead.
Winn and Jordan Walker posted two RBIs each in Wednesday's win. Winn delivered a pair of RBI doubles, the second of which extended his team's lead to three runs in the fifth frame. Then, Walker added two more insurance runs with a two-RBI single in the eighth inning.
Collectively, eight different players recorded at least one hit in the contest, helping lift the Cardinals to a three-way tie for second place in the National League Central Division.
Up next - St. Louis hits the road to face Washington (17-21) at Nationals Park, starting on Friday, May 9. First pitch of the three-game series is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.
