ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright relished the chance to stop a skid.
The Cardinals’ ace worked seven effective innings to help St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 5-1 on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep and end the Pirates’ season-best seven-game winning streak.
“Today, I really wanted to push it as long as I possibly could,” Wainwright said. “I was having fun mixing and matching and mixing my delivery speed. I was pitching out there, that’s how I did it in 2014.”
Wainwright (8-5) was a 20-game winner two years ago, but missed most of last season with a torn left Achilles. He is rediscovering his form now, lowering his ERA to 4.49.
“He’s been a master craftsman for years,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. “He was on top of his game.”
Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run home run and Randal Grichuk also went deep for St. Louis, which reclaimed second place in the NL Central by a half-game over Pittsburgh to end a rough 4-5 homestand. All-Star Matt Carpenter (oblique) joined Brandon Moss (ankle) and Brayan Pena (knee) on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day.