ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Adam Wainwright was not overly
disappointed with his stuff. Just the
results.
"Really, I didn't have a whole lot of
trouble with anything," Wainwright said after getting knocked out in the
sixth inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 14-5 loss to the Pittsburgh
Pirates on Friday night. "But the times I missed, they hit
them.
"I was locating pretty well most of the time,"
Wainwright added.
Clint Barmes, pinch-hitter Alex
Presley and Garrett Jones each homered in a four-run sixth inning that
snapped a tie, the first two off Wainwright. The right-hander, who threw
the game's first pitch in 101-degree heat, refused to use the
conditions as an excuse.
"I was able to keep cool
between innings, I felt like I was refreshed when I went back out there
each time," Wainwright said. "Tonight was just one of those horrible
nights when I didn't make pitches when I needed
to."
Manager Mike Matheny was torn about taking
Wainwright out in the sixth.
"He had given up a few
hits, but I still thought his stuff was pretty sharp," Matheny said.
"I'd liked to have ridden him out awhile but he was up in his pitch
count, he was stacking them up pretty quick, and it was a hot
night."
The Pirates piled on with against the St.
Louis bullpen, scoring seven run on eight hits with four walks in four
innings. Fernando Salas has allowed at least one run in his last four
appearances.
Andrew McCutchen had four of the
Pirates' season-high 19 hits, the last a three-run homer off Marc
Rzepczynski in the ninth. McCutchen also robbed Allen Craig of a third
extra-base hit with a running catch near the center field wall in the
fifth.
The Pirates have 38 homers this month, one off
the franchise record set in 1975, and the run total was the franchise's
best since they also scored 14 on Aug. 31, 2010, at the Chicago
Cubs.
Carlos Beltran got his 2,000th career hit on an
RBI single in the third against Kevin Correia (4-6), also his
NL-leading 60th RBI of the season and giving him an RBI in seven
consecutive games. Craig hit a three-run homer and doubled. He is a
career .394 hitter (26 for 66) against the Pirates with four homers and
14 RBIs.
"Carlos has been fantastic all season for
us, doing everything right," Matheny said. "It was a great honor. Not a
lot of people with that many hits."
Pittsburgh won
its third straight after entering the night one game back of Cincinnati
for the NL Central lead and a half-game ahead of the Cardinals. The
Pirates, who have homered in a season-best seven straight games, can
match their longest winning streak of the year on Saturday with Jeff
Karstens opposing Cardinals 10-game winner Lance
Lynn.
"They're one of the best offensive teams this
month, and we got an up-close look at them today," Matheny said. "They
took advantage of our mistakes."
The Pirates had a
pair of big two-out hits earlier, Walker's two-run single in the first
and a bases-clearing double by Pedro Alvarez that tied it at 5 in the
fifth. They homered in consecutive at-bats for the second straight game
when Barmes and Presley connected to start the sixth and chase
Wainwright (6-8).
Correia was lifted after 90 pitches
and five innings, with the temperature down only to 96 degrees. He has
surrendered 13 homers in his last 11 starts after giving up just one in
his first four outings.
Reliever Brad Lincoln allowed
one hit in three scoreless innings and struck out four in a row in the
seventh and eighth.
Craig provided much of the
Cardinals' early offense. He doubled and scored on David Freese's
groundout in the second and his 10th homer came the next at-bat after
Beltran's 2,000th hit, had given them a 5-2
cushion.
Wainwright struck out seven, fanning leadoff
man Drew Sutton twice. He didn't allow a homer his previous four
outings and pitched seven innings each of his previous three
starts.
Two weeks ago, the 35-year-old Beltran became
the first switch hitter in major league history to accumulate 300
homers and 300 stolen bases.
"He found a hole,"
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's found holes 2,000 times
now."
NOTES: Cardinals 3B coach
Jose Oquendo missed the game due to illness. Chris Maloney moved from 1B
to 3B and John Mabry filled in at first base. ... The gametime start
was the hottest in St. Louis since it was also 101 degrees on Aug. 2,
2006, against the Phillies, according to information provided by the
Cardinals from the Elias Sports Bureau. ... The Pirates have hit
back-to-back homers four times, including Casey McGehee and Alvarez off
the Phillies' Kyle Kendrick in the second inning Thursday. Cardinals
pitchers have allowed consecutive homers the last two games, with the
Marlins' John Buck and pinch hitter Logan Morrison connecting off
Fernando Salas in the seventh inning Wednesday.... Pirates C Rod Barajas
returned to the lineup after missing time with a left knee bone bruise
on Monday and was 0 for 4. ... Matt Holliday had two singles and is
batting .489 (23 for 47) with two homers, 12 RBIs and eight doubles. ...
McCutchen is a career .429 hitter (9 for 21) against
Wainwright.
