The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-8 last night at PNC Park. Pirates starter Jordan Lyles allowed eight runs in 1-2/3rds innings. He is now 0-6 with a 9.58 ERA in his last six starts. The Cardinals tied a major league record with eight extra-base hits in the second inning. The game was so out of hand late, that the Pirates used first baseman Jose Osuna and catcher Jacob Stallings for a total of three innings.
Starling Marte had four hits, including three doubles. Corey Dickerson scored four times for the Bucs.
The Cardinals have now taken the first three games of the four-game series, which wraps up this afternoon at 12:35pm.
The Cardinals remain a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central after the Cubs defeated San Francisco 4-1 Wednesday. The Pirates have slipped to 8-1/2 back. The Bucs are now eight games out of the Wild Card race.
Reliever Keone Kela returned from the injured list and a two-game suspension to throw a scoreless inning. They placed Clay Holmes on the 10-day injured list with arm inflammation to make room for Kela.