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Pirates top Cards on sac fly in 10th

Jul 25, 2011 - 12:33 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Chase d'Arnaud scored Xavier Paul with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, as the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided a three-game sweep with a dramatic 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Paul manufactured the run, legging out an infield single with one down, then stealing second and advancing to third on catcher Gerald Laird's throwing error.

"There should have been two outs and nobody on," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. "He shouldn't of been on first base, but after that they made it happen."

Joe Beimel (1-1) was perfect in the top of the 10th and earned the win for the Pirates, who halted a three-game skid.

Jason Motte (3-2) surrendered the final run.

Colby Rasmus went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored but the Cardinals couldn't extend their win streak to four games.

The final run marked the Pirates' first lead of the day, as St. Louis jumped on top early in the back-and-forth contest.

After a scoreless opening frame, Rasmus and Skip Schumaker led off the second with consecutive singles to place runners on the corners and Laird's sac fly too center began the scoring.

After Eric Fryer began the home third with a single, Charlie Morton failed to advance him, striking out on a foul bunt. Instead, Fryer took things into his own hands, reaching second on a delayed steal and advancing to third as Laird's throw escaped into the outfield. He scored on d'Arnaud's double to left.

Daniel Descalso opened the fifth with a single. Kyle Lohse then struck out, but, with the hit and run on, Ryan Theriot aptly slapped a grounder behind Neil Walker, who was covering second, to place runners at the corners. Descalso then crossed the plate, giving the Cards a 2-1 lead, on Morton's wild pitch.

Jon Jay followed with a walk to place runners on first and second, but Morton retired Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman to escape further damage.

He atoned for the wild pitch a half-inning later, scoring Ronny Cedeno with a sac fly to deep center. Cedeno had reached with a leadoff double and advanced to third on Fryer's groundout.

Rasmus began the sixth with a homer to right, again vaulting the Cards to the top of the seesaw.

Schumaker followed with a single and advanced to second on Laird's sac bunt. Morton's day ended after unleashing another wild pitch, this time on ball four to Descalso, which placed runners at the corners.

Jason Grilli entered and retired Tony Cruz -- who was pinch-hitting for Lohse -- and Theriot to avoid further damage.

In all, Morton was charged with three runs on six hits and five walks over 5 1/3, while Lohse allowed two runs on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

Grilli's contribution paid dividends in the seventh, when Cedeno again led off with a double, advanced to third on Fryer's single and scored on Steve Pearce's double play groundout, setting the stage for d'Arnaud and Paul's heroics.

"Our bullpen was lights out again," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "Charlie gave us a stable outing and we just kept grinding. It was a very gritty performance by our club today."

Game Notes

The Cardinals stranded 11 and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position...The Pirates are 25-16 against teams from the NL Central this season...Lohse has not won a game since June 28.