Cardinals 1 - 3 Pirates
Final
  for this game

Locke'd in: Bucs down Cards behind lefty

Aug 28, 2014 - 12:06 AM Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeff Locke allowed just one run over 7 1/3 innings and added a pair of base hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1, at PNC Park.

Locke (6-3) scattered six hits, struck out three and walked one on the mound, improving to 4-0 in his last five starts.

Ike Davis added a mammoth two-run homer for the Pirates, who won the final two tests of this three-game set to draw closer to the NL Wild Card-leading Cardinals.

Russell Martin added two hits and Andrew McCutchen drove in a run for Pittsburgh, which drew within 2 1/2 games of the Cardinals and also inched closer to the San Francisco Giants, the leader for the second wild card.

St. Louis starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (15-9) was tagged with the loss, failing for a second straight start to become the first pitcher to 16 wins in the majors this season. The right-hander was charged with three runs on eight hits, striking out five and walking one, over six frames.

"The guy's a warrior," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Wainwright. "It's too bad we couldn't give him a little more run support."

Matt Holliday homered and Daniel Descalso had a pair of hits to lead the Cardinals, who have dropped four of six.

Davis got the Pirates going with his two-run homer in the second inning that traveled an estimated 433 feet.

The Cards got a run back in the third when Holliday hit a solo homer, but the Pirates regained the two-run edge when Locke singled and later scored on Andrew McCutchen's sac fly in the third.

Locke was locked in after the two-out solo homer by Holliday, retiring 13 of the next 15 batters he faced before Matt Carpenter led off the eighth inning with a walk. After Locke got Randal Grichuk to fly out to left, he was lifted in favor of reliever Tony Watson, who got out of the inning by striking out Holliday and getting Matt Adams to ground out to second.

Mark Melancon worked around a lead-off hit in the ninth by Jhonny Peralta to pick up his 24th save of the season.

"We have a lot of grit," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle about his team's constant effort. "We aren't a perfect team. I'm not a perfect manager, but we are going to show up and play."

Game Notes

This was the first two-hit game for Locke in his career ... Pirates outfielder Travis Snider left the game with hamstring discomfort. He will undergo treatment and be re-evaluated on Thursday ... Wainwright has allowed three or more runs in four straight starts ... Holliday, who has a nine-game hitting streak, has 13 HR's this season ... Davis hit his 10th homer of the year ... Josh Harrison had two hits for the Pirates ... Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez missed the game after leaving Wednesday's contest with a foot injury.






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