The St. Louis Cardinals opened their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 4-3 win Monday night. The Cards' victory creates some more distance between the two teams in the NL Wild Card race -- St. Louis has the second wild card spot, with Pittsburgh three games back.
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, with Andrew McCutchen hitting an RBI-single and Josh Harrison adding a sac fly. The Cardinals tied it in the fifth after Skip Schumaker doubled in a run and then scored on a Kyle Lohse single.
St. Louis took a 4-2 lead in the sixth after a Matt Holliday solo home run and a Yadier Molina sac fly.
Clint Barmes made it 4-3 with an RBI-double in the seventh, but that was the closest Pittsburgh would get.
Lohse (14-2) pitched five innings, gave up five hits and two runs and struck out three in the win. Jason Motte earned his 31st save of the season.
A.J. Burnett pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Pirates, gave up seven hits and four runs (three earned) and struck out three.
Game 2 is set for Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. CT at PNC Park.
Be sure to head over to Viva El Birdos for more Cardinals coverage, and check out Bucs Dugout for more on the Pirates. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.