The St. Louis Cardinals were shut out by the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-0, on Wednesday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Pirates pitcher Wandy Rodriguez pitched six scoreless innings and held the Cardinals to just three hits in his start.
The result shortens the Cardinals' (71-59) lead over Pittsburgh (70-60) to just one game. While battling for second place in the NL Central, both teams are also in a wild-card battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Most of Pittsburgh's runs came in the third inning, when third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer to right field off Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly. The homer was the 26th of the season for Alvarez, who upped his RBI total to 70 on the blast.
Kelly's night was over in five innings after giving up a double to Alvarez in the fifth, who was then knocked home by Josh Harrison. His rough outing resulted in five runs on eight hits, while surrendering three walks.
The Cardinals finished with five hits on the night, two each from David Freese and Tony Cruz. Cruz was playing for the injured Yadier Molina, who was hurt in a collision at the plate last night.
The Cardinals move on to a four-game series in Washington D.C. against the Nationals.
For more on the Cardinals, check out Viva el Birdos.