Pirates beat Cardinals, 7-1

ST. LOUIS Eighty-seven pitches in, Gerrit Cole strode to the plate in the seventh inning. Sean Rodriguez stood at second base with two outs. In a game devoid of runs and a possible insurance run in scoring position, manager Clint Hurdle opted to stick with Cole, who after a rocky first inning had settled in for six scoreless.

Cole hit John Lackey’s first-pitch fastball into center field to drive in a run. Cole’s performance to that point and what he did afterward validated Hurdle’s decision to let him hit.

Cole pitched seven scoreless innings, the Pirates hit three homers and they beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-1, to win the series at Busch Stadium. The Pirates (81-54) pulled within 5 1/2 games of the first-place Cardinals in the National League Central with one month and three head-to-head games remaining in the season.

Aramis Ramirez homered in the eighth, his fourth home run in seven games. Sean Rodriguez, who went 6 for 7 in the series, followed with a two-run homer of Steve Cishek. Starling Marte hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Tyler Lyons.

Cole (16-8) improved as the outing progressed. He hit 100 mph in his seventh and final inning and the only two hits he allowed were soft singles. But his curveball, a pitch he has thrown more frequently in the second half of the season, played well Sunday, starting in the third inning. Five of his seven strikeouts came swinging at curveballs.

Cole also somehow overcame an exploding rosin bag in the middle of the seventh inning, an occurrence that once happened to A.J. Burnett as well.

Cole lacked command early in the game. He yanked his four-seam fastball, missed Francisco Cervelli’s target and walked two batters in the first inning. With a full count and two outs, Yadier Molina hit a hard liner to center, but Andrew McCutchen got there in time to preserve a scoreless inning.

After a clean second, Cole walked Lackey to start the third. Then he began to improve: He found his curveball, striking out Carpenter and Stephen Piscotty with it and getting ahead of Jhonny Peralta with a first-pitch curve.

Despite walking three batters in the first three innings, Cole did not allow a hit until the fifth, when Jon Jay hit a soft single into center field. Carpenter’s broken-bat single put runners on the corners with two outs, but Stephen Piscotty grounded into a fielder’s choice.

After adding a run on offense and calling for a new rosin bag, Cole struck out two batters in his seventh and final inning.

Beginning June 15, Lackey (11-9) had pitched at least six innings in 15 consecutive starts. During that streak, he had a 2.25 ERA.

“I think he’s shown you the fact that he’s going to throw strikes,” manager Clint Hurdle said before the game. “And he’s going to command the ball and he does it with three pitches.”

Lackey pitched well, and again pitched deep, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Four hits and a walk resulted in only one run for the Pirates in the fourth. Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte singled, but McCutchen grounded into a double play. Aramis Ramirez walked to extend the inning and bring up Neil Walker, who singled to right field and drove home a run.

Pedro Alvarez hit a one-out double in the seventh and Rodriguez pinch-ran for him before Cole’s single extended the Pirates’ lead to 2-0.

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