Pittsburgh, PA (My Sportsbook) - Nate McLouth went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and finished with two runs driven in and three scored, as the
Pittsburgh Pirates completed their first three-game sweep of the
St. Louis Cardinals since August 11-13 of 2006 with a 7-2 victory.
Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with three RBI and scored once for the Pirates, who have pulled off the sweep on the heels of a six-game skid. Brandon Moss also finished with two RBI in the win. Starter Jason Davis lasted just three innings and was touched for a run on three hits in the no-decision. T.J. Beam (2-1) took the win after hurling three innings of one-run ball.
"You want to win every game no matter who you're playing, but when you can match their intensity and what they bring to the (pennant) race, it's kind of nice to do that," McLouth said.
Skip Schumaker and Aaron Miles both drove in a run for the Cardinals, who have let five straight games slip away. Brad Thompson (5-3) took the loss after surrendering six runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings of work.
"It's one of those things, we ran into a team right now that's hotter than us," Thompson said.
Pittsburgh broke the scoreless tie in the first inning. Freddy Sanchez led off with a single and Luis Cruz was plunked before McLouth lined an RBI single to left field. LaRoche and Moss followed with back-to-back RBI singles, and the Bucs held a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates put up another three-spot in the second inning. Cruz stroked a two-out double to right field, McLouth walked and LaRoche belted a two-run double to right. Moss closed out the scoring with an RBI single to left, making it 6-0.
The Cardinals got on the board in the third stanza. Thompson led off with a walk and stole second base. Brendan Ryan's groundout moved the runner to third and Schumaker's RBI single made it 6-1.
Miles' RBI single off Beam in the fourth made it a four-run game, but McLouth smacked a solo homer off Randy Flores in the home half to make it difference at 7-2.
Game Notes
Pittsburgh earned its first sweep since taking all three meetings against Houston from July 21-23...Pittsburgh has won 10 of 17 matchups in the series this season.
