Dylan Carlson drilled a three-run homer to cap a six-run outburst in the sixth inning against the mistake-prone Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, helping lift St. Louis to a 7-2 victory and a doubleheader sweep.
Three Pittsburgh errors — a catcher’s interference call against Jacob Stallings, rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes’ wayward throw home and first baseman Josh Bell’s flip to second that ended up in left field — allowed the Cardinals to erase a one-run deficit. Carlson’s second home run of the year provided St. Louis breathing room.
The Cardinals took the opener 6-5 behind home runs from Kolten Wong and Tyler O’Neill and just enough pitching to overcome four errors.
The Cardinals and Reds are tied for second place in the NL Central,
5 1/2 games behind first place Chicago, fourth place Milwaukee 6 1/2 out.
The Cardinals placed RHP Dakota Hudson on the 10-day injured list with a strained right forearm. Hudson left his start on Thursday night after two innings due to what he described as discomfort in his right arm.
Cardinals: Rookie pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim (2-0, 0.63 ERA) will take a 14-inning scoreless streak into Saturday’s game, 5:10 with the pregame, first pitch 6:05 on KIRX.