Lance Lynn keeps Pirates' bats quiet in 3-1 win for Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn threw six strong innings in his 100th appearance at Busch Stadium, Jordan Walker homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Lynn (7-4) allowed one run on four hits and struck out five. Lynn is 9-0 over his last 21 starts at Busch, where he pitched for the Cardinals from 2011-17 before rejoining St. Louis this season. His last loss in the Cardinals' ballpark came on July 4, 2017, against Miami.

The Cardinals (76-75) are seven games out of the final NL wild card spot with 11 games remaining.

Bryan De La Cruz hit his 20th homer of the season, taking Lynn deep in the second inning. De La Cruz’s drive to the left-center bleachers traveled 431 feet and was his second for Pittsburgh after being acquired from Miami.

Ryan Fernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning, and Matthew Liberatore retired three straight batters after surrendering a double to Nick Gonzales and a single to Bryan Reynolds to lead off the eighth.

Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth for his NL-leading 45th save in 49 chances.

Bailey Falter (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. Nick Yorke got his first career hit, a single in the fifth, and finished 3 for 4 for the Pirates after making his major league debut a night earlier.

Pittsburgh lost for the fourth time in five games.

Luken Baker had an RBI triple for the Cardinals in the third, and Walker put St. Louis ahead 2-1 in the fourth when he hit a 3-2 pitch from Falter into the left-field bleachers. Walker has four homers this season, all since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Aug. 30.

Nolan Arenado had a sacrifice fly in the eighth for St. Louis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: CF Oneil Cruz (left ankle discomfort) was held out of the starting lineup for a second straight game. He entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and struck out. ... RHP Kyle Nicolas was still feeling upper back soreness after departing Monday night’s game after facing just one batter, manager Derek Shelton said.

UP NEXT

RHP Sonny Gray (13-9, 3.75 ERA) was set to start for the Cardinals Wednesday night in the third game of the four-game series. The Pirates had not named a starter.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb