Pirates pound Cardinals 7-1 to tie up NLDS
10/4/2013ST. LOUIS -- The Pittsburgh Pirates gave the St Louis Cardinals a taste of their own medicine with an emphatic 7-1 victory today to level their best-of-five National League Division Series at 1-1.
Pittsburgh starting pitcher Gerrit Cole and his hard-hitting team mates helped the Pirates pay back their 9-1 drubbing in Thursday's opener, by shutting down the top-seeded Cardinals on just four hits while banging out 10 of their own.
Cole, who yielded just two hits in six innings, helped his own cause with a sharply-hit single up the middle in the second inning to drive in Pedro Alvarez with the first run of the game.
Alvarez who had doubled in the second inning, had a more leisurely tour around the bases in the third when he ripped a line-drive shot over the center-field fence for a two-run homer off Cardinals starter and loser Lance Lynn and a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates added two more runs in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd, and an RBI single by Russell Martin, while Starling Marte added another home run in the eighth.
St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina homered in the fifth inning to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard.
The series shifts to Pittsburgh for the next two games with Game 3 scheduled for Sunday.