Cards clobber Pirates for sweep

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS

Back home where no pitcher has been better this season, Adam Wainwright was aces again.

Wainwright stayed unbeaten at Busch Stadium with seven strong innings and he knocked in the go-ahead run for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 9-1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Albert Pujols hit his 25th homer, a two-run shot that capped a five-run fifth inning.

Wainwright (15-6), coming off one of his worst outings of the season, allowed one earned run and six hits.

“It was a head-scratcher,” he said of the loss to the New York Mets in which he allowed six runs in five innings. “You’ve just got to forget about it and move on.”

He struck out five and did not walk a batter, while improving to 11-0 at home with a 1.22 ERA, both major league bests.

St. Louis infielder Aaron Miles, who had two hits and three RBI, felt certain Wainwright would bounce back.

“You don’t expect two outings in a row like that from him,” Miles said. “Obviously, we were expecting regular Adam on the mound today.”

“He is who he is because he’s that good.”

St. Louis broke a 1-1 tie with a fifth-inning rally against Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke (5-10), who gave up six earned runs in five innings.

The Cardinals outscored Pittsburgh 21-2 in sweeping the three-game series. St. Louis has won 11 of 12 at home.

Wainwright retired 10 in a row at one point and lowered his ERA to 2.19. He improved to 7-2 against Pittsburgh and helped himself out with his bat.

The Pirates, who have lost eight of the their last 10, have scored just two runs in their last 29 innings.

“I thought the guys had some pretty decent at-bats,” said Pittsburgh manager John Russell.