St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Match Player Stats On Aug 04, 2018

Jedd Gyorko and Jose Martinez each hit two doubles and combined for four RBIs and Matt Carpenter homered Saturday as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals downed the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4.

The Cardinals broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, all against reliever Alex McRae (0-1), making his second major league appearance.

David Freese homered and Adam Frazier hit a two-run double for the Pirates.

The teams have split the first two games of the series and have identical 57-54 records, tied for third in the National League Central.

Each starter only lasted four innings and allowed four runs.

Rookie left-hander Austin Gomber, in his second major league start for St. Louis, allowed seven hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.

Dakota Hudson (2-0) pitched three spotless innings.

Pittsburgh right-hander Ivan Nova allowed eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Freese gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead with his eighth homer, to left, leading off the second.

The Cardinals produced a three-run third. With two outs, Martinez - a last-minute starter because Tyler O'Neill had groin discomfort -- doubled in Carpenter, who led off with a walk, for his 63rd RBI. Gyorko followed with a two-run double, bringing home Yadier Molina, who had singled, and Martinez to make it 3-1.

Molina's RBI single in the fourth upped the Cardinals' lead to 4-1.

Pittsburgh pulled even in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and Francisco Cervelli at third, Jordy Mercer dropped a base hit in shallow left to make it 4-2. After pinch-hitter Jose Osuna singled, Frazier doubled to left-center for a 4-4 tie.

St. Louis snagged the lead back in the fifth, 6-4, on back-to-back doubles by Martinez and Gyorko, a single by Kolten Wong and Harrison Bader's RBI groundout.

Wong added a bases-loaded, two-out RBI infield single in the sixth to make it 7-4.

Carpenter tied his career high with his 28th homer, a two-out shot in the ninth, to make it 8-4.

--Field Level Media