The game was decided before most fans had settled into their seats. St. Louis jumped on Paul Skenes for three first-inning runs and cruised to a 10-5 victory over Pittsburgh at PNC Park, extending their winning streak to three games.
Jordan Walker provided the early fireworks with a two-run homer in the first inning, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and nine home runs this season. Alec Burleson matched Walker's production with a 3-for-5 performance and three RBIs, including key singles in the third and eighth innings that extended St. Louis leads.
The Cardinals struck immediately when Wetherholt homered to right field, then Walker followed with his two-run blast to left that scored Herrera. Burleson's RBI single in the third made it 4-0, and his two-run single in the eighth helped seal the victory after Pittsburgh had cut the deficit to one run.
Skenes absorbed the loss despite striking out nine batters over five innings, allowing 5 runs on eight hits with a 3.18 ERA. Gordon Graceffo earned the win for St. Louis with 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, improving to 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA.
St. Louis improved to 17-13 and sits third in their division, while Pittsburgh fell to 16-15 and extended their losing streak to four games. Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs for the Pirates, moving within seven hits of 1,000 for his career.