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Martinez goes 8 strong, Cardinals edge Pirates 4-3

Sports

August 12th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Martinez was strongest at the end of his eight innings and Jason Heyward had two hits and two RBIs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals edge the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the National League’s top two teams.

Yadier Molina tied it with a sacrifice fly and rookie Stephen Piscotty singled in the go-ahead run on consecutive at-bats off Jeff Locke (6-7) in the fifth inning. Kolten Wong singled twice for his first multihit game of the month and Piscotty had three hits.

Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the ninth for his 34th save in 36 chances. The Cardinals lead the Pirates by six games in the NL Central and are 6-5 in the season series with seven of the games decided by one run and five in the final at-bat.

St. Louis is 72-40 overall, at 32 over .500 it matches the season’s high water mark, and 41-16 at home — both major league bests.