PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in his major league debut to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Kingham, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, retired 20 straight batters before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. He finished with one hit and nine strikeouts on 98 pitches (72 strikes) after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day. Elias Diaz went 3-for-4 with three singles and two RBIs as the Pirates won their fifth straight game and completed a three-game sweep of the Cardinals.

Right-hander Luke Weaver (2-2) took the loss after allowing four runs runs on six hits with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He pitched five scoreless before walking the bases loaded with one out in the sixth.
UP NEXT:
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (4-1, 3.62) will attempt to extend his winning streak to five games when he takes the mound against the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. Wacha has won four straight starts since last losing on March 31, when he allowed four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings against the New York Mets.