Seven hits, a walk and fielders choice in the fifth inning upended any chance of a late Cardinals rally coming to fruition, as the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out St Louis in a 7-0 drubbing Monday, June 30 at PNC Park.

The Cardinals fell into a hole in the first when Spencer Horwitz hit his second home run of the season. After four scoreless frames that saw the Cardinals held without a hit, the wheels came off starter Erich Fedde, who allowed six runs in the fifth inning. Two leadoff singles gave way to a Horwitz double. A fielders choice provided the first out, but Pittsburgh would not relent, claiming another single and RBI double. Fedde issued an intentional walk, only for the next two batters to claim RBI singles to make the score 7-0. A double play ended the inning, but Pittsburgh had more than enough run support to allow just four hits to the Cardinals the rest of the game.

Fedde was charged with all seven runs on ten hits across five innings for his eighth loss of the season, also allowing three walks. Andrew Heaney punched seven Redbirds out in his 6.2 innings while allowing a walk in the first inning along with three hits for his fourth win of the year.

Despite the loss, St Louis remains a game ahead of the Padres for the third wild card spot. At 47-39, the Cardinals are three games behind the Cubs for the NL Central lead. The Cardinals should have a chance to rebound Tuesday when Pirates phenom Paul Skenes takes the mound against the Cardinals’ Andre Pallante. The Redbirds have been a thorn in the ace’s side, as two of Skenes’ seven losses this season have come at the hands of the Cardinals, and the Cardinals also handed a pair of losses to Skenes last season. First pitch Tuesday evening is at 5:40 p.m.