JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker belted first-inning home runs off Paul Skenes, but the St Louis Cardinals needed an eighth-inning outburst to put away Pittsburgh 10-5 on Thursday, Apr. 30 at PNC Park, securing a four-game sweep of their division foes.

Wetherholt needed just three pitches to go yard, sending his solo shot 391 feet over the right field fence. Three batters later, Walker delivered his ninth home run of the year to make it a 3-0 game. The Cardinals added another run in the third with a Nolan Gorman single, and Alec Burleson tacked on an RBI single in the fifth. The Pirates received their first run in the fourth with a bases-loaded four-pitch walk to Spencer Horwitz. Pittsburgh made it close when Bryan Reynolds doubled home two runs in the fifth, and Brandon Lowe closed the gap to one in the seventh with a solo home run.

St Louis would snuff out the comeback effort and secure the sweep with five runs in the eighth. Nathan Church doubled in Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn, then came home on a Burleson single with two outs. That single also scored Victor Scott II. Walker added another RBI to cap the inning. Pittsburgh would claim a final run in the ninth by way of a double by Brandon Lowe and throwing error by Walker.

Despite striking out nine, Skenes would take the L and exit after the fifth, allowing five runs (one unearned) on eight hits. The win went to Gordon Graceffo, who retired all four batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings to become the pitcher of record. Starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins went 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and five walks, while striking out four.

The Cardinals are now 18-13, two games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central ahead of the rest of Thursday’s action.  The Redbirds return home Friday night for the start of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Matthew Liberatore will go against Emmet Sheehan. First pitch is at 7:15 p.m.