PITTSBURGH (AP) -Jason Bay’s two-run single in the sixth inning off Wandy Rodriguez gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-3 victory Thursday over Houston and their second three-game sweep of the Astros this season.
Barely 12 hours after the Astros left 18 runners on base during a 4-3, 16-inning loss to the Pirates, they stranded 13 and played sloppily in the field with two errors during Pittsburgh’s go-ahead sixth inning against Rodriguez (0-3).
Houston pushed across two runs in the ninth but John Grabow got Adam Everett to ground into a forceout at second with the bases loaded to end the game. It was Grabow’s first save since 2004.
The Pirates are 6-0 against the Astros this season after going 3-13 last season and have swept successive series for the first time since 1979 – when Astros manager Phil Garner was the third baseman on Pittsburgh’s World Series-winning team. Pittsburgh swept a season-opening series in Houston from April 2-4.
Jonah Bayliss (2-1) got the victory by pitching two scoreless innings.
The Pirates scored three runs in the eighth when pinch-hitter Xavier Nady was hit by reliever Chad Qualls’ pitch with the bases loaded and Ryan Doumit, recalled from the minors earlier in the day, added a two-run single.
Cardinals 7, Reds 5
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Skip Schumaker had a career-best three hits and two RBIs to help the Cardinals rally for the win.
Adam Kennedy’s second double of the game snapped a sixth-inning tie for the Cardinals, who won consecutive home games for the first time this season. St. Louis is 3-7 overall at Busch Stadium.
Kyle Lohse (1-1) allowed five runs and 11 hits in six innings for Cincinnati, which is 3-7 in its last 10. Brandon Phillips and David Ross homered.
Russ Springer (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning to get the win and Jason Isringhausen got three outs for his sixth save in seven chances.
The game was delayed for 49 minutes with one out in the ninth because of rain. When it resumed, Isringhausen got Josh Hamilton to ground out and struck out Juan Castro to end it.
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