ST. LOUIS — Nolan Arenado homered for the Cardinals Tuesday. It seems he does this almost nightly lately and, in fact, he has homered in each of the past four games, all at night.
Edmundo Sosa had two hits Tuesday, one of them a double and drove in a run. He never had done any of these things in the major leagues as a spot player for the Cardinals. Kept on the roster because he was out of options, for one reason, Sosa made only his fourth start in the eighth week of the season.
He opened at shortstop for injured Paul DeJong (rib fracture) and there’s a good chance he’ll replicate that role on Wednesday night. Sosa’s single helped set up a two-run second inning and his double knocked in another in the third inning of a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates before the largest paid home crowd of the season at 14,005,
And starter John Gant, who had walked 27 in 34 1/3 innings, broke the recent mold in which the Cardinals had walked 26 hitters in 24 innings in San Diego. Gant passed no one through five innings and walked only one in 5 1/3 innings before coming out of the game after knocking down with his gloved hand a Will Craig liner headed through the box.
Gant recovered quickly and got a forceout at third before he was lifted for left-hander Genesis Cabrera, who allowed both of Gant’s inherited runners to score.
Arenado’s two-run homer in the first made him just the fifth Cardinals third baseman and the first since Scott Rolen, on Sept. 17-20, 2002, to homer in four consecutive games. Rolen also was in his first season with the Cardinals. Arenado is hitting .438 against the Pirates in four games this season.
Dylan Carlson, who had walked on a full-count pitch ahead of Arenado’s homer, assisted on the other side of the ball in the Pirates’ second. First, Carlson ranged toward the foul line to haul in Erik Gonzalez’s fly ball with a runner at first. Then, Carlson retreated to the right-field fence to flag down Ka’ai Tom’s extra-base bid before banging into the wall as he clutched the third out.
Gant helped himself at bat in the Cardinals’ second. After Harrison Bader, displaying his new keen batting eye, drew a leadoff walk, Sosa singled to left with one out. Gant sacrificed the runners to third and second and Tommy Edman, 0 for 13, dropped a single among three Pittsburgh defenders in short left to plate both Bader and Sosa for a 4-0 lead.
The RBIs for Edman were his first since April 27.
Arenado walked and Yadier Molina singled to start the third but the the Cardinals’ next two hitters made outs. Sosa, who had entered the game 2 for 14 for the season and 4 for 24 for his career, then collected his first extra-base hit with a double to right off JT Brubaker.
A double by Kevin Newman and a 3-2 walk to Bryan Reynolds put Gant into some trouble in the sixth. After the right-hander departed, left-hander Cabrera threw a wild pitch and allowed a base hit to go off his glove as the Pirates scored twice.
Giovanny Gallegos, a standout setup man this season for the Cardinals, ripped through the seventh and eighth innings, striking out three in two perfect frames. The right-hander, acquired from the New York Yankees in the Luke Voit trade, has struck out 28, walked only five and given up just 11 hits in 25 1/3 innings.
Alex Reyes, who hasn't missed a save chance this season, posted his 12th in 12 tries. Reyes has allowed only one run in 22 innings although he did issue his 20th walk along the way. But he also has 28 strikeouts.
