The Pittsburgh Pirates have had the lead against the St. Louis Cardinals in all four games they have played at Busch Stadium this season. They are 0-4.
The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth inning Tuesday night to take a 4-3 come-from-behind victory in a game between the National League's top two teams.
Jeff Locke (6-7) walked the first two batters in the fifth and the Cardinals took advantage with an RBI single by Jason Heyward, a sacrifice fly by Yadier Molina and a two-out go-ahead RBI single by rookie Stephen Piscotty, who had three hits.
"The walks," Locke said. "You try not to give a team like this extra opportunities. They're where they are in this season for a reason. They're a very disciplined offence and do a very good job of the little things."
With Pittsburgh leading 3-1, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte led off the fifth with singles but Andrew McCutchen hit into a double play and Amaris Ramirez lined out to left.
"The fifth inning, the top and the bottom, really tilted it," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We had a chance to stretch it out. Just a bad inning all around for us."
Pedro Alvarez homered on a drive estimated at 446 feet that put the Pirates up 3-1 in the fourth. Ramirez's third-inning single earned his 145th career RBI against St. Louis, most against the Cardinals among active players, and Polanco had three hits.
The Cardinals lead the Pirates by six games in the NL Central and are 6-5 in the season series with seven of the games decided by one run. The Pirates' 24-15 record in one-run games is the best in the majors but they are 0-4 in St. Louis.
"I don't have a reason for it," Hurdle said. "The numbers that we're upside down on they're playing better than us."
Grudgingly, the Pirates were impressed.
"These guys are where they're at because they play good solid baseball every night," Locke said. "Very similar to the way we play every night. That's our motto here, one more than the other team. Tonight, they reversed that on us."
CLOSE CALL
Pirates reliever Jared Hughes stayed in the game after deflecting a line drive by Piscotty with his glove that glanced off his cheek in the eighth. "I didn't see it. It grazed my cheek," Hughes said. "I'll never watch that replay."
SCHOOL DAYS
The opener drew a paid attendance of 41,273, an impressive number until you consider it's the Cardinals' lowest-paid gate in 24 games since the Minnesota Twins attracted 41,203 on June 16. School begins this week for many area schools.
GAME OF INCHES
Heyward beat out the relay for an RBI groundout after the Cardinals appealed and got a double-play call overturned in the first. He mistimed his leap on Polanco's drive off the top of the wall in right field on a leadoff triple in the third.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: 3B Josh Harrison (broken left thumb) and SS Jordy Mercer (left knee MCL sprain) began rehab assignments Tuesday at Triple-A Indianapolis. Hurdle is hopeful both will rejoin the team "considerably before Sept. 1," but didn't need either to rush it.
"You need to have a feel and you need to be ready to go," he added.
Cardinals: OF Jon Jay (wrist) and 1B Matt Adams (quad) are taking swings but are not close to rehab assignments. GM John Mozeliak debunked the notion RHP Adam Wainwright (Achilles) could return this season.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.