Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk homered, and the surging St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with an 8-3 victory Sunday.
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Liriano also lost to the Cardinals for just the third time in 10 career decisions.
St. Louis chased Niese in the sixth when it scored four times for an 8-2 edge before there was an out.
Brandon Belt slugged a two-run homer to give the San Francisco Giants a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Will the St. Louis Cardinals be able to pick up another win over the Pittsburgh Pirates when they meet at 7:15PM ET?
“I thought this was one of the better days I’ve felt pitching, but that’s how this game goes sometimes”, said Niese, who won his previous three decisions and hadn’t lost since May 9. “We need that well-rounded, all-those-pieces-together, and I think we’re seeing a little more of that, which should then set the template for what kind of team we can be”.
“We have to make sure we keep (Stewart) in a competitive place where we can keep his energy strong”, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.
The homer was the 11 this season for Holliday and gave him 147 for his Cardinals career, putting ahead of Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter and into 12 place. “Had a good mix of pitches throughout the game”. Molina singled to score Piscotty and Peralta came home, too, when left fielder Starling Marte’s throw home sailed past catcher Erik Kratz and into the Cardinals’ dugout.
“A couple innings there snowballed on me, and that was the difference”, Niese said. He is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his last five starts.
Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter is out of the lineup again Sunday with a sprained joint in the middle finger of his right hand. RHP Gerrit Cole (strained right triceps) underwent an MRI exam on Saturday after leaving Friday night in the third inning. C Eric Kratz started for the Pirates, but C Chris Stewart was available off the bench.
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He was about to hit for the first time when he was pulled from his game with Triple-A Salt Lake in Fresno, California at about 10:30 p.m. Eastern Friday night. He’ll carry a disappointing 4.60 ERA and 1.45 WHIP into Saturday’s start against the Cubs in Chicago. They will travel to NY to face the Mets from Tuesday through Thursday after taking two of three from the defending NL champions at PNC Park last week.
