Albert Pujols his 19th home run of the season in the first inning off Pirates starter Dave Williams. It was pretty much all down hill for the Cardinals after that in an 11-7 loss.
The Pirates led 11-2 before St. Louis mounted a comeback that proved to be too little too late. Starter Matt Morris completed just three innings and allowed six runs on his watch. Three of them were earned, as Morris fell to 8-1 on the season. St. Louis’ defense, which is normally one of the best in the majors, committed three errors on Thursday night.
The Cardinals scored runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to cut the lead to 11-4. In the ninth they scored three times, but it wasn’t enough. Albert Pujols drove in one of three runs that inning and upped his RBI total to 61 on the season, which is third-best in the National League and fifth-best in the majors. The Cardinals have lost three in a row.
