St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez slams his bat to the ground after striking out against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on September 30, 2016. St. Louis won the game 7-0. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Carlos Martinez pitched seven shutout innings, Jedd Gyorko hit his 29th homer, Brandon Moss homered to break out of a big slump for his 28th of the season and Matt Holliday went deep in a memorable at-bat as the St. Louis Cardinals stayed in the middle of the NL wild-card race with a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Holliday hit a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning in what could have been his final at-bat after 7 1/2 seasons in St. Louis.
The victory keeps the Cardinals one-game behind San Francisco for the final Wild Card spot. Â The Giants topped the Dodgers 9-3 after falling behind 2-0 in the first.
A seven-run sixth inning blew the game open as the Giants rallied from a 3-2 deficit.  Brandon Belt hit a three-run homer in that inning and Madison Bumgarner (15-9) beat the Dodgers for the first time in seven starts since May 21, 2015. It was win No. 100 of his career.
The New York Mets beat Philadelphia assuring themselves at least one postseason game, whether it is the Wild Card or at the very least, a one game playoff. Â They hold a two-game edge over the Cardinals and can clinch a Wild Card spot with a win either Saturday or Sunday.
