The Cardinals got down early and never recovered against the Pirates in a 12-4 loss in Pittsburgh Tuesday night. Jason Bay’s three-run homer off Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan set the tone for the eventual blow out. Suppan was pulled with no outs in the top of the third inning after serving up a lead-off double to Craig Wilson and a run-scoring double from Joe Randa. That gave the Pirates a 7-1 lead
Suppan (0-2) was also charged with Randa’s run, which occurred when reliever Josh Hancock balked him over to third, then allowed him to cross the plate on a Jose Hernandez grounder to make it 8-1.
The only bright spot for the Cardinals was statistical, when Albert Pujols launched his major league-leading 10th home run with a solo smash to lead off the fourth inning. That cut the Pirates’ lead to 8-2.
Oliver Perez (1-2) got his first win of the season by lasting 6 2/3 and allowing three runs off five hits and four walks with two strikeouts.
