Yadier Molina had three hits and two RBIs, leading the Cardinals to an important 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Jason Motte and the Redbirds bounced back from Friday night’s 2-1 loss in the series opener and pulled within a game of Pittsburgh for the second NL wild-card spot.
Molina big game came after missing the previous three games with a sore back. Molina hit a tiebreaking two-run double off Erik Bedard (7-13) in the fifth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-3 lead.
Motte, who served up two homers in the ninth inning on Friday, found himself in trouble again. With one run already in, the Pirates had runners on the corners with one out, but Motte struck out Garrett Jones and got Josh Harrison to ground out to third to end the game.