Pittsburgh rookie pitcher Gerrit Cole gave up two hits and struck out five over six innings, plus drove in a run, as the Pirates evened the Division Series with a 7-1 victory over the Cardinals on Friday afternoon. Cole was mixing a variety of his pitches and was hitting the strike zone in his first matchup against the Cardinals. Yadier Molina accounted for the only run with a solo home run in the fifth.
Pedro Alvarez homered for the second day in a row with a two-run shot against Lance Lynn, who couldn’t finish the fifth inning. Lynn allowed five runs on seven hits. He also walked three, while striking out six before leaving with two outs in the fifth. Shelby Miller gave up a homer to Starling Marte in the eighth.
Wild-card winner Francisco Liriano faces Cardinals rookie Joe Kelly as the series shifts back to Pittsburgh on Sunday.