Lance Lynn pitched six solid innings in his 100th game at Busch Stadium, Jordan Walker hit a home run, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Lynn (7-4) gave up one run on four hits and struck out five batters. He is now 9-0 in his last 21 starts at Busch Stadium, where he played for the Cardinals from 2011 to 2017 before returning this season. His last loss at home came on July 4, 2017, against Miami.
“Obviously, you don’t ever want to lose at home,” Lynn said. “To have a season where you don’t have a loss on your record at home is pretty cool.”
The Cardinals (76-75) are seven games behind the final NL wild-card spot with 11 games left to play.
Bryan De La Cruz hit his 20th home run of the season, taking Lynn deep in the second inning. De La Cruz’s shot traveled 431 feet to the left-center bleachers and was his second homer for Pittsburgh after being traded from Miami.
Ryan Fernandez threw a scoreless seventh inning, and Matthew Liberatore retired three batters in a row after allowing a double to Nick Gonzales and a single to Bryan Reynolds at the start of the eighth.
“That didn’t get away from him,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said about Liberatore. “That is a very tough situation for a lefty, where we put him in. For him to get those outs and get out of that inning without giving up those runs, that was awesome to see.”
Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his NL-leading 45th save in 49 opportunities.
Bailey Falter (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. Nick Yorke got his first major league hit, a single in the fifth inning, and finished 3 for 4 for the Pirates after making his debut the night before.
