ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals rookie Kolten Wong drilled a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night, giving the Cardinals their second straight walk-off win with a 5-4 decision over the Pittsburgh Pirates at sold-out Busch Stadium on Tuesday.
Wong, the Cardinals second baseman, turned on a 3-2 fastball from Ernesto Frieri (1-1) and rocketed it 420 feet into the seats in right field for his first career walk-off shot. St. Louis won Monday night’s game 2-0 on a two-run homer by first baseman Matt Adams with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Trevor Rosenthal (1-4) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win, fanning left fielder Starling Marte with two on and two outs to end a 27-pitch inning.
The Cardinals (49-42) drew within 3 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central, pending the outcome of the Brewers’ home game with Philadelphia. The Pirates (47-43) dropped their second straight after winning eight of 10.
Neither starter was involved in the decision. Pittsburgh’s Vance Worley worked five innings, allowing nine hits and four runs with no walks and three strikeouts.
St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez pitched six innings, his longest outing in five starts. He gave up eight hits and four runs with a pair of walks and six strikeouts.
St. Louis took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second with one swing of Wong’s bat. He stroked a two-out, two-run double to the wall in right-center, scoring shortstop Jhonny Peralta and right fielder Oscar Taveras.
Pittsburgh tied it in the fourth when third baseman Pedro Alvarez cranked a two-run homer into the seats in right-center, plating first baseman Ike Davis. It was Alvarez’s 14th homer of the year and the 100th in his career.
Center fielder Andrew McCutchen gave the Pirates a 4-2 lead in the fifth when he cracked a two-run homer into the Cardinals’ bullpen in right-center. It scored right fielder Gregory Polanco, who led off the inning with his third single of the night.
St. Louis responded in its half of the fifth. Left fielder Matt Holliday rifled a two-run double to the wall in left-center, driving in third baseman Matt Carpenter and center fielder Jon Jay to even the score.
NOTES: St. Louis LHP Jaime Garcia (thoracic outlet syndrome) will undergo season-ending surgery Friday. Garcia went 3-1 with a 4.12 ERA in seven starts before going on the disabled list June 22. … Pittsburgh’s Russell Martin began the night one RBI away from 500 for his career. He was looking to become the sixth active catcher to reach that mark. However, he failed to get an RBI on Tuesday while going 1-for-4. … St. Louis LHP Kevin Siegrist (left forearm strain) threw a bullpen session Monday and plans to throw another Wednesday. If Wednesday’s session goes well, Siegrist would start a rehab assignment over the weekend.