ST. LOUIS — Don’t underestimate the danger of issuing Chris Stewart an intentional walk. St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny made the move in the sixth inning Saturday night and paid dearly, as the Pirates piled on with three runs in an inning in which they had only one hit.
In the Pirates’ 7-3 win at Busch Stadium, right-hander Gerrit Cole rebounded from a leadoff home run to toss six innings of one-run ball. The offense delivered one timely hit after another, scoring six two-out runs, and took a few hits too, as back-to-back bases-loaded hit by pitch forced home a pair of runs in the sixth, fueling a rally stoked by Stewart’s intentional walk.