Cardinals beat Pirates in NL Central clash on Nolan Gorman's grand slam
PITTSBURGH — Nolan Gorman hit his second career grand slam, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 on Tuesday night.
Matt Carpenter dropped a soft single into left to load the bases with no outs in the fourth inning. Gorman followed with his 17th homer of the season, a 415-foot drive to left-center on a 1-2 sweeper from Mitch Keller (9-5).
Gorman hit his previous grand slam in a 14-5 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 19, 2023.
Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (6-3) gave up four runs, all in the fifth, and five hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
Ryan Helsley struck out one in a perfect ninth inning, earning his major league-leading 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Gibson cruised through the first four innings, striking out the side twice while allowing one hit and one walk. Jack Suwinski then connected for a three-run drive, one of his three hits on the night, in the fifth before Andrew McCutchen took Gibson deep to center two batters later for his 12th of the season.
Brendan Donovan lifted St. Louis to a 7-4 lead with an RBI single in the seventh.
Alec Burleson put the Cardinals ahead 2-0 in the third with a two-run shot for his 13th homer.
Keller surrendered a season-high six runs, five earned, in five innings. He allowed nine hits, struck out five and walked none.
Pirates: C Henry Davis, who last played June 14 because of a concussion, will be re-evaluated Tuesday night. Davis, drafted first overall by Pittsburgh in 2021, had his rehab paused after experiencing nausea and light headaches with Double-A Altoona on Saturday. He is currently asymptomatic, said director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk.
RHP Jared Jones (5-6, 3.66 ERA) will take the mound for the Pirates in the second of the three-game set on Wednesday, opposite Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (6-7, 5.32 ERA).