St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson doubles off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Hunter Barco, driving in two runs during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH — Nolan Gorman homered and drove in three runs and Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker drove in three runs apiece to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, the top two hitters in the Cardinals’ batting order, scored three runs each. Burleson, Walker and Masyn Winn each finished with two hits.

Gorman opened the scoring with a homer leading off the second, his fourth of the season. Victor Scott II started a two-run second with his first home run of the season before Wetherholt doubled and scored a single by Walker.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 6-0 in the fifth when Burleson doubled in a run and Walker and Gorman followed with consecutive sacrifice fly balls.

Kyle Leahy (3-3) allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. The Pirates scored all three runs in the sixth on homers by Oneil Cruz and a two-run shot by Ryan O’Hearn, cutting their deficit to 6-3.

The Cardinals broke the game open with three runs in the seventh inning and two in the eighth.

The Cardinals have won the first two games of the four-game series after entering on a four-game losing streak. The Pirates have lost three in a row for the first time this season.

Braxton Ashcraft (1-2) was rocked for six runs in 4 1/3 innings after being activated from the bereavement/family medical emergency list before the game. He allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked three.

Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin hit a solo homer in the ninth inning. O’Hearn had two hits and three RBIs and Nick Gonzales had two hits and knocked in two runs.

Up next

Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (2-2, 4.26 ERA) starts on Wednesday night against rookie RHP Bubba Chandler (1-2, 4.88).