Rivas hits grand slam in Pittsburgh’s victory over Cards
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Luis Rivas hit his first career grand slam, Xavier Nady and Ronny Paulino drove in three runs apiece and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 14-4 on Saturday night. Nady hit a three-run double in a four-run first and Rivas finished a five-run third with a two-out drive to left-center. Rivas’ third home run of the season came on the second pitch he saw from Kelvin Jimenez, who entered to face Rivas in relief of rookie starter Mike Parisi.
Tony La Russa managed his 2,000th game with St. Louis, surpassing Red Schoendienst for most games as a Cardinals manager. Troy Glaus hit his third home run and Albert Pujols had two hits.
Jose Bautista singled four times for his first career four-hit game and Freddy Sanchez had three hits for the Pirates, who finished with season highs for runs and hits (19). It was their most runs since a 15-1 victory against St. Louis on Aug. 1, 2007.
Paulino hit an RBI single in the third and a two-run drive in the sixth. Sanchez also homered for the Pirates.
Parisi (0-2) lasted just 2 2-3 innings his first start after eight relief appearances since being recalled May 4 from Triple-A Memphis. He was charged with eight runs and eight hits, walked three and struck out two.
Paul Maholm (3-5) allowed one run and four hits in 6 2-3 innings to earn his first win since April 27 against Philadelphia. He struck out five and walked none.
After throwing a two-hitter against the Phillies, Maholm went 0-3 in his next five starts and his ERA climbed nearly two points to 5.11.
NOTES: The last 10 Pittsburgh runs came with two outs. … The game was played in a driving rain from the second through the sixth. The start of the seventh was delayed about 10 minutes as the ground crew worked on the mound. … Rivas’ slam was the first for Pittsburgh since Sanchez hit one Aug. 28, 2007, against Cincinnati. … Glaus was hitless in his previous 11 at-bats before hitting his home run. His previous homer came May 13, also against Pittsburgh.
Copyright Associated Press 2008