For a team that’s had its share of middling offensive games this season, the middle innings became much harder against Pittsburgh on Wednesday when the Pirates upshifted from a starter who could touch 97 mph with his fastball to a prospect who averaged 99.2 mph on his.

The Cardinals misplaced their early lead in part because of a play that looked like two relay runners bobbling the baton, but they could not add to it because of Bubba Chandler.

The Pirates’ latest rising power-armed pitcher pitched four scoreless innings through the heart of Wednesday’s game and steered Pittsburgh toward a 2-1 victory at Busch Stadium and his first major-league win. Former Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham produced all of the Pirates runs with his two-RBI single up the middle against Cardinals starter Sonny

See Full Page