Cardinals 11, Pirates 7: St. Louis Keeps Pouring On Runs

The lead

April 28, 2026 - Pittsburgh - The St. Louis Cardinals did not wait for ninth-inning drama this time. One night after a late comeback, St. Louis built an early lead and kept adding on, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 at PNC Park.

The Cardinals' middle order carried the night. Nolan Gorman homered and drove in three runs. Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker also drove in three apiece. Ivan Herrera and JJ Wetherholt scored three runs each from the top of the order, giving St. Louis traffic before the run producers came up.

How the game turned

Gorman started the scoring with a solo homer in the second. Victor Scott II added another homer, and Wetherholt later scored on a Walker single to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

St. Louis stretched it to 6-0 in the fifth. Burleson doubled home Wetherholt, and Walker and Gorman followed with consecutive sacrifice flies. That was the key inning because it created enough cushion for the Cardinals to withstand Pittsburgh's later swings.

The Pirates got back into the game in the sixth when Oneil Cruz homered and Ryan O'Hearn added a two-run shot. But St. Louis answered with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth. Walker singled home Herrera, Gorman drove in Burleson with a groundout, Masyn Winn singled home Walker, and Burleson later doubled in two more.

Pitching and matchup notes

Kyle Leahy earned the win for St. Louis, allowing three runs over 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven. It was not a shutdown start, but the Cardinals offense gave him room to pitch ahead.

The Pirates bullpen could not stop the middle innings. Once St. Louis started building traffic with walks and doubles, Pittsburgh had to defend multiple run-scoring paths. The Cardinals did not rely only on homers; they moved runners, hit sacrifice flies, and kept adding with two-out contact.

Pittsburgh's late offense made the final score respectable. O'Hearn drove in multiple runs, Nick Gonzales added an RBI single, and rookie Konnor Griffin homered in the ninth. But the Pirates were chasing too much by then.

Bats that changed the board

Burleson was the most complete St. Louis bat, finishing with two doubles and three RBI. Walker added two hits and three RBI, and Gorman's homer plus sacrifice fly production gave him another three-RBI night. Herrera's three walks and three runs mattered because he kept putting pressure on Pittsburgh before the run producers stepped in.

For the Pirates, Cruz and O'Hearn gave the lineup life. But the difference was timing. Pittsburgh's damage came after St. Louis had already built a large lead, while the Cardinals kept answering whenever the Pirates hinted at a comeback.

AthX Engine fantasy angle

The Cardinals ranked third on the April 28 AthX Engine team board with 18 team FP. Herrera led St. Louis hitters in the daily feed with 10 AthX Engine hitting FP, while Burleson and Walker were close behind in the public box score because of their RBI totals.

This was a depth-scoring game. AthX Engine sees value when the top of the order scores and the middle drives them in repeatedly. St. Louis had that pattern all night.

What comes next

The Cardinals have taken the first two games of the series after entering on a skid. The Pirates have to stop the middle of the St. Louis order from turning every walk into a run-scoring threat.

For AthX traders, this was not about one breakout player. It was about a Cardinals lineup shape that suddenly looked functional: Herrera and Wetherholt reaching, Burleson and Walker driving, and Gorman adding power.

*Sources: MLB.com schedule, MLB Gameday, ESPN/CBS Sports GameTracker, Cardinals beat coverage, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*