PITTSBURGH — Folks, there’s a new shortstop in town. His name is Sosa. There’s also an old sheriff who’s 40 years old (minus a few hours). You already know his name and badge number.
Making his third consecutive start in place of inconsistent Paul DeJong, rookie Edmundo Sosa, who had a career-high four hits, delivered a two-run triple in the second inning and a three-run triple in the third Saturday night at PNC Park. Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright, who will be 40 on Monday, normally doesn’t need that much support, especially when he’s faced the Pittsburgh Pirates this year, but he went about his business as if it were a scoreless game.
Wainwright, who had blanked the Pirates for his previous 19 innings, stifled them for seven more innings on three hits and no runs at PNC Park as the Cardinals rolled to a 13-0 victory. He was perfect for the first four frames before Colin Moran singled to center off a 72-mph curveball to open the Pittsburgh fifth.
Wainwright, who has found his hitting stroke of late, also drove in a run himself. But that was a drip in the bucket compared to his continued dominance on the mound. A 13-game winner now — one off the major league lead of Chicago Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks and Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias — Wainwright has made three of his past four starts against the Pirates, all this month, and the numbers are eye-popping. Twenty-four innings pitched. No runs. Seven hits. Twenty-one strikeouts. One walk (on Saturday).
For four starts against the Pirates this season, Wainwright has permitted just one run, a home run by recently dispatched outfielder Gregory Polanco, and 13 hits in 30 innings, walking two and striking out 29.
The start for Wainwright, who will be 40 on Monday, was the 299th he has made with Yadier Molina as his battery mate. The start at shortstop for Sosa was his 47th out of 128 games played for the Cardinals this season. There will be more for the Panamanian, as manager Mike Shildt has said he will go with the hot hand at shortstop.
In the three games here, Sosa is 7 for 11 with a double and two triples and he’s been on base seven times as he also walked and was hit by a pitch for the 15th time this season.
Sosa’s first triple followed a single by Molina and a walk to Dylan Carlson in the second inning. In the third, Tommy Edman, who had a career-high four hits, led off with his 34th double, which paces the National League, and scored on a single to right by Paul Goldschmidt.
Tyler O’Neill and Nolan Arenado also singled before Sosa sent a drive over the head of right fielder Michael Chavis, normally an infielder. Three runners scored and Sosa trotted home on the single by Wainwright, who has hit safely in three of his past four games.
The last Cardinal to have two triples and five runs batted in was Cardinals Hall of Famer Ken Boyer in 1962. The last Cardinal to have two triples in the first three innings of a game was Garry Templeton in 1980.
Goldschmidt, who was third in the league in hits at 139 before Saturday, knocked in his second run with his second hit, a double, in the sixth. Edman, who had legged out an infield hit, dashed home from first to make it 8-0.
Arenado nearly made it 10-0 but left fielder Ben Gamel banged into the wall to flag down Arenado’s long fly to end the sixth.
Gamel singled to left with two out in the sixth and went to second as center fielder Harrison Bader threw to second base. Precisely second base as the ball kicked off the base and bounced away.
But Bader erased that error by turning in a tumbling catch on Ke’Bryan Hayes to end the inning.
Wainwright, who is 13-7, became the first Cardinals pitcher to win 13 games in a season between ages 39 and 40 since Murry Dickson in 1956. Dickson was 13-8 that year.
Before Wainwright wrapped up his night after seven innings, the Cardinals parlayed four walks, two wild pitches and another infield hit by Edman into two runs in the seventh against Luis Oviedo and a 10-0 lead.
It became 12-0 in the eighth, although Carlson was among the last to know. He thought left fielder Anthony Alford had caught his drive to left with a leaping catch and Carlson began heading to the first-base dugout. But Goldschmidt, among others, pointed that the ball had glanced off Alford’s glove and over the wall for a two-run homer, Carlson’s 13th of the season.
And then it was 13-0 as Sosa singled, pinch hitter Lars Nootbaar doubled and Edman singled for his fourth hit.
After scoring 13 against sanctioned pitchers, the Cardinals were blanked in the ninth by infielder Wilmer Difo, who allowed three singles.
Molina already has signed on for next year. He has pledged to try to get Wainwright to do the same.
“I imagine that’s probably taken place,” said manager Shildt before the game. “I’d be surprised if it’s not.
“Those two guys are fated to be there together, it feels like. We’ll see. But I know Yadi will make his push.”
