La Russa gets milestone win as Cards beat Pirates

Morris (14-5) permitted two runs on nine hits while striking out two for the Cardinals, who won three of the four games in the set, including the last two. Edmonds went 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in a pair of runs. Pujols also had three hits and he crossed the plate twice. Yadier Molina and Hector Luna added two hits apiece in the win. St. Louis skipper Tony La Russa picked up his 2,195th career win to pass Sparky Anderson for third on the all-time managerial victories list. Dave Williams (10-10) took the loss after giving up five runs on eight hits over six innings. Ty Wigginton highlighted Pittsburgh's offense with a 3-for-3 performance and drove in a run. The Pirates have dropped five of their last six. They sit in the basement of the NL Central -- a staggering 27 games behind the Cardinals -- who have the best record in all of baseball at 81-47. The Cardinals took an early lead on back-to-back solo homers by Edmonds and Pujols in the first inning. Edmonds blasted a shot to right-center and Pujols smacked one inside the right-field foul pole. The Pirates got a run back in the bottom of the frame as Chris Duffy led off with a triple to right and scored when Freddy Sanchez grounded out. St. Louis tacked on another run in the fifth when John Rodriguez drove a base hit to center field to score Pujols, who had singled and advanced to third on a double by Yadier Molina. On the play, Duffy threw out Molina at the plate with a sharp throw from center to keep it 3-1. Pittsburgh pulled within 3-2 in the sixth when Wigginton singled home Rob Mackowiak, who had reached on a base hit and gone to second on a Ryan Doumit groundout. The Cardinals put up two more runs in the seventh. After David Eckstein led off with a walk, Edmonds drilled an RBI double to center. Later in the inning, Molina then singled home Edmonds. The Pirates' Jack Wilson hit an RBI single in the eighth to make it 5-3, but in the ninth, So Taguchi smacked a base hit to center that scored a run and capped the scoring. Game Notes Morris is 10-5 versus the Pirates in his career and 6-0 at PNC Park...This was the seventh time Edmonds and Pujols hit back-to-back homers this season...Edmonds hit into a double play in the fifth, which was the first time he had done so in 370 at-bats.

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