Fowler's solo homers fuel Cards in sweep of Pirates
ST. LOUIS -- Dexter Fowler broke out of an early season skid Wednesday afternoon with two solo homers as the St. Louis Cardinals swept the Pittsburgh Pirates with a third consecutive 2-1 win at Busch Stadium.
Fowler, who fanned in the first inning to fall to 8-for-57 with 17 strikeouts, worked a 2-0 count against Gerrit Cole in the third and then lined his first homer for St. Louis into its bullpen in right-center.
Two innings later, Fowler ambushed a first-pitch fastball and lined it inside the right field foul pole for the fourth multi-homer game of his career. It was his first since June 2, 2013, when he was playing for the Colorado Rockies.
Michael Wacha (2-1) and three relievers made the lead stand. Wacha gave up one run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings, walking two and fanning three to earn the win.
Matt Bowman fanned Jordy Mercer to strand two runners in the seventh, Kevin Siegrist worked around back-to-back errors and a two-out walk to pitch a scoreless eighth and Trevor Rosenthal struck out two in the ninth for his first save.
Josh Bell supplied Pittsburgh's only run with a solo homer in the fourth, his first of the year, after Wacha retired the first 10 men he faced on just 35 pitches.
The Pirates' series-long frustration at being unable to score peaked in the eighth. Gregory Polanco ripped a 2-1 pitch from Siegrist down the first-base line for a potential three-run double, but Matt Carpenter made a diving stop and then slid into the bag just ahead of Polanco for the third out.
Carpenter, who dropped a simple throw from Siegrist with one out to put Francisco Cervelli on first and start the rally, pumped his fist. Polanco spiked his helmet in disgust shortly after crossing the bag.
Cole (1-2) fanned eight in six innings, giving up two runs, six hits and two walks. Both teams are 6-9.
NOTES: St. Louis 1B Matt Carpenter was back in the lineup Wednesday after missing two games due to bleeding and swelling on his finger after its nail was torn off by a bad-hop grounder Sunday night at the New York Yankees. ... Pittsburgh OF Andrew McCutchen's two hits Tuesday night gave him 1,189 since the start of the 2010 season, tops among all MLB outfielders. ... Cardinals RHP Matt Bowman extended his scoreless streak to 17 1/3 innings, dating back to last September, with an inning on Tuesday night.