ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright’s first pitch on Saturday night was a sinker that did not sink, and Pittsburgh's Adam Frazier took advantage of it with a home run to right field.

But the rest of Wainwright’s 98 pitches overall did what he wanted them to do in the Cardinals’ 3-1 win and series victory over the Pirates at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals’ seventh straight win over the Pirates this season put St. Louis two games behind the first-place Cubs in the National League Central, a half-game behind the second-place Brewers and a half-game out of the second Wild Card spot, occupied by the Brewers.

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The home run was the only run Wainwright allowed in his six-inning outing, and he struck out eight. His fastball velocity averaged 91 mph and topped out at 93, which is slightly higher than his average for the season at 89 mph. After missing the majority of the 2018 season with elbow problems, the velocity uptick is a sign Wainwright is healthy -- “vintage Waino,” as the Cardinals have called him.

“We always talk a little more velocity but it’s really about his pitchability, and he’s been able to have both,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “I think Waino always has the gas down pretty firmly. I think he’s always in high-competitive mode.”

Wainwright’s second walk came during the top of the fifth inning when he loaded the bases with just one out. But Paul DeJong came to the rescue when he snagged a 109-mph line drive from Starling Marte to save a run, possibly two. Wainwright then struck out Josh Bell looking with a 93-mph sinker.

“That's probably the play of the game right there,” Wainwright said about DeJong’s defense. “If that gets through, they get a couple runs and they're in the driver's seat instead of us.”

Instead, the Cardinals found themselves in control in the bottom of the sixth. Tommy Edman scored on his own double and broke the 1-1 tie when Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman’s throw to third base bounced off Colin Moran’s glove and into the dugout.

“I tried to make a hard turn around second to see if I could draw a throw, and I ended up drawing a throw,” Edman said. “They probably thought there was a chance I was going to third, so that’s what forced the throw.”

Pitching his way out of trouble earned Wainwright the chance to hit for himself in the bottom of the fifth, then get through the sixth inning unscathed. Saturday was the first time Wainwright finished the sixth inning in five starts.

Three of those starts were on the road, backing up his home and road splits even more. In 11 home starts this season, Wainwright is 6-2 with a 2.19 ERA. On the road, he’s 2-6 with a 6.96 ERA in 11 starts.

“It's what I was saying on the bench today,” Wainwright said. “I looked at [catcher Matt] Wieters and said, 'Now if I could just get outs on the road, it's going to be a great season.' Fifty percent of me has been a really good pitcher this year.”

Wainwright said he doesn’t know the reason for the inconsistent season, because he does everything the same the night before and the day of his starts, whether he’s in a hotel or at home.

“There have been plenty of games I've been one or two pitches away from throwing up zeros and instead gave up three or four runs,” Wainwright said. “The Oakland game was that way. I pitched a good game in Mexico [against the Reds] but gave up two solo homers. We lost that game. I pitched a couple good games, where if I make that one pitch, it's a totally different outcome. And at home I seem to be making that pitch, and on the road I haven't been making that pitch.”

One thing Wainwright does know is that he enjoys pitching at Busch Stadium, and it’s not just because of the results. The strikeout of Bell with the bases loaded in the fifth is a reason why.

“I like pitching at home in front of our fans,” Wainwright said. “I had a cool moment today where Bell was up there, 1-2, I already know the pitch, I visualized what it's going to do, where I'm going to throw it, I stepped up and kind of gave the crowd a second to get a little bit more fired up. It juiced me up a bit. I live for that stuff.”