PITTSBURGH -- The St. Louis Cardinals erupted for six runs in the 12th inning off Pittsburgh right-hander Juan Nicasio on their way to a 9-3 win at PNC Park on Friday.
Pinch-hitter pitcher Adam Wainwright doubled to center field, scoring two runners and triggering a chain reaction. Matt Adams added an RBI double, a run scored on an error and Brandon Moss sent a two-run homer to right-center.
 

"I get them walking Aledmys Diaz intentionally," Wainwright said. "I'm a pitcher, and the odds are probably a lot less that I'm going to get a hit than Aledmys -- not probably, they are a lot less -- but I was excited. ... It was fun. That's one of the highlights of my career."
Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer's RBI single in the ninth tied the game, 3-3, and sent it to extra innings. Pittsburgh lost starter Gerrit Cole in the third due to right triceps tightness and catcher Francisco Cervelli in the fourth due to left hand pain.
"I went back out for the third, and it just didn't respond well," Cole said.
Backup catcher Chris Stewart replaced Cervelli, and right-hander A.J. Schugel replaced Cole on the mound. Cole, Schugel and Tony Watson combined for seven scoreless innings, undone when Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter hit a three-run homer off reliever Neftali Feliz's 97-mph fastball for a 3-2 lead in the eighth.

"Our bullpen pitched extremely well," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "One swing of the bat, and you go from 2-0 to 3-2, and you find the resolve to tie the ballgame off their closer. You lose two key players, you move on."
Cardinals starter Michael Wacha pitched seven innings and gave up three hits and two runs, striking out five. With an already thin bullpen, Pittsburgh worked eight pitchers due to Cole's premature departure. The Cardinals move to 33-28, and the Pirates move to 32-29.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Spent battery: In the third inning, Cole left with right triceps tightness after a meeting with Hurdle and head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk on the mound. While on the mound and walking off the field, Cole did not appear to nurse any physical injury. Cervelli followed in the middle of his at-bat in the fourth inning with left hand pain. Schugel replaced Cole on the mound and Stewart pinch-hit for Cervelli before staying in at catcher.

Waino pitches in with bat: Wainwright ignited a six-run Cardinal uprising with his pinch-hit, two-run double off Nicasio and helped the Cardinals grind out a win at PNC Park. The last pitcher to deliever a go-ahead RBI in extras was the Cubs' Travis Wood, with his bases-loaded walk against Milwaukee on May 18.
Replacing the ace: In Cole's absence, Schugel pitched a scoreless, hitless four innings and struck out four. Schugel was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 24.

Let's play 10 (or 12): Left fielder Starling Marte tripled leading off the bottom of the ninth, and Mercer took advantage of a runner in scoring position by singling on a line drive to center field, scoring Marte and sending the game to extra innings.

QUOTABLE
"It was something I'd never had to do before. Whenever my name's called, I always try to be ready and do whatever I can to help out." Schugel, on having to enter the game early after Cole's injury
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
In the top of the 11th inning, the Pirates challenged the call ruling Jhonny Peralta safe at first. Third baseman Jung Ho Kang had scooped up a ground ball and slung it to first baseman Sean Rodriguez, who lunged out from the bag to make the catch. The call stood, the Pirates lost their challenge and Peralta was awarded a single.

WHAT'S NEXT
Cardinals: Right-hander Carlos Martinez will try to extend his winning streak to three games when he faces the Pirates on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. CT. Martinez is 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA.
Pirates: After back-to-back losses in his last two outings, lefty Francisco Liriano (4-5, 5.25 ERA) will start in the second game of the series vs. the Cardinals on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET.
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