Adam Wainwright, normally a monster at Busch Stadium, was off his game early Saturday, hitting a batter in the helmet and walking home a run for the first time since 2014 .
But the veteran Cardinals righthander, who had a 2.56 earned run average at home last season, managed to limit the damage to just one run in the second inning after the Pirates had loaded the bases with nobody out.
After a run had been forced in, the big out came when Wainwright retired Cole Tucker on a popup to short for the second out. He then induced Kevin Newman to ground to short on Wainwright’s 36th pitch of the game.