ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Braxton Ashcraft struck out nine in seven sharp innings and Brandon Lowe homered as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium III.

Ashcraft allowed one run on four hits and two walks, improving to 3-2. He retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and did not permit a hit until Iván Herrera’s solo home run in the third inning. The right-hander struck out the side in the first inning and finished with nine strikeouts, matching his season high.

Lowe put Pittsburgh ahead in the top of the first inning with a solo homer to left field, his 13th of the season. The Pirates added a run in the fourth inning when Marcell Ozuna singled and later scored on a forceout by Jake Mangum. Pittsburgh broke the game open with two runs in the sixth inning, keyed by Ozuna’s two-run single that scored Spencer Horwitz and Konnor Griffin. Henry Davis led off the seventh inning with a solo homer, his third of the season, and the Pirates added another run on a groundout by Bryan Reynolds that scored Oneil Cruz.

Griffin extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double in the sixth inning. The rookie shortstop went 1 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base. He improved to 13 for 33 during his streak. Ozuna finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Lowe went 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI. Davis was 1 for 3 with a home run and an RBI.

The Cardinals managed only one run through seven innings against Ashcraft. Herrera homered in the third inning, a fly ball to left-center field. St. Louis added a run in the eighth inning off reliever Mason Montgomery. Herrera singled and scored on a single by Jordan Walker. Montgomery allowed one run on two hits in one inning but preserved the lead, and the Pirates turned a double play in the ninth inning to close the game.

Cardinals starter Dustin May took the loss, falling to 3-5. He allowed four runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two. St. Louis relievers Matt Svanson, Matt Pushard and Gordon Graceffo combined for three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Pittsburgh improved to 26-24 with the win, while St. Louis dropped to 28-21. The Pirates have won two of the first three games in this four-game series, including a 7-0 shutout on Wednesday. The Cardinals had won the series opener 9-6 on Tuesday.

The most important sequence came in the top of the sixth inning with the Pirates leading 2-1. Horwitz walked, Griffin doubled to right field, and Ozuna singled to left field, driving in both runners and extending the lead to 4-1. That cushion allowed Ashcraft to pitch with confidence as he retired six of the next seven batters he faced. The Pirates added insurance runs in the seventh, making it 6-1 before the Cardinals scratched a run in the eighth.

Ashcraft’s performance was a rebound from his previous start, a no-decision against Philadelphia on May 15 in which he allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings. He had won his prior outing at San Francisco on May 9, going seven innings and allowing one run.

The Cardinals managed eight hits, led by Herrera’s two hits including the home run. Alec Burleson doubled in the third inning and later singled. Jordan Walker had two hits and an RBI. St. Louis had chances in the second inning when Masyn Winn walked and José Fermín singled, but Ashcraft induced a groundout to end the inning. In the fourth, Winn walked again but was left stranded.

Pittsburgh collected 10 hits, including doubles by Griffin and Cruz. The Pirates struck out 11 times but drew three walks. They also executed a critical double play in the ninth inning when third baseman Jared Triolo fielded a grounder from Yohel Pozo and started a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

The game lasted 2 hours, 32 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 27,705.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave St. Louis a 56.20 percent probability to win. Pittsburgh had been a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total of 8 runs went under the over/under line of 7.5.