ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Interstat) — Jimmy Crooks hit a two-run homer and Quinn Mathews earned the win as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Friday night at Busch Stadium.

Crooks homered in the third inning with Nolan Gorman aboard. Jordan Walker scored on Nathan Church’s sacrifice fly in the fourth to make it 3-0. Jared Triolo’s run-scoring single in the fifth trimmed the gap for Pittsburgh, but St. Louis answered in the eighth when Joshua Báez reached on shortstop Jacob Gonzalez’s throwing error, allowing Walker to score.

Mathews (1-2) allowed five hits and one earned run while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings. Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts for his second save. Jared Jones (2-6) took the loss, allowing seven hits and three earned runs over 4 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals outhit the Pirates 8-6. St. Louis improved to 70-69; Pittsburgh dropped to 65-71. Attendance was 22,964, and the game lasted 2:33.