Lynn struggles in Cardinals’ 11-6 loss to Pirates

Lance Lynn allowed eight runs in the first inning and the St. Louis Cardinals slipped up against the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-6 on Saturday night.

St. Louis (81-73) entered the day 1 1/2 games behind the Colorado Rockies, who play the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, for the second NL wild card. The loss ended the Cardinals' four-game winning streak. St. Louis remained five games behind the Cubs in the NL Central after Chicago lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, who are a half-game ahead of St. Louis.

Lynn (11-8) got two outs before being pulled after six hits and eight runs. It was his shortest outing since Aug. 13, 2015, also at Pittsburgh.

Tommy Pham gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead against Gerrit Cole (12-11) two batters into the game when he sent the first pitch of his at-bat over the center-field wall. Pham was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.