Molina, Carpenter homer as Cardinals beat Pirates 4-3

Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter homered, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Saturday night to gain ground in the NL Central.

St. Louis pulled within three games of division-leading Chicago with its sixth victory in seven games. Tyler Lyons (4-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win, and Juan Nicasio got three outs for his second save since he was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Carpenter's 19th homer tied it at 3 in the seventh. Paul DeJong hit a leadoff double in the eighth and advanced on a groundout before coming home on Randal Grichuk's bouncer to third, making it 4-3 St. Louis.