Cards soar past Bucs for 10th straight series win

ST. LOUIS -- With a series of eight roster moves on the final Friday of July, the Cardinals announced their intention to finish the season with a fresh look. The bullpen was recast. A message was sent.
"I still believe that this team has talent," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said that day, insistent that the transactions weren't the equivalent of waving a white flag. "But I do feel we have to sort through this roster to get it to where we feel it's getting back to [being] playoff caliber."
Five weeks and 10 consecutive series wins later, it's there.
With a 5-0 win over the Pirates at Busch Stadium on Thursday, the Cardinals joined the 1944 and 2009 teams as the only ones in franchise history to string together 10 straight series wins. They've gone 24-8 during the stretch and won more games in a month (21) than any Cards team since '04. Since Mike Shildt took over as manager on July 15, the club has lost consecutive games once.
"It's really just a byproduct of daily consistency and a function of focus and the competitive spirit these guys are bringing every day," Shildt said. "If you take care of winning series, the rest of it kind of falls into place. Like I've said before, playoff baseball, you have to win series to win the Series."

The byproduct of this second-half surge, of course, is a more comfortable spot in the standings.
A .500 team at the time of their roster upheaval, the Cards have climbed from fourth in the National League Central to second, 4 1/2 games back of the Cubs. They've bypassed six clubs in the NL Wild Card standings, as well, and hold a half-game lead over the Brewers for the top spot.
"At the end of the day, what we all want in this clubhouse is a shot to play in the playoffs," said Harrison Bader, who jump-started the offense with a third-inning solo homer. "And whether it's going to be 10 series wins straight or whatever it takes, that's the ultimate goal."
Unexpected contributors have been integral to the club's stretch of success, and Thursday's outcome hinged on more of the same. After Pirates starter Joe Musgrove opened the night by throwing his first 21 pitches for strikes, Bader saw Musgrove's first ball and, two pitches later, connected for his 10th home run.
Four pitches later, starting pitcher John Gant followed with a 411-foot blast, per Statcast™. It was Gant's second career hit -- both of which have left the park.

"I just try to go up there and make good contact," Gant said. "That's really about it."
José Martínez raised his season average to .311 while padding the lead with a single and run scored in the fourth before driving in two with a single in the fifth.

On the mound, Gant carried that lead into the sixth. He left the bases loaded in a 30-pitch first inning, worked around a pair of leadoff singles in the third and got an assist from reliever Dakota Hudson to strand two more in the sixth. Over his past five starts, Gant has produced a 1.59 ERA.
"We have a lot of good things going on, and John Gant is definitely one of them," Shildt said. "He's a pretty low-key, humble guy. But he's deserving of accolades because he's really done a nice job of taking the ball every five days and giving us more than a competitive effort."

The Pirates left 12 runners stranded on the night, largely because of an 0-for-9 performance with runners in scoring position. It was the seventh shutout registered by the Cardinals this season.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Pirates made a series of late pushes to dent the scoreboard but were stymied each time by Shildt's succession of pitching moves. He sent Hudson in with two out in the sixth and watched the rookie right-hander strand two. Carlos Martínez, pitching on consecutive days for the first time since 2014, entered to a bases-loaded mess in the seventh and didn't budge. Jordan Hicks then bailed out Chasen Shreve to leave a pair of runners in scoring position in the eighth.

"Everybody has got a job to do and they stepped up for each other," said Luke Weaver, who closed things out in the ninth. "We've all got each other's backs, and when you've got a great ballclub like this and a lot of guys like each other, then we're happy to clean some things up."

SOUND SMART
The Cardinals have connected for back-to-back homers seven times this season, though this was the first such instance to include a Cardinals pitcher since 2013 when Shelby Miller and Matt Carpenter went deep consecutively.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Though Gant hasn't been much of an offensive threat since his high school days, he has managed to maximize the little bit of offensive success he's had this year. Gant improved to 2-for-36 in his career with Thursday's home run to become the only player in Major League history to hit at least two home runs while never having reached base safely by any other means. He's one of three pitchers since 1961 to homer for his first two MLB hits.
"If you've got more than one, you're a power hitter, right?" Martinez remarked afterward of his teammate. "I say if you hit one, you're lucky. If you hit two, you're a power hitter."

HE SAID IT
"He beat me. He hit it farther and harder. I mean, I'm getting shown up by my own guy, but I'll take it." -- Bader, believing that Gant's home run traveled further than his 416-foot blast
UP NEXT
The Cardinals next turn their attention to the Reds, who will begin a three-game series at Busch Stadium with a 7:15 p.m. CT contest on Friday. St. Louis opened the season series with nine consecutive wins against the Reds. Since then, however, the Cards have won just two of the last seven head-to-head matchups. Lefty Austin Gomber (4-0, 2.79 ERA) will face Homer Bailey (1-12, 6.17 ERA).