ST. LOUIS -- When the Pirates square off with Adam Wainwright at Busch Stadium, things have historically not gone well.

The trend held true on Saturday against the Cardinals in St. Louis, as Wainwright held the Pirates to only one run in six-plus innings to help hand the Pirates a 3-1 loss.

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The Pirates’ offense was able to put up 13 runs in the first two games of their four-game set with the Cards, but Wainwright has pitched as long as he has for a reason. He navigated around leadoff trouble in three of the first six innings, striking out eight Bucs in the process after setting most of them up with his signature heavy, dropping curveball.

“He was able to execute it ahead in the count [and] behind in the count, and I think that’s what gave us fits,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He executed it in the zone. He executed it for chase. Then when he needed to do other things with the fastball off it, he did. He did a nice job keeping us off balance.”

The only damage against Wainwright came off the bat of Gregory Polanco, who hit a low cutter to right field for a leadoff blast in the fourth inning. Polanco ripped the offering with an exit velocity of 112.2 mph, showcasing the kind of raw power he possesses if he can find the barrel more consistently.

Three of Polanco’s four at-bats on Saturday went to a two- or three-ball count, which is a reassuring sign for a slugger who has a 37.4% K rate.

“I thought he hit the homer hard,” Shelton said. “He got deep into the one at-bat and got a pretty good slider. But, yeah, he looked like he was a little bit more on time today.”

Wainwright has been dominant against the Pirates in his home ballpark. The Bucs have not handed Wainwright a loss at Busch Stadium since June 29, 2012, and they never really looked close to breaking that trend on Saturday despite having baserunners in four of the six innings the Cardinals’ right-hander completed.

“He can cut it, he can throw a good changeup like today -- cutter, changeup, two-seam, and then he’s got that really good curveball and he locates very well,” said Colin Moran, who had two hits on Saturday. “So yeah, I just think he’s a really good pitcher, and he tends to not give you too much to hit.”

Despite the one-run showing on Saturday, the Pirates won’t let Wainwright’s strong start get them down in the coming days. They’ve put up five or more runs in five of their past eight games, and they’re showing signs that they’ve grown from struggles to score earlier this season.

“We’re just trying to not do too much,” Moran said, “and whether it’s guys on base, drive them in or get on base for other guys to drive us in. So yeah, I think we’ve had a lot of guys squaring up some baseballs.”