The St. Louis Cardinals (17-19) completed a comeback win over the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-24) on Monday night, taking the opener of their three-game series at Busch Stadium. Powered by home runs from Willson Contreras, Jose Barrero, and Alec Burleson, the Cardinals secured their third consecutive victory.
Starting Pitchers
Miles Mikolas (STL): 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 3 BB
Carmen Mlodzinski (PIT): 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K, 0 BB
Scoring Summary
1st Inning
Bryan Reynolds opened the scoring with a two-run homer to right, driving in Oneil Cruz, who reached on an infield single.
3rd Inning
Jose Barrero, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Memphis, made an immediate impact with his first home run as a Cardinal—a solo shot to left-center. Alec Burleson followed with a 435-foot blast to right-center, his second homer in as many games, tying it at 2-2.
Burly is heating up 🔥
— Sports Hub STL (@SportsHubSTL) May 6, 2025
His solo blast ties it #STLCards pic.twitter.com/21R6qIcDeJ
4th Inning
Joey Bart walked and Emmanuel Valdez singled. Adam Frazier drove in Bart to put the Pirates back in front, 3-2.
6th Inning
Willson Contreras crushed a go-ahead two-run homer to left, scoring Nolan Arenado, who had walked. Later in the inning, three straight singles loaded the bases for Barrero, who hit a ground-rule double to drive in two more, giving the Cardinals a 6-3 lead.
Willson Contreras Hit the Buds to give us the lead!
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 6, 2025
Reply with #STLCards and #HitTheBudsSweepstakes for your chance to win whenever a Cardinals player hits a home run into the opposing bullpen!
Official rules: https://t.co/v3V0xNP2oe pic.twitter.com/Uhmr8tRDDA
9th Inning
Closer Ryan Helsley shut the door with a strikeout of Bryan Reynolds, stranding two Pirates runners and sealing the win.
102 TO END THE GAME! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IURhzGju0Q
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 6, 2025
Stats & Notes
Burleson's homer was the first by a Cardinals designated hitter this season.
Pedro Pagés ended Oneil Cruz’s 35-steal streak, which included 15 this season.
The Cardinals have now won three straight games for the first time since their opening series against the Twins.
Contreras is batting .326 with five homers and 16 RBIs over his last 24 games.
Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
May 5, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jose Barrero (27) is dunked with water by first baseman Willson Contreras (not pictured) after the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium.
Betting Recap
Cardinals ML (-135) cashed and the total just went OVER 8.5 (-105). Eric Sontag’s Same Game Parlay missed after Ke’Bryan Hayes failed to record a hit.
On Deck
Game 2 is set for Tuesday night at 6:45 p.m. CT. Lefty Matthew Liberatore (2-3) will start for the Cardinals, going up against Pirates’ ace and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes (3-3).