Pirates top Cardinals 8-2 in doubleheader opener

Perez had just one flawless inning, but he benefited from two double plays and the Nationals went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Charlie Morton delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, September 30, 2015.

Notebook: Polanco has a strong Game 1; Wainwright returns.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny brought Wainwright into a lower-leverage situation by design so he could acclimated to pitching in game action. Adam Wainwright, Matt Adams, Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Jordan Walden and Jaime Garcia were each sidelined for a significant number of games during the season. I don’t think it’s going to be hard at all [getting over this]. “I shot him a text, PRAYING FOR YOU 55. It’s a big deal”.

“We’ve still got to stay focused on right where we are”, Hurdle said.

“This is a game I come into and I want to win”, Morton said.

The 24-year-old Piscotty has provided a major boost to the banged-up Cardinals since making his major league debut July 21.

St. Louis has now won the NL Central title for the third straight season. Fans love to watch them as they show great potential in their future careers for the Cardinals.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter doubled, tripled and scored three runs after hitting his 28th home run of the season in the first game.

After a rain delay Tuesday forced a Wednesday double header in Pittsburgh, the Cardinals dropped the dayside contest 8-2 after an uncharacteristically shaky performance from Michael Wacha.

Sean Doolittle got pinch-hitter Collin Cowgill to ground out with Mike Trout on third base to end it, completing a five-out save in a wild regular-season home finale for the Angels (83-75).

-RHP Carlos Martinez was placed on the 60-day disabled list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Wainwright.

Center fielder Lorenzo Cain fouled a ball hard off his right knee during the seventh inning and left the game. Martinez finishes the season with a 14-7 record and a 3.01 ERA in 31 games, including 29 starts.

Morton has been woeful late in the season, allowing 17 runs in 10 1/3 innings over his last three starts, and is not expected to be part of the postseason rotation.

The St Louis Cardinals posted their 100th victory as they locked up their third straight National League Central Division title with an 11-1 blowout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Heyward’s other slam came in 2013 when he was playing for Atlanta.

Toronto entered the doubleheader needing only one victory to eliminate the New York Yankees and claim its first title since 1993. The lefty went seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out 5. We wanted it really bad.

“We felt we had a real good team that underachieved to this point”. All this happened in the shadow of a gruesome outfield collision that left Piscotty hospitalized and a team shaken.

In a frightening scene at PNC Park, Piscotty lay motionless on the grass in left-center field for several minutes. He underwent surgery April 30. Pittsburgh now holds a 3.5-game lead over Chicago in that race, and the Cubs also face a pretty weak schedule the rest of the way: on the road tonight and tomorrow against the Reds, and then a three-game road series with the Milwaukee Brewers to close out the season. He achieved that mark in just 81 pitches, outperforming any regular starter against Pittsburgh. He halted his rehab assignment August 4 due to a setback.