Jedd Gyorko and Jose Martinez each hit two doubles and combined for four RBIs and Matt Carpenter homered Saturday as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals downed the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4.

The Cardinals broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, all against reliever Alex McRae (0-1), making his second major league appearance.

David Freese homered and Adam Frazier hit a two-run double for the Pirates.

The teams have split the first two games of the series and have identical 57-54 records, tied for third in the National League Central.

Each starter only lasted four innings and allowed four runs.

Rookie left-hander Austin Gomber, in his second major league start for St. Louis, allowed seven hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.

Dakota Hudson (2-0) pitched three spotless innings.

Pittsburgh right-hander Ivan Nova allowed eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Freese gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead with his eighth homer, to left, leading off the second.

The Cardinals produced a three-run third. With two outs, Martinez - a last-minute starter because Tyler O'Neill had groin discomfort -- doubled in Carpenter, who led off with a walk, for his 63rd RBI. Gyorko followed with a two-run double, bringing home Yadier Molina, who had singled, and Martinez to make it 3-1.

Molina's RBI single in the fourth upped the Cardinals' lead to 4-1.

Pittsburgh pulled even in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and Francisco Cervelli at third, Jordy Mercer dropped a base hit in shallow left to make it 4-2. After pinch-hitter Jose Osuna singled, Frazier doubled to left-center for a 4-4 tie.

St. Louis snagged the lead back in the fifth, 6-4, on back-to-back doubles by Martinez and Gyorko, a single by Kolten Wong and Harrison Bader's RBI groundout.

Wong added a bases-loaded, two-out RBI infield single in the sixth to make it 7-4.

Carpenter tied his career high with his 28th homer, a two-out shot in the ninth, to make it 8-4.

--Field Level Media