ST. LOUIS -- Josh Bell put on a show for his mom on Mother's Day.
With his mother Myrtle in the stands at Busch Stadium, Bell homered and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Adam Frazier added a two-run, tiebreaking pinch-hit double as the Pirates scored five times in the seventh inning and twice in the eighth to rally from a 6-3 deficit.
Pittsburgh has won six of eight, including the final three of its four-game series at St. Louis.
Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle had warned Bell that he'd better come through.
"Jokingly, before the game, I said, 'You need to do something special for Myrtle,' " Hurdle said. "He said, 'Yeah, I've got this.' "
Bell went 4 for 4, extending his hitting streak to a major league-best 12 games. He reached base 5 times, including an intentional walk, and is 20 for 49 (.408) during the streak with 4 home runs and 16 RBI.
"It was awesome," Bell said. "It's one of those scenarios where I know my mom would be just as excited to watch me play if I go 0 for 4. To be able to celebrate the win with [her] watching, it's unbelievable."
Myrtle lives in Louisiana and travels to see her son play at least once a month.
"His work ethic is one of the best I've ever seen," Pittsburgh infielder Kevin Newman said. "He's in the cage all the time. He works his tail off on defense. I couldn't be any happier for him."
Bell's three-run home run off John Brebbia (1-2) in the seventh tied the game at 6-6. Francisco Cervelli, who had three hits, followed with a double, Melky Cabrera drew a walk and then Frazier smacked a two-run double to right.
Paul Goldschmidt and José Martínez homered for the Cardinals, who have lost five of six and nine of 11.
Chris Stratton (1-2), acquired from the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, worked a scoreless sixth for the win.
Brebbia (1-2) gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in 1 inning.
"When you make bad pitches to guys who are taking good swings, it's not going to be good," Brebbia said.
Colin Moran added two-run double in the eighth to conclude the scoring.
After the Pirates scored three times in the first, Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run off Steven Brault in the bottom half to start a four-run outburst.
Martínez, who went 3 for 5, had a two-run home run in the third. Bryan Reynolds made a leaping catch in the ninth to rob him of a possible second home run.
St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson gave up 3 runs on 9 hits over 6 innings.
Brault, making his second start of the season, lasted 3 2/3 innings. He gave up six runs on nine hits.
Goldschmidt, who was 9 for 17 in the series, snapped an 18-game streak without a home run.
"We obviously haven't won as many games as we've wanted to the last 10 or 11 games," Goldschmidt said. "The focus is just to go out there and win the next one."
Sports on 05/13/2019