PITTSBURGH -- Adam Wainwright is still in search of his best stuff. His bat made sure his best wasnt necessary.The St. Louis ace drove in three runs and survived five occasionally bumpy innings to pick up his first victory since mid-July as the Cardinals drummed the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 on Monday.Wainwright hit an RBI-double off Chad Kuhl (3-3) in the second and added a two-run single in the fourth as the Cardinals held on to the second wild card spot in the National League by sending the Pirates to their seventh straight loss.We needed that win, Wainwright said. We need every win that we can get coming down the stretch. Any part that I can play in that is a treat for me, a privilege.Wainwright (10-8) allowed four runs and struck out five as his ERA rose to 4.61 while picking up his first victory since July 16. He hardly needed to be sharp as the Cardinals battered Pittsburghs beleaguered pitching staff. Jedd Gyorko and Matt Adams homered for St. Louis to extend the teams streak of games with at least one home run to a club-record 24.Andrew McCutchen and Adam Frazier hit home runs for the Pirates, who have been outscored 47-22 during their current slide. A week ago Pittsburgh was well within striking distance of the Cardinals for a playoff spot but have fallen 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis and dropped below .500 (67-68) for the first time since July 2.Were trying to figure ourselves out and get out of this and get back to playing baseball the way we want to play, shortstop Jordy Mercer said. We just have to keep going.St. Louis pounded out 14 hits -- eight for extra bases -- against five pitchers and wasted little time getting to Kuhl, who has been steady if not spectacular since joining the rotation full-time a month ago.Wainwrights double to the wall in center field put the Cardinals in front and Stephen Piscottys two-run double later in the inning gave Wainwright an early cushion, one he flirted with giving away. Pittsburgh touched him for two runs in the bottom of the inning but Wainwright avoided major damage.I hate giving up runs after we score, Wainwright said. Thats driving me crazy. But what we did do well there is we held them to two. We could have let that inning get away from us, and we didnt.Jeff Locke came on relief of Kuhl in the third and the Cardinals quickly went to work. Kolten Wongs RBI single against him made it 4-2 and Gyorko opened the fourth with a long home run down the left-field line for his 26th of the year.Wainwrights bloop to left later in the inning pushed St. Louis lead to six runs and allowed Wainwright to leave after five innings in which he needed 93 pitches to get 15 outs.He was at 93 pitches, and were in September, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. The first two (innings) were stressful. To me, weve got a lead that we think our bullpen can hold. I guess your greatest argument (for leaving him in) is you want to see him hit again.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: Piscotty left in the fifth inning after being hit in the wrist with a pitch though Matheny said X-rays were negative. ... RHP Mike Leake will return after a bout with the shingles when he starts on Wednesday. ... C Brayan Pena is finally healthy after battling injuries much of the season but the team will not use him to catch a full game.Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli was taken out of the game after the fourth inning with discomfort in his left thumb. ... C Elias Diaz is being evaluated for cellulitis in his left leg and will be re-evaluated on Thursday.UP NEXTCardinals: Rookie Luke Weaver makes his fourth major league start on Tuesday. Weaver is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA and gave up three runs over six innings in his last start against Milwaukee.Pirates: Veteran Ryan Vogelsong (3-4, 3.56 ERA) will make his ninth start of the season and seventh since returning from the DL on Aug. 4 after missing more than two months while recovering from facial fractures sustained when he was hit by a pitch on May 23. Vogelsong is 3-7 with a 5.75 ERA in 22 appearances against the Cardinals. Jeff Wilson Super Bowl Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Y.A. Tittle Super Bowl Jersey . LOUIS -- St. http://www.49ersofficialfanshop.com/dee-ford-jersey.html . PAUL, Minn. Dwight Clark Super Bowl Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Frank Gore Super Bowl Jersey . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap.Who is your clubs lucky referee? Sky Sports has looked at each Premier League club and calculated their win percentage when their games are officiated by each current top-flight referee. Based on a minimum of four fixtures and worldfootball.net data, weve been able to work out which referee is a lucky charm for each club.Weve discovered that Manchester United have won a remarkable 11 games out of 12 under one Premier League official, and another has overseen six Leicester wins in seven matches. Click on a club badge below to reveal the lucky referee for each Premier League club. Who will be refereeing your team this week? The match officials for matchday 10 of the Premier League are: Sunderland v Arsenal - referee Martin AtkinsonManchester United v Burnley - referee Mark ClattenburgMiddlesbrough v Bournemouth - referee Stuart Attwell Sland vs Arsenal October 29, 2016, 11:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Tottenham v Leicester - referee Bobby MadleyWatford v Hull City - referee Jonathan MossWest Brom v Man City - referee Lee Mason Everton vs West Ham October 30, 2016, 12:30pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Crystal Palace v Liverpool - referee Andre MarrinerEverton v West Ham - referee Anthony Taylor Soton vs Chelsea October 30, 2016, 3:30pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Southampton v Chelsea - referee Mike JonesStoke v Swansea - referee Michael Oliver Stoke vs Swansea October 31, 2016, 7:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Also See: Premier League questions Lamela wants new Spurs deal ' ' '