PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ike Davis didn’t complain when the Pittsburgh Pirates told him they were going to eat into his playing time by experimenting with Pedro Alvarez at first base. Call it the byproduct of spending four-plus seasons with the New York Mets.

“You kind of get immune to stuff after a while,” Davis said. “Kind of my career has been starting, not starting, so I’m used to it.”

Davis is simply happy to be in a pennant race at the moment. He provided a needed jolt in a pinch-hit appearance Tuesday night, connecting for a tiebreaking three-run homer off St. Louis reliever Seth Maness in the eighth inning of a potentially costly 5-2 victory.

Pirates star Andrew McCutchen left in the fifth inning because of discomfort in his left ribs. Recently on the disabled list because of a rib problem, the center fielder ran into the wall earlier in the game.

“Today caught up to him in a couple of different ways,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of the reigning National League MVP. “Tonight got to be a point where we didn’t think we needed to push any farther than he did.”

It’s uncertain whether McCutchen will be available Wednesday, but Pittsburgh survived for a few innings without the four-time All-Star thanks in large part to Davis. The Pirates squandered six brilliant innings by Gerrit Cole when Tony Watson (9-1) couldn’t get out of a two-on, no-out jam in the seventh that allowed the Cardinals to tie the game.

No matter. Watson recovered to get out of the jam and retired the side in the eighth, and the Pirates wasted little time getting to Maness in the bottom of the inning. Gaby Sanchez singled with one out, and Starling Marte followed with his second hit of the night.

The Cardinals decided to stick with Maness (5-3) after a brief conference. It didn’t work.

Davis shook off a called strike that appeared to be below his knees and delivered a towering shot to right-center that landed in the last row of seats.

“We got into a good count, had a couple real nice pitches and left one up in the middle,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s not going to turn out well.”

Josh Harrison also homered for the Pirates, and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his 23rd save.

Jon Jay and Randal Grichuk each drove in a run for the Cardinals. Lance Lynn gave up two runs over six innings in a bid for his fourth consecutive win.

Pittsburgh, trying desperately to stay in the hunt for a wild-card slot, appeared in danger of a second straight disheartening defeat after a brilliant effort by Cole vanished.

The 23-year-old overwhelmed the Cardinals for long stretches in his second start since returning from the disabled list after being sidelined by right lat soreness. St. Louis didn’t get a hit until a two-out double just inside the first-base bag by Kolten Wong in the sixth. Cole responded by fanning Matt Holliday for his ninth strikeout of the game.

Hurdle decided to send Cole back out for the seventh with a 2-0 lead even though he had thrown 102 pitches. Trouble soon followed.

Matt Adams led off with a double, and Jhonny Peralta followed with a single. Watson, who has slipped a bit over the past month following a dazzling first half, came on but couldn’t quell the rally.

Adams scored on a sacrifice fly by Jay, and Grichuk — called up earlier in the day after outfielder Shane Robinson was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury — slapped a single up the middle to tie the game.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jon Jay already had a bat in hand before St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny even called his name.

A minute later the veteran outfielder was standing on second base after his pinch hit tied the game. Jay didn’t stay there long, racing home with the go-ahead run on Matt Holliday’s sharp single in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.

“He just sensed,” Matheny said of Jay’s precocious grab of the bat. “We hadn’t had any interaction at that point. He’s smart, he knows the game.”

And the Cardinals know a thing or two about coming through late. St. Louis scored all three runs off reliever Jared Hughes (6-4) with two outs in the seventh inning to back John Lackey and send the scuffling Pirates to their seventh loss in 10 games.

Lackey (2-1) worked out of trouble early to last seven innings in his second victory for the Cardinals after arriving in a trade from Boston on July 31. He was 11-7 with the Red Sox.

Trevor Rosenthal gave up a leadoff home run in the ninth to Andrew McCutchen but held on to earn his 39th save.

“I think guys know when we have a pitcher like Lackey on the mound, he’s going to keep us in the game,” Matheny said. “We’ve just got to keep fighting and figure out a way to get something going.”

Pedro Alvarez hit his 18th homer in the second off Lackey, but the Pirates managed little after that to fall further behind St. Louis and first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central race.

Pirates starter Francisco Liriano overwhelmed St. Louis for six-plus innings before leaving after Kolten Wong’s infield single led off the seventh. Hughes came on and promptly picked off Wong.

Things didn’t work out so well for the normally dependable right-hander, however, when he went to the plate.

Tony Cruz started the game-changing rally by turning an 0-2 count into a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sharply hit single by Jay. Holliday then gave St. Louis the lead with a grounder past shortstop Jordy Mercer. St. Louis has 209 RBIs this season with two outs, tops in the National League.

“It was just a night where (Hughes) couldn’t get the ball where he wanted to go,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

The cushion was more than enough for Lackey, who had little trouble after navigating a choppy second inning. Alvarez hit a long home run to center with one out, and infield hits by Starling Marte and Jordy Mercer followed. The runners moved up on a sacrifice by Liriano, but Josh Harrison’s sharply hit fly to left went right to Holliday.

Lackey settled down following the reprieve, not allowing a runner past first base over his final five innings. He walked one and struck out three to improve to 3-0 against National League teams this season.

“I think Tony and I made some good adjustments after the first time through the lineup,” Lackey said. “The last three innings were as good as I felt.”

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A change of scenery has done Jerome Williams well.

Jimmy Rollins homered and Williams tossed eight strong innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

“I’m just happy that I’m actually doing the job that I’ve been doing,” Williams said. “My stuff was there. It’s just I wasn’t using it right. I think I’m using it right now.”

Williams (2-0) continued his fine form with Philadelphia, his third team this season. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits while setting a season high for innings. He was claimed off waivers Aug. 10 from Texas and has a 1.77 ERA since coming to the Phillies after pitching to a 6.71 ERA prior to his arrival in Philadelphia.

Ben Revere had a pair of hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, which took two of three from the Cardinals for consecutive series wins for the first time since April.

Jhonny Peralta and Oscar Taveras had a pair of hits for St. Louis, which lost for just the third time in 11 games.

Justin Masterson (2-2) was lifted after giving up five runs and six hits in three innings. His ERA ballooned to 7.43 ERA in five starts since the Cardinals acquired him from Cleveland on July 30.

“It’s frustrating but I’m trying to stay positive,” Masterson said. “It’s my responsibility to pitch better. It’s a hard thing when you’re not doing it.”

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny stood behind Masterson.

“It was just one of those days,” he said. “We’ll continue to work with him. He’s a worker. He wants to help us do better.”

Chase Utley’s RBI single put Philadelphia in front in the first. The Phillies scored two more in the second on Williams’ bunt and Revere’s single, and Wil Nieves’ RBI single in the third made it 3-0.

Nick Greenwood relieved Masterson and retired 10 straight batters before Revere’s one-out single in the seventh. Rollins followed with a drive over the wall in left. It was the 16th homer for Rollins, who hit just six last season.

St. Louis got its lone run in the fourth on Taveras’ single. But the Cardinals couldn’t get anything else off Williams.

Revere, who began Sunday two points behind Justin Morneau for the NL batting lead, raised his average to .314 with his 26th multihit game since June 26.

— Associated Press —