ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Braden Looper continued his torrid hitting to help earn himself a win in the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Looper had two singles, scored twice, and drove in a run to raise his batting average to .429 -- tops among pitchers in the majors. On the mound, Looper (7-4) allowed eights hits and three runs in 5 2-3 innings.
Ryan Franklin, the fifth Cardinals pitcher, got three outs for his sixth save in eight attempts.
Skip Schumaker drove in a career-high three runs to help the Cardinals.
Ian Snell (2-5) lost his fifth consecutive decision and is 0-5 in his last nine starts. His last win came on April 12. Snell pitched to one batter in the fifth before being lifted. He allowed six runs and eight hits.
Looper got some defensive help from Rick Ankiel. The center fielder made a highlight-reel catch when he turned his back to home and drove headfirst at the warning track to catch a deep fly hit by Xavier Nady in the second.
The Cardinals broke the game open in the second inning when they scored five runs off Snell.
With the bases loaded, Adam Kennedy singled up the middle to score Troy Glaus, who led off with a single. Looper followed with an RBI single.
Yadier Molina, who singled, scored on a fielder's choice. Schumaker ended the scoring with a two-run single to left field. St. Louis made it 6-1 in the fourth on an RBI double by Schumaker.
Pittsburgh scored in the second on an RBI single by Jose Bautista and in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Freddy Sanchez.
The Pirates loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk to chase Looper in the sixth. Reliver Kyle McClelland hit Nate McLouth before ending the inning on a ground out by Luis Rivas. McLouth also was hit by Looper to lead off the game.
A one-out homer by Troy Glaus gave St. Louis a 7-3 lead in the seventh.
Pittsburgh scored its final run in the eighth on an RBI double by Bautista.
The game was delayed 13 minutes in the fifth when a sign in center wouldn't close.
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