Oct. 3—For the St. Louis Cardinals, the final Sunday of the regular season was about celebrating the careers of retiring stars Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, who was catching his long-time battery mate for the final time.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was about spoiling the celebration of the tremendous trio to stave off a 100th loss.

So, where the sight of Pujols and Molina exiting alongside Adam Wainwright in the fifth inning was a sentimental moment for St. Louis fans, it was a move that also served the Pirates’ plans.

Ben Gamel hit a gametying three-run homer, Jack Suwinski singled to knock Wainwright out of the game and Bryan Reynolds added a boost with a solo shot as the Pirates won, 7-5, Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium that prevented a three-game series sweep.

“There was a lot of stuff going on, a very emotional day here in St. Louis and it should be with the history of those two guys and the ceremony,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “But I was really proud of our guys. We battled back. We got down early, continued to build on it and then Reynolds gave us the cushion there, which was nice.”

The Pirates (60-99) moved into a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for fourth place in the NL Central. The Pirates will finish the season with a three-game series against the Cardinals at PNC Park starting Monday.

It was Wainwright’s first loss to the Pirates in more than a decade, since a 14-5 defeat on June 29, 2012. The 40-year-old right-hander is 23-8 in 44 career starts against the Pirates, his most victories over any opponent.

“He’s had our number lately,” Pirates All-Star closer David Bednar said, “so to finally get on top was big.”

The game began in St. Louis’ favor as Wainwright retired the Pirates on five pitches in the first inning, and the Cardinals soon jumped to a three-run lead as the Pirates’ defense did starter Roansy Contreras no favors.

Brendan Donovan reached second on Ben Gamel’s error on a routine chopper to first base and advanced to third on Alec Burleson’s double when left fielder Jack Suwinski lost the ball in the sun. Pujols doubled down the left field line on a 3-0 count to score both for a 2-0 lead. Pujols tagged to third on Nolan Arenado’s flyout to center and scored on Molina’s sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-0.

“That’s why I’m really proud of this group,” Shelton said. “The first inning was not pretty. We did some things that we need to clean up. A day like this, all the ceremonial stuff, we get down 3-0 with a young group (and) you could go away. We didn’t. We came right back, had good at bats, made things happen, ran the bases really well. So really proud of our group because I think this is definitely a growing moment.”

As efficient as Wainwright was in the first, he soon encountered trouble in the second by walking Suwinski and giving up a bloop single to left to Cal Mitchell. Gamel smacked a 3-1 slider 404 feet to right for his ninth homer, a three-run shot that tied the game.

It marked the first time the Pirates scored multiple runs against Wainwright since scoring four in a 14-8 win over the Cardinals on July 24, 2019.

The Pirates matched that total in the third inning, when Oneil Cruz singled, stole second base, advanced to third on a Reynolds groundout to second and scored on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Andujar to take a 4-3 lead.

With the steal, Cruz became the fifth rookie in Pirates history with 15 or more home runs and 10 or more stolen bases, joining Gus Suhr in 1930, Barry Bonds in 1986, Al Martin in 1993 and Garrett Jones in 2009. Cruz is one of eight major league rookies to record 10 or more homers and 10 or more steals in 90 or fewer games in their first season.

The lead didn’t last long, as Pujols hit an elevated 0-1 fastball 409 feet for a solo shot to straightaway center to tie the game with his 23rd home run this season and the 702nd of his 22-year major league career. It was his sixth homer this season against the Pirates, markings Nos. 696, 697, 701 and 702 of his career. Not only that, but Pujols tied Babe Ruth for second all-time in career RBIs, with 2,214.

Contreras allowed two earned runs on three hits and two walks but didn’t record a strikeout for the first time in 19 career starts. The only other time Contreras didn’t get a strikeout also came against the Cardinals, in 1 2/3 innings of relief in a 6-5 loss at St. Louis on April 9.

Chase De Jong replaced Contreras in the fourth but gave up back-to-back doubles to Dylan Carlson and Paul DeJong as the Cardinals took a 5-4 lead.

The Pirates tied it when Ji Hwan Bae singled to left, stole second, reached third on a double by Cruz and scored when Andujar hit a dribbler to Wainwright for a fielder’s choice.

They took a 6-5 lead on Suwinski’s single to right to score Cruz. Wainwright left after giving up six runs on six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings, a startling statistic given that he had allowed a combined four runs in his previous six home starts against the Pirates.

Molina and Pujols joined Wainwright in walking to the home dugout, as Cardinals manager Oli Marmol pulled all three together to mark the final time the trio would play a regular-season game together in St. Louis.

“I think they’re three Hall of Famers,” Gamel said. “They’re all special players in their own right. They all bring a little bit of something different to the game. It’s pretty cool to share a field with them.”

That sentimental move cost Pujols another at bat, as he was set to lead off the fifth. It didn’t give the Pirates a break, though. Juan Yepez doubled to rightcenter and Corey Dickerson drew a two-out walk. That prompted Pirates manager Derek Shelton to turn to Duane Underwood Jr., who struck out Carlson to escape unscathed.

Reynolds hit a 415-foot solo shot to center off Cardinals lefty Zack Thompson for his 27th home run to increase the Pirates’ lead to 7-5 in the seventh inning.

The Pirates had a chance to extend it by loading the bases with two outs ninth but Chris Stratton got Andujar to pop out to escape the jam. Bednar got Corey Dickerson to ground out with two runners on to earn his 19th save on a day he called “incredibly special.”

“It’s crazy. You look back and you remember watching them when you were growing up, so to get to play against them and be here and soak in that moment and almost be a fan again right before the game was really cool,” Bednar said. “For how long those guys have been doing it, to see them celebrated was really cool to watch. To come out on top was even better.”