Injuries to Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbar made for a quiet offense: "When you don't have them, it's tough to score'"

The Royals finished a sweep of the Pirates while the Cardinals dropped one to the Nationals in MLB on Wednesday.

P ITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller put in one of his best performances of the season in a 5-0 shutout victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. The Pirates complete the sweep of the Cardinals, as they also won 7-0 on June 30 and 1-0 on July 1, shutting out their rival in all three games.

Preview the July 2 matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more.

The Pirates didn’t look like a last-place team during a 6-0 homestand in which they outscored the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals by 43-4.

Battered, tattered and wheezing, the Cardinals reached the end of a 15-game grind with a 5-0 loss Wednesday and no runs in 27 innings as they head to Chicago.

After the leadoff homer by Spencer Horwitz, the Pirates got a double and a single before Fedde got out of the first inning. He pitched around two walks before running into trouble in the fourth, when he gave up seven hits, leading to the six runs. John King and Matt Svanson combined to allow only one hit over the final three scoreless innings.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras sustained a left hand contusion after being hit by a pitch by Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes while leading off the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Pirates.

The St. Louis Cardinals head to Pittsburgh to kick off a three-game set against the Pirates on Monday, looking to climb even closer to the Chicago Cubs in a tight NL Central race. But that will have to wait at least a little bit longer, as rain in the area has delayed first pitch.

Will the St. Louis Cardinals cut ties with one of the top overall closers in baseball before the July 31st Major League Baseball trade deadline? Ryan Helsley ha

Mitch Keller pitched seven innings, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run single in a four-run eighth and the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out St. Louis over a three-game series, winning 5-0 Wednesday to extend their winning streak to a season-high six.