Paul DeJong hits three homers to power Cardinals past Pirates

July 25 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong hit three home runs in a 14-8 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday night.

The Cardinals slugger went deep in the second, fourth and eighth innings during the victory at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. DeJong is now hitting .258 with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs this season. He went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and four runs scored in the win.

"I don't know how to describe that besides a rock star appearance by our position players," Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright told reporters.

Pittsburgh jumped in front of St. Louis on an RBI single by Starling Marte in the bottom of the first frame. Colin Moran drove in the Pirates' second run with a sacrifice fly in the same inning. The Cardinals responded with nine runs in the top of the second inning.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt reached base on a fielding error in the first at-bat of the frame. DeJong then walked to the plate to face Pirates starter Jordan Lyles. The Cardinals infielder ripped a 2-1 slider to left center field for a 409-foot homer. The two-run shot had an exit velocity of 99 mph and left the field in 5.3 seconds, according to Statcast.

Yairo Martinez gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead with an RBI double in the same inning. Andrew Knizner then hit his first homer of the season for a 5-2 advantage. Dexter Fowler brought home St. Louis' sixth run with an RBI double and Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer to give the Cardinals an 8-2 lead.

Kolten Wong plated the Cardinals' final run of the inning on an RBI double.

The Pirates responded with two runs in the bottom of the second frame, before DeJong returned to the plate in the fourth inning. The Cardinals infielder took a called strike before smashing a fastball over the center field fence for another two-run homer. The 413-foot bomb had an exit velocity of 104 mph and left the field in 5.5 seconds.

The Cardinals added two more runs in the frame, courtesy of Wainwright and Tommy Edman, to take a 13-4 lead into the seventh inning.

Melky Cabrera scored two runs for Pittsburgh with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh frame. DeJong answered again in the next inning. Pittsburgh used infielder Jose Osuna to pitch to the Cardinals slugger. DeJong began the at-bat by taking another called strike. He obliterated Osuna's second offering for a 420-foot solo homer. That blast had an exit velocity of 106 mph and left the field in 4.6 seconds.

Marte and Colin Moran plated the Pirates' final two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Pittsburgh could not complete the rally.

The Pirates host the Cardinals in the final game of the series at 12:35 p.m. EDT Thursday in Pittsburgh.