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For a team that’s had its share of middling offensive games this season, the middle innings became much harder against Pittsburgh on Wednesday when the Pirates upshifted from a starter who could touch 97 mph with his fastball to a prospect who averaged 99.2 mph on his.

The Cardinals misplaced their early lead in part because of a play that looked like two relay runners bobbling the baton, but they could not add to it because of Bubba Chandler.

The Pirates’ latest rising power-armed pitcher pitched four scoreless innings through the heart of Wednesday’s game and steered Pittsburgh toward a 2-1 victory at Busch Stadium and his first major-league win. Former Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham produced all of the Pirates runs with his two-RBI single up the middle against Cardinals starter Sonny Gray. Pham’s base hit – one of only three by the Pirates in the game – came after an error at first base that would have been the second out of the inning and likely cooled Pittsburgh’s chances.

The teams combined for seven hits total.

Gray (12-7) held the Pirates to one problematic inning and finished with two runs (one earned) against him and seven strikeouts in seven innings.

Pirates closer Dennis Santana pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save of the season. He was helped by a snazzy play at second base by Nick Gonzalez. The infielder barehanded a grounder that spun back on him and was still able to throw out Pedro Pages for the game’s final out.

The ninth, like four previous innings, was over in four batters or less for the Cardinals.

The Pirates used a combination of starters to confound the Cardinals.

Right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski handed the first three innings and held the Cardinals to one run on a two-out RBI single in the second inning. Chandler, one of the top pitching prospects in all the land, took over for the next four innings. He struck out three and held the Cardinals scoreless as the Pirates rallied around an error upend the score.

When the ninth inning started, Chandler had thrown the fastest 25 pitches of the game.

He had 10 fastballs clocked at 99.9 mph or faster.

That overpowering action in the middle of the game squelched whatever the Cardinals had moving after taking the early lead. They got a single and walk in the same inning against Chandler and couldn’t connect for a run. And after striking out two batters to start the sixth inning Chandler hit a batter for the only other baserunner he allowed.

Game flips on Gray

Before the Pirates flipped the game on Gray there was a flip that he missed at first.

A leadoff double by the No. 9 hitter and a walk to the leadoff hitter put the Cardinals’ 1-0 lead in a precarious spot. It got worse with a grounder that took Willson Contreras away from first base. Gray raced over to cover, and as the two converged at first base there was an unusual exchange. Contreras looked to second, did not see a window for this throw, and tossed the ball to Gray, who appeared not to see it or make a reach for it. His head was down.

The ball dropped near Gray’s feet – and as it rolled away the Bucs had the bases loaded.

When Gray got another grounder, Contreras cut off the potential first run with a fastball to the plate for the forceout.

Pham did not let the opportunity to pass.

The next groundball in play against Gray found a seam up the middle and to center. Pham’s bounding single brought home two Pirates and reversed the Cardinals’ lead to a 2-1 deficit.

When Gray was in control

The sixth inning was the only inning that the Pirates mustered much of a threat at all against Gray. He retired the first three batters he faced on groundballs, and it wasn’t until the 18th batter he faced that the Pirates got a third ball to the outfield.

Gray struck out two in the fourth and struck out four of nine during one streak, while the other Pirates in that span got the ball only as far as popup to Contreras.

At his best, Gray spun the Bucs dizzy.

He threw more curveballs than any other pitch, and more than half of his 87 pitches through seven innings were off speed pitches. He got 11 swings and misses on the combination of his curveball, cutter, and sweeping slider. His changeup plunged under one bat for another of his 13 swings and misses. It was similar to his most recent start against Tampa Bay, but with greater results when it came to putting away batters.

“I want to spin the abll as much as I can no matter what,� Gray said this past week in Tampa, Florida. “I want to spin the ball a lot anyway. There was a lot more spin (against the Rays) because I (do that) when I did get to two strikes. Got to a bunch of 0-2 and then to 3-2. My spin was just inconsistent.�

That wasn’t the case Wednesday.

Only two of Gray’s curveballs were put in play, and he was able to keep the Pirates on the ground by buzzing them with the cutter for four cutters, the majority of which invited mild contact.

Pages turns for early lead

The inning when the Cardinals took the game’s first lead could have yielded more.

It also was on the verge of yielding nothing.

Pirates starter Mlodzinksi retired the first two batters of the second inning, and with help from a double play got six outs from the first six Cardinals he faced. Masyn Winn snapped that run with a single to left field. Mlodzinski then walked Thomas Saggese to bring up catcher Pages. With two outs and the Cardinals’ first crack with runners in scoring position, Pages poked a single to right field.

The race was on.

Winn scored easily from second.

Saggese attempted to advance to third, and he was caught there when first baseman Spencer Horwitz wisely pivoted the cutoff to easily beat Saggese to third. A rally that almost had runners at the corners with two outs instead had a run, but an inning that almost petered out with two outs, had brought the Cardinals to a lead,1-0.