ST. LOUIS -- After allowing a season-high 10 hits and four runs in arguably his worst outing of the season on Sunday, St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia was back in form on Saturday.

Firing seven shutout innings, Garcia lifted St. Louis to a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at sold-out Busch Stadium, restoring the Cardinals' National League Central lead to 6 1/2 games.

Garcia (8-4) gave up four hits, three to right fielder Sean Rodriguez, and walked one while striking out a season-high nine. He fanned the top five hitters in Pittsburgh's lineup seven times, getting second baseman Josh Harrison, shortstop Jordy Mercer and left fielder Starling Marte twice each.

"I felt pretty good the whole game," Garcia said after lowering his ERA to 1.89. "I don't look for strikeouts, I look for quick outs. I threw more pitches than I usually do."

Garcia threw 108 pitches, three shy of his career high, before leaving for a pinch-hitter after maneuvering out of the only jam he faced. With men at first and third and two outs in the seventh, Garcia maintained St. Louis' 2-0 lead by inducing an inning-ending fielder's choice grounder from second baseman Josh Harrison.

Rodriguez was the only Pirate who solved Garcia, singling twice and doubling. The rest of his teammates managed just one hit, a broken-bat two-out single in the first by Andrew McCutchen.

"He cuts the plate in half," Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter said of Garcia. "That's why you see some of the swings and misses you see against him, even from (former) MVPs like Andrew McCutchen. When he's healthy, Jaime is one of the top pitchers in the league."

Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton (8-7) pitched a solid game but fell to 2-11 in his career against the Cardinals. Morton worked six innings, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned). He walked three and struck out three.

Morton put himself in trouble in the bottom of the second inning, though, filling the bases on two walks and a hit batter. Left fielder Stephen Piscotty legged out a two-out infield hit to break the scoring seal and second baseman Josh Harrison's throw skipped past first baseman Michael Morse for an error that plated a second run.

Harrison appeared to rush his toss to first after a unexpected high hop near second base forced him to leap for the ball.

"It was a chopper and I knew it was close to the bag," Harrison said. "It took that hop and we almost got him. You live and die with what you go with. This is baseball."

Carpenter added insurance for St. Louis (87-48) with his 21st homer of the season, a two-run blast off reliever Arquimedes Caminero into the Pittsburgh bullpen in left center, in its half of the seventh.

That turned out to be a big deal when the Pirates rallied against closer Trevor Rosenthal with two outs in the ninth, getting an RBI single from pinch-hitter Pedro Alvarez and then bringing the potential tying run to the plate after Harrison drew a walk.

But pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco fanned for the third out, waving at a high fastball, to drop Pittsburgh to 80-54.

For Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, it was simply another exhibition of how Garcia can foul up an offense's timing with his late movement.

"He had real good movement in the strike zone and it looked like he got sharper as the game went on," Matheny said. "He did a real good job mixing things up in sequences with (catcher) Yadier (Molina).

"It was another one of his good outings."

NOTES: St. Louis 1B Matt Adams (right quad), who suffered a setback in rehab last week after he discovered his left leg needed strengthening, hopes to return before the season ends. Adams has been disabled since May 27. ... Pittsburgh collected two hits from pinch hitters Friday night, making it 6-for-8 with three RBIs off the bench this month. The Pirates' .249 pinch-hit average is fourth in the National League. ... Cardinals OF Randal Grichuk (right elbow) is supposed to see a doctor to determine whether he can begin throwing again. Grichuk has been on the disabled list since Aug. 17 after injuring himself on a throw.