ST. LOUIS -- In 2002, Gerrit Cole was in the stands at Edison International Field in Anaheim when John Lackey pitched and won Game 7 of the World Series for the Angels.

Sunday night, Cole matched up with one of his childhood heroes and won.

Checking the St. Louis Cardinals on two hits through seven shutout innings, Cole led the Pittsburgh Pirates to their first series win at Busch Stadium since April of 2013 with a 7-1 decision.

In improving to 16-8, Cole walked three and fanned seven, enabling Pittsburgh (81-54) to cut St. Louis' National League Central lead to 5 1/2 games.

"Obviously, I watched him growing up," Cole said. "Everybody knows what a competitor he is. We knew we would be in for a fistfight when we saw him penciled in (to start)."

Cole won this one by unanimous decision, shrugging off occasional control problems in the first three innings and retiring the last seven men he faced. Cole was still touching 97 mph on his fastball in the seventh inning, finishing with a flourish by whiffing his last two batters.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was impressed with Cole's fastball.

"His fastball played big. He was able to get in on the left-handed hitters to speed them up, and then he used the two breaking balls well," Hurdle said. "Once he got settled in after the first two innings, he was fine."

Lackey (11-9) matched Cole until the fourth, when second baseman Neil Walker looped a two-out RBI single to right-center to initiate scoring. It stayed 1-0 until the seventh, when Cole aided his cause with a surprising two-out single to center for his first RBI of the year.

"I was looking up in the zone so I wouldn't be late, and I just got enough of it," Cole said.

Pittsburgh broke this one open late with the long ball. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez cracked a one-out solo homer in the eighth to knock out Lackey and first baseman Sean Rodriguez rifled a two-out, two-run blast into the Cardinals' bullpen in right-center for a 5-0 lead.

Left fielder Starling Marte added a two-run shot to right-center in the ninth, his 16th homer of the year, to punctuate the Pirates' first series victory in their last eight trips to St. Louis. In losing the prior seven series, Pittsburgh went 4-18.

Although the Pirates still face a sizable deficit, particularly since the Cardinals still have 14 games left with Milwaukee and Cincinnati, Hurdle isn't cowed by it.

"I was with a team in 2007 that was six games behind with 14 left," he said, referring to the Colorado Rockies club he managed to the World Series. "So there's still a lot of baseball left. The numbers don't mean anything to me."

Lackey lasted 7 1/3 innings in his 22nd quality start of the year, allowing 10 hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts.

"I felt great. I wouldn't take much back, honestly," Lackey said. "You've got to give Cole a lot of credit. He threw well."

St. Louis (87-49) avoided the shutout when pinch-hitter Cody Stanley grounded a run-scoring single to center in the ninth, but lost just its fourth series at home this year.

As his teammates packed hurriedly for a quick postgame flight to Cincinnati, where the Pirates will play an afternoon game Monday, Walker touched on his team's rare series win under the Gateway Arch.

"It's going to be an electric atmosphere every time you play and usually it's a close game," he said. "The team which plays closest to perfect ball is going to win. We know we can win games here."

NOTES: St. Louis activated OF Randal Grichuk (right elbow) from the 15-day DL Sunday, but he won't be able to hit or throw for a few days. Grichuk has been sidelined since Aug. 17. ... Pittsburgh RHP A.J. Burnett (right elbow) threw a bullpen session Sunday, but there is no timetable for his return. Burnett went on the DL on July 31 after giving up 19 runs over 16 innings in his first three starts after the All-Star break. ... Cardinals RHP Jordan Walden (right bicep) will miss the season's remainder and will likely need surgery to avoid a lengthy rehab period, according to general manager John Mozeliak.