PITTSBURGH -- Carlos Martinez insisted he wasn't thinking about a potential All-Star Game berth.

Nevertheless, the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander made a strong case to be in Cincinnati on Tuesday.

Martinez pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, and the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between teams with two of the best records in the major leagues.

"The All-Star Game would be nice, but I just wanted to go out and pitch as long as I could to help the team win the game," Martinez said. "That's my job."

Martinez (10-3) improved to 7-1 with a 1.20 ERA in his past 10 starts. He allowed four hits while striking out eight and walking two.

"You can see his confidence keep growing and growing because he is getting better every time out," Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina said. "When he is throwing his fastball at 99 (mph) and his slider for strikes, too, he's tough for anybody to hit."

The 23-year-old right-hander also made a strong pitch to be selected to his first All-Star Game, which will be played Tuesday at Great American Ball Park. He is one of five players contending for the National League's Final Vote. Fan balloting ends Friday.

"It's off Carlos' shoulders," Cardinals manager Mike Mathney said. "Now it's up to the fans. Hopefully, he gets in. He's very deserving."

St. Louis (56-30) opened a 5 1/2-game lead on the Pirates in the NL Central. Pittsburgh (50-35) had its five-game winning streak snapped.

"Martinez was working the zone, was throwing all his pitches for strikes," Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "We didn't square many balls up against him."

The Cardinals scored in the fifth inning on two-run singles by second baseman Matt Carpenter with one out and Molina with two outs against left-hander Jeff Locke (5-5).

Only one of the runs was earned because shortstop Jordy Mercer booted first baseman Xavier Scruggs' grounder for an error with no outs.

Carpenter and Molina finished with two hits each.

McCutchen kept the Pirates from being shut out when he hit a 443-foot home run, his 11th of the season, to center field off reliever Seth Maness to lead off the ninth. That extended McCutchen's career-best hitting streak to 16 games.

Closer Trevor Rosenthal retired the next three hitters for his 26th save in 27 opportunities.

"It's important the first game of any series," Molina said. "It's especially big when you're playing against a great team like Pittsburgh. It's really good to get that first one."

Locke was pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth. He allowed five hits, struck out five and walked three after giving up two earned runs or fewer in each of his previous five starts.

"In that fifth inning, I didn't execute my pitches," Locke said. "This is a good team we're playing. You have to be able to execute if you're going to beat them."

NOTES: Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong, who sustained a mild concussion Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader against the Cubs in Chicago, played the final four innings at second after pinch-hitting. Wong passed concussion tests Thursday afternoon. ... Cardinals RF Matt Holliday, on the disabled list since June 9 with a strained right quadriceps, might be activated Friday but would be limited to pinch-hitting this weekend. ... Pirates LF Starling Marte missed a fourth consecutive game because of a strained left oblique. Marte underwent a full pregame workout for a second straight day, but the Pirates don't have a timetable for his return. ... Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (6-4, 2.53 ERA) faces Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (12-3, 2.28 ERA) on Friday night in the second game of the series. Lynn is seventh in the National League in ERA and fifth with 0.49 home runs allowed per nine innings. Cole leads the major leagues in wins and is 7-1 with a 2.19 ERA in his past nine starts.