P.J. Walters pitched seven dominant innings as the St. Louis Cardinals topped the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 in the rubber match of their three-game series Wednesday afternoon.

Allen Craig hit a fourth-inning home run for the Cardinals, who were eliminated from playoff consideration on Tuesday evening.

Aaron Miles singled home a run in the seventh and Bryan Anderson and Tyler Greene tacked on insurance tallies in the eighth.

Walters (2-0), who entered having surrendered 11 home runs in 39 innings with an 8.54 ERA in 14 games in 2009-10, allowed singles in the first, third and sixth frames. The right-hander walked a batter in the sixth, the only innig a Pittsburgh runner advanced to second base.

The Pirates avoided their 15th shutout loss of the season when Andrew McCutchen led off the ninth with a double and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Neil Walker.

Pittsburgh starter James McDonald (4-6) was a tough-luck loser. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed just Craig's fourth homer of the season while scattering five hits over seven innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven.

The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 16-61 on the road this season. The New York Mets own the major league record for fewest road wins (17) since the schedule expanded to 162 games in 1962.

The Pirates close out the season with four games at Florida.