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ST. LOUIS -- To earn his 16th win, Adam Wainwright really needed his bat. Wainwright matched his career best with three RBIs, an unexpected boost that helped carry the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. "Theres usually two or three games a year that you swing the outcome if you can provide something offensively," Wainwright said. "I just made a couple of good swings." The bottom of the order was the difference in the fourth win in a row for the NL Central leaders. Eighth-place hitter Peter Bourjos singled twice with an RBI, and seventh-place hitter Daniel Descalso walked twice and scored twice. Randal Grichuk added three hits and made a nice diving catch in right field to rob Starling Marte of a go-ahead extra-base hit. "I feel like were really ready to take off," Bourjos said. "Were getting contributions from everybody." Wainwright (16-9) prevailed despite allowing three home runs to match his career worst. He left after Starling Martes two-run shot shaved the lead to 5-4 with none out in the seventh. It was the first time he had allowed more than one homer all season. He has been getting by with less than his best stuff for a while, and like most of his recent starts, he believes he is close. "You can look at the three balls in the middle of the plate that got hit out, but I think most of the time I was much better than I have been," Wainwright said. "Thats what we see too," manager Mike Matheny said. "I think hes off just a hair sometimes." Russell Martin and Jordy Mercer homered with the bases empty for the Pirates, who have lost three in a row and were frustrated to get beaten by Wainwrights bat. He doubled his season RBI total and is batting .203 overall. "We treat him like a hitter," Martin said. "He gave some up but he took some back and thats just the type of competitor he is. "He was one of the toughest outs." Despite the damage, Wainwright didnt face any batters with runners in scoring position. He lost his previous two outings, the last at Pittsburgh when he allowed three runs in six innings. Wainwright had thrown 28 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings at home against Pittsburgh before Martin homered in the second. The first four Cardinals reached base in a three-run fourth that snapped a 2-all tie. Wainwrights two-run single chased Jeff Locke (6-4), who walked five and was charged with five runs -- four earned. Wainwright also had a run-scoring groundout in the second and matched a three-RBI game he had against the Brewers on July 4, 2010, in which he also threw a complete game in a 7-1 win. Locke allowed a run in 7 1-3 innings with two walks against the Cardinals his last time out. He worked around a season-worst six walks to win at Milwaukee on Aug. 22 and was 4-0 with a 2.90 ERA in five August starts. "I just didnt have any command, fell behind everybody," Locke said. "They were really in the drivers seat the whole time." Jhonny Peralta doubled to start the seventh and scored on a wild pitch by John Axford that put St. Louis up 6-4. Trevor Rosenthal got a day off, and Pat Neshek finished for his fifth save in eight chances. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Pedro Alvarez missed his sixth straight game with left foot discomfort. Charlie Morton (hip) threw 76 pitches in a four-inning simulated game earlier Tuesday and could join the bullpen soon. Cardinals: Kolten Wong didnt start for the second straight game after banging his head making a catch. He pinch-hit in both games, and his homer tied it on Monday. UP NEXT Pirates: Edinson Volquez (11-7, 3.45) has won seven of his last eight decisions. He is 4-6 with a 5.06 ERA in 14 career starts against the Cardinals. Cardinals: St. Louis seeks a sweep behind Shelby Miller (8-9, 4.19). The right-hander is 2-6 with a 4.98 ERA against Pittsburgh, including 2-2 this year. 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Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. MINNEAPOLIS -- For a guy who was drafted second overall just three years ago, Derrick Williams has enjoyed precious little security in his short time with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His name has been the subject of trade rumours almost from the moment he was drafted, and he has spent his first two seasons in the league trying to get on the same page with Wolves coach Rick Adelman while grasping the complexities of learning two positions. So when he finally gets a little something to hold on to, its no surprise that Williams is appreciative. Timberwolves president Flip Saunders informed Williams on Tuesday morning that the team will pick up his contract option for next season, guaranteeing the $6.3 million on the deal. "I think everybody knows that if they didnt pick up my option I would have been unrestricted (free agent) and, basically, could have done whatever," Williams said after practice. "So it helps, the security. Youre guaranteed at least one more year in the NBA, you know? And, as long as you have that, I think everything is good." The decision by the Timberwolves doesnt mean Williams wont continue to see his name in the trade rumour mill. Hes still adjusting to playing two positions -- small forward in addition to his more natural power forward -- and he admits he still has a lot to learn on both ends of the court. "Its tough. Especially when, ever since Ive been here, Ive heard trade rumours," Williams said. "Really since I was picked. So itt seems like every other day there is something new.dddddddddddd" But hes also just 22 years old, and Saunders sees him as a young asset that deserves the chance to continue to develop. Williams is the second-leading scorer for the Wolves in the preseason and has a chance to be the teams starting small forward while Chase Budinger recovers from a knee injury. Adelman said he has been pleased with how hard Williams has been working, which appears to be progress for a coach who hasnt always been happy with the youngsters effort. "I think hes played very hard," Adelman said. "He rebounded the ball very well the other night (against Boston) and its a process for him. Its kind of a disadvantage when he has to play two spots because youre jumping back and forth. Right now thats what we have to do." Williams averaged 15.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and shot 34 per cent from 3-point range over the final 33 games of the season while filling in at power forward for the injured Kevin Love. But with Love back this season, Williams will have to be able to play small forward to get significant minutes. He feels more confident this year than he ever has, so much so that he thinks he should be starting on opening night against Orlando on Oct. 30. "I think I deserve to be," Williams said. "Thats why they drafted me here. They didnt draft me to come off the bench, things like that. Ultimately, its up to Coach. Im just here to play basketball." ' ' '