PITTSBURGH -- Jared Jones allowed one hit over seven dominant innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates inched closer to the franchise's first winning season in eight years with a 2-0 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night. The hard-throwing Jones (5-6) retired the first 16 batters he faced before Nathan Church's bloop landed just beyond the outstretched glove of Pirates third baseman Jacob Gonzalez with one out in the sixth. Church sprinted to second for a double but remained there after Masyn Wynn lined out and J.J. Wetherholt struck out to end the inning. Jones, who returned from Tommy John surgery in late May, tied a season high with nine strikeouts in seven innings and improved to 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four starts in September. Gregory Soto worked around a leadoff walk to record his 16th save.
