PITTSBURGH – Zach Duke struck out seven in his second complete game of the season, Nate McLouth drove in three runs with a home run and triple, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Friday night to end a five-game losing streak.

Duke (8-10), winless in three starts since July 19, outpitched Jeff Suppan (9-7), who had won three of four with a 1.95 ERA since the All-Star break. The left-handed Duke gave up a run in the first on Albert Pujols’ double and Juan Encarnacion’s two-out single, then limited the slumping Cardinals to six hits after that.

With third baseman Scott Rolen sitting out with back spasms – he is hitting .478 against the Pirates this season – the Cardinals dropped their third in five games on their current road trip and their 11th in their last 15. They had been 7-2 against the Pirates this season and 19-6 over the last two seasons.

McLouth came into the game with 13 RBIs in 266 at-bats, only to equal in two at-bats as many RBIs as he had in his previous 23 games combined. McLouth was lifted in the seventh with a sore left ankle.

With the Pirates up 2-1, McLouth started the fifth with his seventh homer, a full-count drive into the right-field seats that was the fourth allowed by Suppan in his last three starts. Freddy Sanchez, the NL batting leader, followed with a double and scored on one of Jason Bay’s three singles to make it 4-1.

The Pirates, previously 3-9 at home against the Cardinals over the last two seasons, chased Suppan an inning later when Ronny Paulino singled with one out. Reliever Tyler Johnson came in to give up Chris Duffy’s single and McLouth’s two-run triple to center.

That 6-1 lead was more than enough for Duke, who again resembled the in-control, poised rookie who went 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 14 starts following his midseason callup a year ago. He didn’t walk a batter and was helped out by three double-play grounders, only once allowing consecutive batters to reach base.

Pujols went 4-for-4 with two doubles to raise his average to .571 (12-of-21) with nine extra-base hits against the Pirates this season.

Duke’s outing was his best since he shut out the Cubs 8-0 on May 2, though he did pitch 6 1-3 scoreless innings while not figuring in the decision in the Pirates’ 2-1, rain-delayed victory over San Francisco on June 30.

Notes: Duke’s 29 runs allowed in the first are the most by any NL pitcher. … The Pirates won only their third in 10 games overall. … Pittsburgh is 12-31 against the Cardinals since 2004. … Bay came into the game 2-of-21 against Suppan before going 2-of-3 against him. … Pujols has a .398 average (70-for-176) with 18 homers and 15 doubles at PNC Park. … Duke had lost four of six. … Suppan is 7-3 in 14 career starts against Pittsburgh. … Duffy went 2-for-3 after being 3-for-32 since his August 1 recall from the minors.

AP-ES-08-11-06 2131EDT