Pittsburgh Pirates' Yoshi Tsutsugo watches his RBI single during the seventh inning of the team's baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

       LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) -- Yoshitomo Tsutsugo went deep for the second straight game for the first time in his two major league seasons Saturday as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4.

       Batting cleanup and playing first base, Tsutsugo broke a 1-1 tie by opening the fourth inning with a solo home run off J.A. Happ. He then singled in the decisive fifth run in the seventh off another lefty, Genesis Cabrera (2-4), at Busch Stadium.

       On Friday, Tsutsugo, who joined the Pirates as a free agent Monday after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, blasted a ninth-inning, pinch-hit solo shot to help end his new team's five-game losing skid.

       The former DeNA BayStars slugger had eight home runs in his first big-league season last year with the Tampa Bay Rays before he was released in May.

       Two-way star Shohei Ohtani went hitless for the first time in five games as the Los Angeles Angels lost 5-1 to the Cleveland Indians.

       Kenta Maeda (6-5) allowed five runs over 4-1/3 innings and was tagged with a loss as the Minnesota Twins were beaten 7-1 by the New York Yankees. The right-hander left the mound after he felt tightness in his throwing forearm.

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