By ALAN ROBINSON

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH – Maybe the Pittsburgh Pirates could learn something about patience and persistence from Cardinals rookie Chris Duncan. Even if the first at-bat of a game goes badly, there will be chances later to make up for it.

Duncan tripled and doubled to key a pair of two-run rallies and St. Louis won despite another subpar start by Mark Mulder, beating the Pirates 6-5 Thursday.

Mulder (6-4) lasted five innings and got the win despite giving up nine hits and four runs, including solo homers by Jose Bautista and Jose Castillo. Mulder has permitted 23 earned runs and 36 hits in 19 innings over his last four starts, a 10.89 ERA.

But, as usual, Mulder beat the Pirates . The Cardinals are 34-12 in Pittsburgh since PNC Park opened in 2001 and have won 12 of their last 16 series against the Pirates, losing one and splitting three.

“I think he took another step forward,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “Overall, he made a lot of good pitches to limit the damage early.”

The Pirates led 2-1 before Duncan tripled, and Gary Bennett and Mulder walked ahead of So Taguchi’s two-out single off Victor Santos (4-7) in the fourth. An inning later, Duncan followed Juan Encarnacion’s single and Hector Luna’s walk to tie it at 4 with a double off reliever Ryan Vogelsong. Bennett’s run-scoring groundout made it 5-4.

The Cardinals added another run in the sixth on Scott Rolen’s RBI single.

Duncan struck out to leave the bases loaded in the first before getting three consecutive hits.

“A lot of guys would be hiding after that first at-bat,” La Russa said. “That’s another thing you hear from every manager that he’s played for, he’s a very tough individual. That’s one reason I think he’s going to be an impact guy, he’s got talent and he’s very tough.”

The Pirates had plenty of chances against Mulder and three relievers, but they left eight on base.

“It was a weird game, because it felt like every sinker I threw they were all over it – like they knew it was coming,” Mulder said. “Both (homers) were on fastballs over the middle of the plate, and the reality is anyone in the big leagues should hit those. They were sitting on a tee there for them.”