"It's a good time to give Andy a chance to clear his head and take a step back," Russell said.

LaRoche misplayed two groundballs in Monday's opener, then dropped Albert Pujols' towering popup for a two-base error Tuesday night.

"It's tough because it's the start of the season and everything gets magnified a little more," LaRoche said. "I'm not down about it, but I'm upset with myself that I'm costing my team runs."

LaRoche spent time with first base coach and infield instructor Perry Hill working on his fielding before Wednesday's game. Hill found a mechanical glitch that is causing LaRoche to be slow in getting his glove down to field grounders.

"It's just a little thing that I had no idea I was doing and probably nobody would even think about if they weren't watching for it," LaRoche said. "Perry saw it, though, and I think it's going to fix the problem."

PIRATES 7, CARDINALS 4: Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson had four hits each and Brandon Moss had three -- as all three players tied career highs -- to lead a 17-hit attack. Nate McLouth hit a two-run home run to extend the Pirates' lead to 7-2 in the sixth. Zach Duke (1-0) allowed three runs, one earned, in 6 1/3 innings for the win, and Matt Capps retired the last two batters for his second save.