PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals possess plenty of home-run hitters besides Mark McGwire, so they can be very hard to stop when their offense starts rolling.

As the Pittsburgh Pirates found out Saturday, there are some nights when they can't be stopped at all.

Fernando Vina's three-run shot in the second started it as the Cardinals hit three homers, giving them a major league-leading 88 in beating Pittsburgh 19-4 in their highest-scoring game in 23 years.

The 19 runs were the most by the Cardinals since they scored 21 against the Cubs on April 27, 1977. The outburst, which came against five Pirates pitcher and one Pirates catcher, surpassed their previous season's high by five runs.

The Cardinals scored seven runs in the eighth, then added five more in the ninth off Pirates utilityman Keith Osik, who yielded a two-run homer to pinch-hitter Thomas Howard an inning after hitting a two-run homer himself.

"That had to be a first," Pirates outfielder Brian Giles said. "You may never see that again. At least he worked fast and threw strikes."

So did Cardinals starter Pat Hentgen (4-4), who had lost four in a row and was winless in five starts since April 16 before allowing three runs -- two on Osik's homer in the eighth with the Cardinals leading by 13 -- in seven-plus innings.

Fittingly, Hentgen ended the losing streak on the road, where he is 61-33 in his career.

McGwire, who had walked three times, hit a three-run double in the seven-run eighth inning, a drive off the center field wall that missed by about three feet of being his 18th homer of the season.

Mike Matheny hit a three-run homer later in the inning while going was 3-for-5 with a career-high four RBI. The Cardinals had a season-high 19 hits.

"We're an explosive club," Hentgen said.

Francisco Cordova (1-4) came off the disabled list to lose his fourth in a row and his second successive start to the Cardinals, who followed a 13-1 loss Friday with a 15-run victory.

"I don't get caught up with what happened the day before," Hentgen said. "I just try to do my job, I had a comfortable lead for most of the game, and that lets you be aggressive and go after guys."

Cordova didn't get much help from a shaky defense that committed four errors, all of which came in innings the Cardinals scored. The Cardinals' defense, by contrast, turned four double-play grounders behind Hentgen and has an NL-low 20 errors.

"With the offense and defense we have, we're very confident going out there," Hentgen said. "I got quick outs and four double plays, and those are pitch-savers. Those make it easier for you."

Cordova, again struggling with his control, walked Craig Paquette to start the second. After Matheny singled and Hentgen struck out, Vina hit a drive into the right-field seats on a 2-1 pitch for his third homer.

"It's good to have it go our way tonight," Vina said. "We were able to score some runs and Pat really picked it up a notch."

The Cardinals needed only one hit -- Matheny's RBI single -- while scoring twice in the third with the help of two walks and two errors. Cordova has 13 walks in his last four starts.

"It felt good to get some hits with guys on base," Matheny said. "When you do that, you feel like you're contributing."

Osik, who entered in the eighth during a double switch, hit two batters and threw a run-scoring wild pitch in his inning's work. He also pitched an inning last season in a 19-8 loss to Houston and now has a 40.50 career ERA.

"It was an embarrassing loss for us," Osik said. "I'm just out there trying to save (closer) Mike Williams for Sunday, and I don't care what happens to me."

Game notes
Jason Kendall, who on Friday became the first NL catcher to hit for the cycle since Randy Hundley of the Cubs in 1966, was 1-for-4. ... Cardinals catchers Matheny and Eli Marrero have yet to commit an error. ... Cordova hasn't won since pitching 7 1/3 no-hit innings against Houston on April 6. ... Jim Edmonds was 2-for-4, raising his NL-best road average to .459. ... Wil Cordero returned to Pittsburgh after missing four games to attend child custody proceedings in Puerto Rico, going 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. ... The Pirates have at least one extra-base hit in all 41 games. ... The crowd of 36,331 was the Pirates' largest since opening day. ... Hentgen has never had a five-game losing streak since breaking into the majors with Toronto in 1991.