MILWAUKEE (AP) — Carlos Martinez’s teammates greeted the pitcher with hugs and handshakes following his eight innings of work at Miller Park.

After a tough couple weeks, the young right-hander ended May on a high note.

Martinez struck out eight in a crisp performance and Matt Carpenter had four hits, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

After giving up at least four runs in each of his three previous starts, Martinez rebounded nicely with another masterful outing against Milwaukee. Entering Monday, he had a 1.34 ERA in 15 career games, including four starts, against the Brewers.

“It was a mental adjustment, not mechanics or physically. I think I have control of that,” Martinez said through an interpreter. “It is just knowing when to place the ball.”

Martinez allowed five singles and walked one. Trevor Rosenthal finished the five-hitter.

“That was phenomenal,” manager Mike Matheny said about Martinez. “He can be as dominating as anybody in the game when he puts it all together.”

Carpenter sparked the offense from the leadoff spot. He even scored from second in the seventh after catcher Jonathan Lucroy lost track of a wild pitch by Jhan Marinez that trickled to the backstop.

The Cardinals never trailed after building a 3-0 lead in the third off Junior Guerra (3-1), who allowed eight hits and three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. St. Louis capitalized on some questionable Milwaukee defense in the third.

“They were kind of `woulda-coulda-shoulda’ plays but certainly not routine plays,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The way Martinez was pitching, we pretty much needed to make every play today.”

BAD BREW

The top of the third included a throwing error and passed ball for the Brewers. Another run scored when Alex Presley, who was wearing sunglasses, couldn’t get to a towering fly by Matt Adams to the warning track in left on a sunny afternoon.

The ball fell to the dirt for an RBI double. Presley said the ball had drifted and fell just behind him and to his right.

Martinez had more than enough support against a team that he has dominated through his four-year career, including a 0.59 ERA in three starts in 2015. The fastball topped at about 98 mph, and Martinez mixed in a curveball, slider and changeup.

“He does a good job of mixing pitches even though he has good velocity,” Presley said. “He can get you off balance, and just called an unpredictable-type game at times. With his stuff, it’s a tough combo.”

FANTASTIC FOUR

The top four hitters in the Cardinals’ lineup accounted for 10 of the team’s 12 hits. Third-place hitter Matt Holliday was 3 for 4 with three RBI, including a 466-foot homer in the seventh off Marinez that landed in the top row of the bleachers in left.

“We put traffic out there. We put pressure on them to make pitches and guys came through with the big hits when we needed them,” Matheny said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Stephen Piscotty missed the game with a stomach bug. “He got some bad food last night, or something zapped him,” Matheny said. … SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) needed stitches after cutting a finger on his right hand with a knife during his rehab assignment Saturday night at Double-A Springfield. Peralta might miss another couple days.

Brewers: LF Ryan Braun (sore neck) missed a second straight game. The Brewers’ best hitter also has been bothered by soreness in his lower back and right wrist this season. … LHP Will Smith (right knee) was scheduled to return to Milwaukee on Monday night from his rehab stint in the minors. He could be activated on Thursday when the team opens a four-game series in Philadelphia.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: The team is scoring 5.25 runs a game in the last four starts of RHP Mike Leake (3-4) after averaging 3.7 runs over his first six outings.

Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (3-5) is 4-9 with a 5.00 ERA in 14 career starts against St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Strasburg won his 12th consecutive decision dating to last season and Jayson Werth connected for a pinch-hit grand slam to help the Washington Nationals close out the season series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 10-2 win on Sunday.

Wilson Ramos had three hits, including a two-run homer, and drove in four runs. Bryce Harper hit an RBI single during Washington’s three-run fourth inning off Michael Wacha (2-6).

Strasburg (9-0) pitched six innings of one-run ball as Washington salvaged a split of the four-game series. The Nationals went 5-2 against the Cardinals this season.

Strasburg improved to 12-0 in 15 starts since losing to the Mets on Sept. 9, and the Nationals have won all 15 of those games. The 12 consecutive winning decisions is a franchise record for a starter, breaking a mark shared by Livan Hernandez (2005) and Dennis Martinez (1989).

The right-hander also became the first starter in franchise history to win his first nine decisions in a season, one more than Pedro Martinez in 1997. Washington is 11-0 this season in games started by Strasburg, who lowered his ERA to 2.69 and tied Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta for the NL lead in wins.

Anthony Rendon and Werth homered in the seventh for Washington in its final game before a three-city road trip.

Brandon Moss hit a solo home run off Strasburg for a short-lived lead. Matt Holliday had three hits for the Cardinals.

Werth’s drive off Dean Kiekhefer highlighted the decisive five-run seventh as Washington batted around. Rendon started the inning with a homer after St. Louis made it 3-2 in the top of the inning on Matt Adams’ sacrifice fly.

Wacha dropped his sixth straight decision after starting the season 2-0. He was unable to complete more than four innings in any of his three previous starts while allowing 20 earned runs combined.

Though he worked deeper against the Nationals, the fourth inning was costly.

The Nationals went 1 for 13 and no RBI with runners in scoring position over the first three games. That futility ended in the fourth. Following Michael Taylor’s leadoff double, Harper’s single tied it at 1.

Ryan Zimmerman’s one-out double put runners on second and third. After Rendon struck out, Ramos drove in both runners with a two-out single.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Adams went 0 for 2 with a walk in his first start since exiting Thursday’s game with mid-back stiffness. He had a two-run, pinch-hit double in Saturday’s 9-4 win.

Nationals: RHP Matt Belisle (right calf strain) allowed two runs over two innings Saturday in his third rehab appearance with Single-A Potomac. Belisle visited Washington’s clubhouse Sunday and said he expects to pitch for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday before Washington decides on his next step.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (4-5, 4.25 ERA) looks to snap a string of five consecutive losing decisions as St. Louis opens a three-game series at Milwaukee. RHP Junior Guerra (3-0, 3.30 ERA) starts for the Brewers.

Nationals: Washington’s nine-game road trip opens Monday in Philadelphia. The Nationals’ Tanner Roark (3-4, 2.71 ERA) will face fellow RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-3, 3.97 ERA).

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two on, two out, a run in and a chance for St. Louis to take control of its game against the Washington Nationals.

Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright couldn’t wait to step to the plate.

Wainwright delivered a two-run double and pitched seven gritty innings Saturday night to help St. Louis secure a 9-4 victory.

Matt Holliday homered for the Cardinals, who took control with a four-run second inning highlighted by Wainwright’s fifth extra-base hit of the season.

With runners at the corners in the second, Wainwright lined the first pitch from Gio Gonzalez (3-3) into the left-center gap for a 3-0 lead.

“Several times a year, a pitcher has a chance to swing a ballgame in his favor with a positive plate appearance,” Wainwright said. “Sometimes that’s getting a bunt down, sometimes that’s getting a hit when you need it. Off a tough pitcher like Gio, you have to take advantage of those situations.”

Matt Carpenter, activated from the paternity list before the game, followed with an RBI double.

That started Wainwright (5-3) on a path to his fifth straight win. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits — including a career record-tying three home runs. He struck out five and walked none.

“My stuff is back,” Wainwright declared. “I’ve just got to hone it a little bit. Home runs sometimes can cost you the lead or a loss, but luckily our offense did a good job.”

Wainwright received a whopping 45 runs of support in his previous six starts. The trend continued in this one — with the pitcher himself as a main contributor.

“I almost love to hit more than I love to pitch,” Wainwright said. “It’s close.”

He leads all major league pitchers this season in extra-base hits and RBI (a career-high eight).

“He’s had huge hits for us this year,” manager Mike Matheny said. “He smashed that ball today. He’s putting together some good at-bats. He’s also our best bunter. Just ask him.”

Ryan Zimmerman went 4 for 4 with two homers, and Bryce Harper had a solo shot for the Nationals, who send unbeaten Stephen Strasburg to the mound Sunday hoping to salvage a split of the four-game series.

Harper’s home run was his 13th of the season and second in three games. But the reigning NL MVP is 7 for 43 (.163) since May 13, dropping his batting average 33 points to .245.

After St. Louis’ big second inning, Zimmerman connected in the bottom half after Daniel Murphy hit a leadoff single. Murphy’s hit was his 41st in May, most ever in one month by a Nationals player since the team moved from Montreal in 2005.

Holliday went deep in the third and Randal Grichuk snapped an 0-for-11 skid in the fifth with an RBI double. The hit chased Gonzalez, who gave up six runs, six hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. Half those walks came in the pivotal second inning.

“That got his pitch count up,” manager Dusty Baker said. “Then it really hurt when Wainwright got that double.”

Harper homered to deep center in the sixth, and Zimmerman hit his second of the game leading off the seventh to get Washington to 6-4.

Matt Adams answered with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the eighth.

Greg Garcia had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals. Recalled from the minors Thursday when Carpenter was placed on the paternity list, Garcia is batting .647 in 11 big league games this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb ligament) was held from the Double-A Springfield lineup Saturday night after cutting a finger on his right hand. The cut, which required stitches, will interrupt his rehabilitation assignment for a few days.

Nationals: RHP Matt Belisle (right calf strain) received treatment in the Nats training room before packing a bag and driving to nearby Woodbridge, Virginia, for a rehab stint with Class A Potomac. “I feel great. Ready to rock,” said Belisle, who was slated to throw two innings.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (2-5, 5.04 ERA) starts the finale Sunday after allowing 20 runs in his last three starts, including a career-high eight in his last outing vs. Chicago.

Nationals: Strasburg (8-0, 2.79) is 11-0 with a 2.14 ERA in last 14 starts, dating to Sept. 15.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Jaime Garcia rediscovered his winning form, pitching counterpart Max Scherzer lost the strike zone and then the game by allowing yet another home run.

Stephen Piscotty hit a grand slam off Scherzer during a five-run third inning and Garcia quieted the Washington Nationals lineup as the St. Louis Cardinals won 6-2 on Friday night.

Coming off consecutive ineffective starts, Garcia held Washington to two runs and seven hits over seven innings. The Cardinals had lost four of five.

“You can tell when his (sinker) is there,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Garcia, who opened the game with four scoreless innings. “He had very good movement and used his changeup and slider, but the sinker was a great pitch for him tonight.”

Scherzer allowed two earned runs in each of his previous three starts including his 20-strikeout gem on May 11 in a victory over Detroit. That version didn’t show early against St. Louis. He walked four batters and allowed five runs, all by the third inning. Scherzer surrendered three hits over seven innings.

Danny Espinosa’s second home run in as many games broke up Garcia’s shutout bid in the fifth.

Bryce Harper went 1 for 4 after hitting the go-ahead home run in Washington’s 2-1 series-opening win Thursday.

Greg Garcia homered for St. Louis, which scored six runs on four hits.

Jaime Garcia’s one-out single in the third was the first hit off Scherzer and started a stretch of five straight batters to reach base. After Scherzer walked Matt Holliday with the bases loaded to score Garcia, Piscotty made it 5-0 with his first career grand slam deep into the stands in left field.

“It wasn’t the home run pitch,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said of Scherzer’s troubles. “It was the walks before the home run. That’s what really hurt.”

Piscotty recognized Scherzer fell into slider-heavy rut against him.

“Including the (previous) at-bat he threw me four straight sliders,” the right fielder said. “Luckily I got that one.”

Scherzer, who finished with six strikeouts, then reversed course by retiring the final 14 batters he faced. He leads the majors with 15 home runs allowed and has alternated wins and losses over his last six starts.

“I know I’ve been giving up a ton of home runs,” Scherzer stated, “but that one, that’s just an execution thing. That’s just me not throwing the right pitch at the right time and with poor execution.”

With the victory, St. Louis improved to 25-24, avoiding falling below .500 for the first time since a 13-14 record on May 3.

In his previous outing against the Nationals this season, Garcia allowed four runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 6-1 home loss on April 30. He gave up eight runs and 15 hits combined over his last two starts.

“I made some adjustments I needed to make,” Garcia said. “That’s part of baseball, that’s part of pitching.”

NOT HERE FOR LONG

INF Greg Garcia began his second stint with St. Louis this season after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday with Matt Carpenter placed on the paternity list. Along with the home run, he walked twice, scored two runs and started a double play. Yet with Carpenter expected back Saturday, he will probably return to Memphis despite batting .615.

STRANDED AT THE DRIVE-IN: Washington went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Harper and Ryan Zimmerman each grounded into double plays with two runners on base. Zimmerman’s scored Harper in the sixth to make the score 5-2.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams did not start, but was available despite leaving in the fifth inning of Thursday’s loss due to mid-back stiffness.

Nationals: RHP Taylor Jordan, who pitched for the Nationals during each of the previous three seasons, underwent Tommy John surgery on Thursday. Jordan, who made three appearances for Triple-A Syracuse this season, had the same procedure in 2011.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (4-3, 5.77 ERA) makes his first appearance against the Nationals since 2014. He is 7-3 with a 2.18 ERA all-time versus Washington.

Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 2.87) allowed seven runs and 10 hits over five innings in his previous start, a 7-1 loss to the New York Mets.

— Associated Press —