If this was Joe Kelly’s last turn, he’s leaving with his head held high.

The rookie right-hander pitched into the seventh inning of what could be his final start before Jaime Garcia comes off the disabled list, and the St. Louis Cardinals got home runs from Matt Holliday and Jon Jay in an 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.

“I love him in the rotation,” second baseman Skip Schumaker said after getting two hits and turning a dazzling double play to his left on a short hop to rob Miguel Montero in the second. “I don’t obviously manage but he’s making it really difficult on everyone to move him out.

“We think the world of him.”

Montero hit a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks, who have lost four of six to drop to .500. They are 0-4 against the Cardinals this season.

Ian Kennedy (10-10) made throwing errors on consecutive sacrifice bunt attempts to help the Cardinals score two unearned runs in the seventh for a three-run cushion, and gave up both homers for a four-game total of eight long balls.

“I feel like the two of them were good pitches, but obviously not good enough,” Kennedy said. “It’s frustrating when you give up those solo home runs.

“Every once in a while, they add up.”

Kelly (3-5) gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings and matched his career best with six strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.41 — trailing only Kyle Lohse’s 2.72 in the rotation. Garcia had eight strikeouts and three walks, throwing 93 pitches in five innings for Triple-A Memphis in his fourth rehab start Tuesday night.

Manager Mike Matheny swatted away a question about whether Garcia was ready to step in, saying “too early for that right now.” Before the game he said he advised Kelly to ignore speculation.

“Everyone else thinks about it a lot more than I do,” Kelly said. “It hasn’t really crossed my mind. Until someone tells me otherwise, I’ll just keep the same routine, same plan.”

Holliday’s two-run homer in the fourth reached the third deck in left just inside the foul pole to put St. Louis ahead. His 23rd homer topped last year’s total.

Jay hit his fourth of the year to open the sixth for a 3-0 lead.

Kelly had cruised through the middle innings Justin Upton singled to start the seventh. Montero homered to straightaway center on the next pitch, his 14th of the season.

In minutes, Kennedy doubled his season total of two errors through his first 23 starts and helped the Cardinals pull away. He was off-balance fielding Rafael Furcal’s sacrifice bunt and double-pumped an underhand throw that first baseman Paul Goldschmidt dropped after being screened to put two men on with none out in the seventh.

Kennedy then he floated a throw high over third base on what would have been an easy forceout on pinch hitter Shane Robinson’s sacrifice attempt to allow a run.

“We just self-disintegrated at the end of the game,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “We made two errors on two trivial bunt plays.”

Kennedy entered the season with three career errors in 100 starts. He’s 1/3 with a 8.59 ERA against the Cardinals in four career outings.

Allen Craig added a run-scoring groundout with the bases loaded off Brad Ziegler to make it 5-2 in the seventh. Pinch hitter Matt Carpenter was credited with a two-run double on a low liner that center fielder Gerardo Parra trapped and then tried to sell as a catch as the Diamondbacks began trotting off the field. Second base umpire Gary Darling, closest to the play, reversed third base umpire Paul Emmel’s call as the Cardinals kept running.

“I had a great view of it. I knew it was down,” Carpenter said. “You would have thought he for-sure caught it, the way he was acting.”

Kelly survived a pair of fielding miscues by Holliday and Jay in the first and third to keep it scoreless.

Holliday froze in his tracks in left and retreated too late on Jason Kubel’s double that bounced off the warning track with two outs in the first, but Kelly struck out Goldschmidt. Jay broke in from center on Stephen Drew’s one-out triple in the third and with a late dive got just the tip of his glove on the ball, but Kubel grounded into a double play.

Jay made a nice juggling catch at the wall to rob Drew for the last out in the fifth. The ball squirted out of Jay’s glove as he hit the ball but he re-gloved it while landing.

— Associated Press —

Juan Pierre took an Olympic-sized dose of inspiration watching Usain Bolt sprint to gold.

He took off on a 90-foot dash to his own finish line at first base.

No medals, just a needed victory for the Phillies.

Pierre beat out a run-scoring infield single in the 11th inning, lifting Phillies to an 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

“Once I hit it, I was like, `Get to the bag,” Pierre said.

Pierre hit a ball deep into the hole that shortstop Rafael Furcal made a great stab at and fired to first. Pierre, who enjoyed watching Bolt compete, just beat the throw to score Jimmy Rollins and help the Phillies win two of three against the Cardinals.

“I played with Furcal so I knew what kind of arm he had,” Pierre said. “Guys are saying he slipped a little bit and couldn’t get that much on the throw. He still got a lot on it, but not enough, and it happened to work out.

Rollins reached against Barret Browning (0-2) on a fielder’s choice. He advanced to second base on a grounder and then stole third.

Without that stolen base, the game was going to the 12th.

Without Erik Kratz, the Phillies were going home losers.

Kratz delivered again in the clutch for the Phillies with a three-run homer off Mitchell Boggs in the eighth that tied the game 7-all. He continued his role as unlikely star for the Phillies and delivered one of his biggest hits yet.

Chase Utley and Howard walked against Marc Rzepczynski to lead off the eighth.

Kratz then connected for the tying homer, his fifth, to left that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The 32-year-old Kratz was a minor league journeyman pressed into the big leagues when reserve catcher Brian Schneider was injured. Kratz has become a fan favorite because of his instant production (9 of first 13 hits for extra bases) and feel-good story.

“You want to be the guy that gets called up,” Kratz said. “You’re not going to sit there and just stay complacent. You’re going to give everything you have and want to get your uniform dirty to win the game. You want to be asked to be put in that spot.”

So close to victory, the Cardinals head home with a tough loss to deal with as they try and make ground in their playoff push.

“Pierre showed his speed. I thought he would be out,” Browning said. “All losses are tough, but this one hurts a little more.”

Ryan Howard also homered for the Phillies. Matt Carpenter had three RBIs for the Cardinals.

Jeremy Horst (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings for his first major league victory in a game that lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes.

Kratz’s tying shot was the breakthrough the Phillies needed against a tough Cardinals bullpen.

Jon Jay hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and Carpenter followed with an RBI single to make it 7-4.

Cardinals relievers had held the Phillies scoreless until the eighth after they scored four runs against starter Lance Lynn.

Howard, who missed 84 games after rupturing his left Achilles tendon while making the final out of the NL division series last October, had little to worry about on his home run trot. His solo shot to left-center, his seventh, tied the game at 4 in the fourth inning. The game appeared headed toward a back-and-forth high scoring game — and returned to that flavor over the final three innings.

Lynn entered leading the National League with a 6.77 run support average and his 23rd start of the season was trending that way.

The Phillies roughed up Lynn with a three-run first. Utley’s two-RBI triple made it 2-1 and Howard followed with a shot off second baseman Daniel Descalso’s glove for a run-scoring single.

Lynn, a 13-game winner, allowed four runs in five innings and is winless in his last three starts.

“We’ve had series like this all season and they are tough losses,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

The Cardinals did what they could to put Lynn in position for win No. 14. Carlos Beltran doubled to right for his NL-best 83rd RBI in the third to cut it to 3-2.

The Cardinals scored the tying run in the fourth on a throwing error by Kratz and went up 4-3 on Carpenter’s RBI single to center.

Carpenter wasted little time putting the Cardinals up 1-0 in the first when he ripped one into the right-center gap for an RBI double.

Vance Worley has just one win in his last five starts and had another rough outing Sunday. He allowed nine hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings — one start after he was chased by Atlanta in the fourth inning. He’s battled bone chips that caused a stint on the DL and a string of mediocre starts.

— Associated Press —

Jake Westbrook is having a season to savor.

He wants to keep it going deep into October.

Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer and Westbrook won his fifth straight start to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

The World Series champion Cardinals are in the thick of the wild-card hunt and Westbrook gave them a needed 7 2/3 strong innings. Westbrook (12-8) allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three and has won five straight starts for the first time in his career.

The Cardinals are trying to make a run at defending at their championship and Westbrook has helped keep their playoff dreams afloat. He’s showed his durability with 12 straight starts of at least six innings, and matched his win total from 2011 (12-9) in 10 fewer starts (33 in 2011; 23 in 2012).

“He was as good as we’ve seen him,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “His sinker was falling off the table.”

Jason Motte struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his 26th save.

Cliff Lee (2-7) retired 12 straight batters before the Cardinals tagged him for consecutive hits to open the sixth inning. Holliday followed with a shot to right for his 22nd homer of the season.

“The way Jake pitched, he deserved to win,” Holliday said.

Lee has allowed eight homers over his last three home starts and 19 overall on the season. Lee gave up 18 homers in 232 2/3 innings last season.

He remained winless at home this season.

Staked to a 1-0 lead, Lee was cruising and had his first home victory since September 5, 2011, in sight until Holliday took him deep. Carlos Beltran added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 4-1 and chase the lefty. Lee allowed 10 hits, walked none and struck out four in 7-plus innings.

He left two runners stranded in the first inning and stranded another runner at third in the second.

Lee, a 17-game winner last season, was expected to form a trio of aces with Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels that would keep the Phillies in contention for a sixth straight playoff spot.

It hasn’t worked out that way and the Phillies have disappointed.

“I had the game in hand,” Lee said.

Westbrook left after allowing a two-out single in the eighth. Marc Rzepczynski retired Chase Utley on a pop up to end the inning.

“I got a lot of ground balls and the defense was working for me,” Westbrook said.

Westbrook allowed his only run in the first inning on Ryan Howard’s fielder’s choice. Utley’s hard slide into second rattled shortstop Rafael Furcal on his throw to get Howard, allowing Dom Brown to score from third.

The Phillies never had a runner reach third after the first inning.

“Our offense was really weak tonight,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

Holliday gave Westbrook all the run support he needed with a homer that barely cleared the right field wall and gave him 79 RBIs. Beltran leads the National League with 82 RBIs.

“Those two guys have been carrying the load,” Matheny said.

— Associated Press —

Roy Halladay is starting to feel in sync again. So are the Phillies.

Halladay pitched eight innings and Chase Utley hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth to lift Philadelphia to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

It was the second straight outstanding outing for Halladay (6-6), who missed 42 games while on the disabled list with a strained lat. He returned July 17 and struggled in his first three starts back, going 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA. He threw seven innings in a 3-0 victory over Arizona on Saturday.

The right-hander matched a season low by allowing just two hits, while striking out eight and walking none to help Philadelphia win its fourth game in the last six.

“I feel more in sync now than I did early on,” Halladay said. “I had a hard time, I just didn’t feel together. I didn’t feel like everything was kind of clicking. More so the last two starts, I’ve felt like that’s been better.”

He didn’t allow a hit after Jon Jay’s two-out single in the third, retiring 16 of his final 17 batters. The only hitter to reach base was Yadier Molina, who got to first after being hit on the left elbow leading off the fifth.

“For me, it’s mechanics,” Halladay said. “It’s getting my arm in the right position. I feel like I wasn’t doing that and everything kind of wasn’t tied together. I didn’t feel like my lower half was tied together with my upper half.

“When you do that it kind of feels like you’re fighting yourself a little bit. So I definitely feel like it’s been tied together a little better.”

The Cardinals threatened in the ninth off Jonathan Papelbon, who pitched a scoreless inning for his 25th save in 28 chances. Papelbon gave up a one-out double to Allen Craig and a two-out single to Carlos Beltran to put runners on first and third. But Papelbon got Beltran trying to steal second, throwing ahead of the runner to easily get Beltran after he left first base too early.

“I got a little anxious,” Beltran said. “There’s no guarantee we would win the game, but you can’t end a game like that.”

Beltran homered for the Cardinals, who have lost three of four.

Jimmy Rollins led off the eighth with a single to left off reliever Barret Browning (0-1), went to second on the left-hander’s balk and to third on Juan Pierre’s sacrifice bunt before scoring on Utley’s towering homer to right-center that gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead.

“You’re not trying to do too much, you’re trying to get that guy in any way you can,” Utley said. “That one felt pretty good. I squared that one up decently.”

Utley credited Halladay for keeping the Phillies in a position for the victory.

“He was mixing his pitches, throwing strikes with all his pitches,” Utley said. “The Cardinals have a very good offensive team. For him to pitch like that against those guys, it tells you something.”

The loss ruined another solid effort by Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse.

The right-hander has been stellar all season and was 6-0 in his last nine starts entering Friday. He had given up two earned runs or less in eight of the nine outings with a 2.52 ERA in those starts.

He allowed one run and four hits while setting a season high with seven strikeouts in seven innings. Lohse, who walked two, allowed only three batters to reach second base.

“Everything was working for him,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He pitched seven solid innings. You couldn’t ask for more.”

Said Lohse, “My change was real good. They stacked their lineup with left-handers. I knew I had to get it going and I did. It’s a tough loss but we’ll get over it.”

Lohse was pinch hit for with two outs in the eighth, but Halladay struck out Matt Carpenter.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was glad to see Lohse leave the game.

“He did the same thing Roy did, he was very good,” Manuel said. “When he left the game, I was sitting there thinking, ‘That’s good.'”

Beltran’s leadoff homer to right in the second gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

The Phillies tied the score in the bottom of the inning. Ryan Howard opened it with a double to right and scored on Domonic Brown’s single that glanced off the glove of diving second baseman Daniel Descalso and into short right field.

— Associated Press —

Adam Wainwright embraced the stopper role.

The right-hander helped the Cardinals get back on track after a blowout loss, pitching seven strong innings and lifting St. Louis over the San Francisco Giants 3-1 Thursday.

The Cardinals, who have won seven of 10, lost 15-0 to the Giants on Wednesday, their worst home shutout defeat since 1961.

Wainwright (10-10) keyed the bounce-back effort, allowing five hits and one run over seven innings. He struck out seven and walked three. He has given up two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts.

“We needed this win today,” he said. “This is kind of what I live for. If there is a challenge out there, I’m ready for it. Not that you need more motivation but (the 15-0 loss) allowed me to focus a little bit more.”

Jason Motte pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 29 chances.

Carlos Beltran hit his 27th homer as the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Madison Bumgarner (12-7).

Beltran, who leads the NL with 80 RBIs, gave Wainwright all the necessary support with a 409-foot drive over the wall in left. Bumgarner has given up 18 home runs — 15 on the road.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny told his players to put Wednesday’s loss behind them as soon as possible.

Beltran, who has eight first-inning homers, took those words to heart.

“Being able to go out there and score early, it was great,” Beltran said. “That’s what we needed to do. Yesterday was tough but we were able to bounce back.”

Matheny felt Beltran’s early home run served to set the tone for the afternoon.

“To get that bad taste out of your mouth is huge,” he said. “When we strike first, we’ve got a real good chance of making something happen.

Jon Jay went 2 for 3 and reached base three times for St. Louis, which completed a seven-game homestand with a 5-2 mark.

Bumgarner allowed just three hits in six innings. He struck out seven, walked one and recorded his sixth successive quality start.

“For the most part, I followed the game plan,” Bumgarner said. “And it worked except for a pitch or two.”

San Francisco closed to 2-1 in the fifth on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Marco Scutaro.

Joaquin Arias and Bumgarner singled with one out before Wainwright walked Angel Pagan. Scutaro, who hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high seven runs Wednesday night, has hit safely in 11 of 13 games since he was acquired from Colorado on July 27. Wainwright then got Melky Cabrera to pop out to end the inning.

St. Louis pushed the lead to 3-1 in the sixth when Jay doubled, stole third and came home on Allen Craig’s sacrifice fly.

Giants star Buster Posey extended his season-best hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the sixth.

San Francisco completed a seven-game road trip with a 5-2 record and a split of the four-game series in St. Louis. The teams are each 61-51.

“We had some pretty good at-bats, but today we couldn’t get a timely hit,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “But, overall it was a very good road trip.”

— Associated Press —

Buster Posey shows no signs of slowing down in the second half of the season.

The San Francisco catcher stayed hot with a three-run homer, and Barry Zito pitched 6 2/3 innings to make that stand up as the Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Posey leads the major leagues with a .448 batting average and 30 RBIs since the All-Star break, including 12 in his last six games. The home run stretched his hitting streak to 11 games.

Posey said he hasn’t done anything differently since the break.

“I’m just trying to stay with a consistent approach,” Posey said. “Have a plan when I go up to bat and keep it simple.”

Joaquin Arias drove in the Giants’ other run with an RBI double. Melky Cabrera also doubled for San Francisco, giving him a major league-leading 152 hits.

Posey gave the Giants all the runs they would need in the first inning. Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro began the game with back-to-back singles, and after Cabrera hit into a fielder’s choice, Posey launched a 417-foot shot to center field for his 18th home run and a 3-0 Giants advantage.

“It’s always nice to get on the board early,” Posey said. “I was fortunate to get something out over the plate and get the barrel on it, and it went out for me.”

Zito (9-8) allowed two solo home runs by Allen Craig. Zito gave up eight hits overall with four strikeouts and no walks.

“I was going to come out here looking to be aggressive. That was my game plan,” Zito said. “When we went up three in the first, it’s even more important to come out throwing strikes.”

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy appreciated Zito’s effort.

“He pitched a great game,” Bochy said. “He gave up a couple of home runs to a good hitter, but he didn’t let that faze him at all.”

Jeremy Affeldt got the last four outs for his third save in four chances.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn (13-5) allowed four runs and eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts in six innings.

“He had to fight all night,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “It didn’t come easy for him. (He had) a little trouble putting guys away and it ended up costing him in the first.”

After that first inning, Lynn settled down but it was too late.

“One pitch cost me the game,” Lynn said. “I wasn’t trying to give him anything to hit there. It was just a bad pitch.”

— Associated Press —

Jake Westbrook received an early wake-up call Monday night.

The St. Louis right-hander shook off a second-pitch homer by Angel Pagan and rallied to throw six solid innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants 8-2.

“I made a mistake to the first hitter and then after that I settled in,” Westbrook said. “I threw the game I think I’m capable of throwing.”

Carlos Beltran hit his 26th homer for the Cardinals, who have won four in a row overall and seven straight at home. San Francisco had a three-game winning streak stopped.

Jon Jay went 4 for 4 and drove in two runs. Matt Carpenter added a two-run, bases-loaded single.

Buster Posey also connected for the Giants.

Westbrook (11-8) won his fourth decision in a row, giving up seven hits and two runs. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Westbrook has gone at least six innings in his last 11 starts.

But the night started off on the wrong foot for Westbrook, who quickly shook off the early blow to post four successive scoreless innings.

Westbrook began the four-game run with a three-hit, seven-inning shutout performance in a 12-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 21.

He continued to roll on Monday giving up one run on five hits over his final five innings.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was particularly impressed with Westbrook’s ability to bounce back from the early home run.

“You never know when you start the game with a leadoff (homer) like that,” Matheny said. “He was able to stay in there and find that sinker. He did a great job.”

Cain (10-5) tied a season high by giving up five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. The three-time All-Star absorbed back-to-back losses for the second time this season. Cain has allowed nine home runs in his last seven starts.

Cain, who has allowed 28 earned runs in 57 1/3 innings for a 4.40 ERA since throwing a perfect game on June 13, said he felt fine.

“I just need to make better pitches and get quicker outs,” he said. “I’ve got to put away guys better.”

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy felt Cain threw better than his numbers showed.

“He was OK, they just did a great job of hitting him,” Bochy said. “I thought he had good stuff. That’s a good hitting ballclub. They’re not at the top offensively for no reason.”

Cain’s ERA moved to 3.01, the highest total since it sat at 7.50 after a 7-6 loss at Arizona on April 8 — his first outing of the season.

Jay paced a 12-hit attack with his second four-hit performance of the season. He also went 4 for 4 in a 7-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 22.

“Today I was able to get some hits and we got a big win,” Jay said. “We’ve got to keep it going. We’ve got a short amount of games left and some ground to make to up. If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to be all right.”

With the win, St. Louis moved within six games of Cincinnati in the NL Central.

The Cardinals scored three times in the sixth to break a 2-all tie.

Matt Holliday doubled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by David Freese. Yadier Molina and Jay followed with singles and Cain walked Rafael Furcal to load the bases for Carpenter, who drove a two-strike pitch to left field.

The Cardinals added three runs in the seventh to go up 8-2. Jay’s two-run single was the key hit.

Beltran, who leads the NL with 78 RBIs, hit the first pitch of the second inning 418 feet to tie it at 1. Four batters later, Furcal broke out of an 0-for-14 slump with an RBI single the 10th pitch from Cain.

Pagan’s first-inning homer was his seventh of the season. Posey tied it at 2 with his 17th homer in the sixth.

— Associated Press —

Kyle Lohse pitched six spotless innings to earn his 12th win and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on Sunday night for a three-game sweep.

Daniel Descalso had a season-high three hits for the Cardinals, who have won five of six and 12 of 16. It was their first three-game sweep at home against the Brewers since March 31 to April 3, 2003.

Milwaukee has lost its last nine road games.

Lohse (12-2) allowed four hits and threw 100 pitches while winning his sixth consecutive decision. He struck out six, walked three and lowered his ERA to 2.79.

Edward Mujica, Mitchell Boggs and Jason Motte shut out the Brewers over the final three innings. Motte earned his 24th save in 28 chances.

The Cardinals wore 1982 powder blue replica uniforms to mark the 30th anniversary of their World Series win over Milwaukee. Back then, the Brewers were in the American League.

St. Louis has won 14 of the last 19 regular-season games between the teams. The Cardinals also beat Milwaukee in last year’s NL championship series.

Descalso drove in Jon Jay with a two-strike triple off Marco Estrada (0-5) in the second inning following a one-out walk. Allen Craig pushed the lead to 2-0 with a run-scoring double in the seventh. Craig has 56 RBIs in his last 67 games.

David Freese, who had two hits, brought in Carlos Beltran with a single in the eighth. Beltran doubled off the bag at first base.

Estrada is winless in 13 starts this season. He gave up one run and seven hits over six innings.

The Brewers, who have lost 12 of 16, were 2 for 22 with runners in the scoring position during the series.

Descalso, who went 3 for 4, also singled in the fifth and seventh.

Milwaukee loaded the bases in the fourth before Lohse struck out Estrada to end the threat. The Brewers put two on in the third, but Lohse got Ryan Braun to pop out.

Milwaukee third baseman Aramis Ramirez went 1 for 4 in his return to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a sore left wrist.

— Associated Press —

Adam Wainwright did everything he could do to give the St. Louis Cardinals a win Saturday night.

Wainwright pitched a five-hitter and also contributed at the plate with an RBI double and a single as the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1.

“I don’t think you can ask him to do anything else,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny. “What I really liked about tonight was just how sharp he was with his fastball. He really painted both sides and getting strikeouts with it.”

Wainwright (9-10) moved closer to .500 after starting the season at 0-3. He threw 73 of 98 pitches for strikes, walking none and fanning seven.

All of Wainwright’s strikeouts came during a stretch between the third and seventh innings when he retired 13 batters in a row. The complete game was his second of the season and 10th of his career.

“Any time you keep the bullpen out of it, you bring a win home for the team,” Wainwright said.

“I was able to get ahead and finish guys off with located fastballs,” he said.

Corey Hart had one of the Brewers’ hits. He said Wainwright looked a lot like the pitcher he was before missing 2011 with Tommy John surgery.

“He’s one of those guys that throws strikes,” Hart said. “It’s tough because you don’t want to swing at every first pitch he throws, but he’s not a guy you want to get beyond in the count with.”

Carlos Beltran hit his 25th homer, giving him an NL-leading 77 RBIs. Jon Jay also homered for the Cardinals and Yadier Molina added a two-run single.

Ryan Braun drove in the Brewers’ run with a sacrifice fly in the first.

After spotting the Brewers that 1-0 lead, St. Louis tied it when Beltran hit the first pitch from Mark Rogers (0-1) in the second just over the right-field wall. The ball bounced off the stands and back on to the field, and Beltran initially had to stop at third. After a one-minute review by the umpires, Beltran was awarded home.

The Cardinals broke it open by scoring four times in the third.

Daniel Descalso and Wainwright led off with doubles and Allen Craig had an RBI single. Molina’s two-out single made it 5-1.

— Associated Press —

Rookie right-hander Joe Kelly broke a three-start losing streak and drove in the go-ahead run to help the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

St. Louis has won three of its last four while Milwaukee had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Kelly (2-4) allowed three earned runs and 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings. His last win was an 11-4 victory at Kansas City on June 22. He entered the game with seven straight quality starts but took the loss in his last three games.

His first-pitch RBI single to left off Randy Wolf (3-8) broke a 3-3 tie and capped a four-run outburst in the fourth inning.

St. Louis managed just two hits in the first three innings off Wolf but scored four runs on five hits in the fourth. David Freese ripped a two-run single to bring his team within 3-2. Daniel Descalso, who added an RBI single in the eighth, followed with a run-scoring double to tie the game. Shane Robinson walked before Kelly singled for his second RBI of the season.

Milwaukee scored three times in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Wolf drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single. Norichika Aoki followed with a run-scoring hit.

St. Louis, which scored nine straight runs, capitalized on two errors in the sixth to push the lead to 6-3. Yadier Molina, who singled to start the inning, stole third and came around to score when catcher Martin Maldonado threw wildly to third. Corey Hart, who had not made in error in his first 51 starts at first base, booted a grounder by Rafael Furcal to allow Robinson to score.

Relievers Barett Browning, Edward Mujica, Mitchell Boggs and Marc Rzepczynski followed Kelly and kept the Brewers scoreless.

Molina had three hits to push his average to .315. He stole two bases, giving him a career-high 10 for the season.

Ryan Braun, who leads the NL with 29 homers, had three hits including two doubles.

The Brewers tied a season high with four errors. Maldonado had three.

— Associated Press —