Ryan Dempster’s 33-inning scoreless streak was over after four at-bats. The unanticipated early cushion was plenty for Kyle Lohse.

Lohse worked seven strong innings with less than his best and the St. Louis Cardinals’ slumbering offense opened with three quick runs against Dempster in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

”You get behind the 8-ball really quick,” Dempster said. ”After that, I feel like I settled down and made some pitches – other than Matt Holliday hitting one off the Arch.”

Holliday added a home run estimated at 469 feet, the longest at 7-year-old Busch Stadium, in the third inning. He remembers hitting one once in batting practice at Dodger Stadium, but not in a game.

”Honestly, I didn’t want to watch it because I have a lot of respect for Ryan,” Holliday said. ”I got it good.”

Lohse (10-2) won his fourth straight decision over five starts to complement a lineup that topped three runs for the first time in 12 games. The defending World Series champions found an unlikely victim in Dempster (5-4) after totaling 15 runs and going 8 for 51 (.157) with runners scoring position on a 1-5 trip that left them five games back in the NL Central to start the day.

”We were fortunate to have him make some mistakes early, get us a lead like that,” Lohse said. ”I wasn’t counting on him giving up any more after that.

”It’s always tough when you know someone like that is on the other side.”

Dempster hadn’t allowed a run since May 30 while winning five straight starts and entered with a major league-best 1.86 ERA before running into immediate trouble, giving up four straight singles in a span of six pitches with one out. Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina each had an RBI single and Lance Berkman drove in a run with a groundout.

”I know he’s been pitching great and all that, but our plan was to try to get on base and score early,” Beltran said. ”Offensively, we have wasted a lot of opportunities, but right now we’re focusing on trying to do better.”

Dempster allowed four runs in six innings while under heavy scrutiny from several teams looking to make a deal before the trade deadline. The streak was the majors’ longest since the Phillies’ Cliff Lee had a 34-inning run last year, and it was the Cubs’ longest since Ken Holtzman also had a 33-inning streak in 1969.

”It was a lot of fun to go up there and do that,” Dempster said. ”It’s a humbling thing to try and take something that you dream about doing. But actually doing it is another thing. I’m very proud of that.”

Dempster said trade rumors have nothing to do with what happened in the first inning.

”Not at all,” he said. ”Really, it was just about a span of six pitches, and next thing you know it was 3-0.

”Sometimes they could have popped those pitches up, grounded them out or flown out. But they didn’t. They hit them really hard and got some base hits.”

Seven straight Cardinals were retired before Holliday’s one-out clout in the third that soared past Big Mac Land in left field and traveled 4 feet longer than Albert Pujols’ drive over the bleachers behind the visitor’s bullpen in left against the Rockies’ Esmil Rogers last Aug. 14.

According to ESPN Home Run Tracker, Holliday’s homer is tied for the fifth-longest in the majors this year. It was his 15th of the year and first since he connected in consecutive games July 2-3 against the Rockies.

The Cardinals worked Dempster for 32 pitches in the third, including a nine-pitch walk by David Freese to load the bases, but came up empty when Rafael Furcal broke his bat on a liner to second.

The Cubs lost for the 11th time in their last 15 games in St. Louis.

Manager Mike Matheny juggled the lineup with Skip Schumaker, who entered a .431 career hitter against Dempster, at the top and Furcal dropped to eighth for the first time this season. Schumaker took a called third strike to open the first and was 1 for 4 while Furcal had two hits.

Lohse has won 13 of his last 15 starts dating to last season, according to STATS LLC. He worked seven or more innings for the seventh time in eight starts, allowing a run on six hits with four strikeouts, all but one looking.

”It was one of those days that was kind of just a low-energy day,” Lohse said. ”I knew warming up I was going to have to grind through it and make some pitches, and that’s pretty much what I did.”

The Cubs opened the second with a walk by Bryan LaHair, a single by Steve Clevenger and a sacrifice fly by Darwin Barney. They had only two runners in scoring position against Lohse, and were a collective 2 for 15 with men on.

Tyler Greene is 0 for 13 as a pinch hitter after taking a called third strike from Scott Maine with runners on second and third to end the Cardinals’ eighth.

Jason Motte worked a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 25 chances, and first in three chances against the Cubs. He needed just six pitches.

”I got ’em,” Motte said. ”That’s all that matters.”

— Associated Press —

Once again, Francisco Rodriguez flirted with trouble in the ninth inning.

For the second game in a row, the Milwaukee Brewers’ new closer managed to pitch out of a jam to nail down a save.

Given a two-run lead to start the ninth, Rodriguez loaded the bases and walked in a run before getting Lance Berkman to fly out and preserve a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

Rodriguez also had a shaky outing in Tuesday night’s win, but he’s still 2 for 2 since taking over for deposed closer John Axford.

”Just keep fighting, keep fighting,” Rodriguez said. ”I’m not going to give in, and I’m going to fight all the way until the end. That’s for sure.”

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke noted that Rodriguez may have been fatigued from his recent heavy workload, but also acknowledged that getting into – then out of – trouble is just part of his style.

”I’ve seen it so many years, and he just always seems to make the big pitches when he has to,” Roenicke said. ”And he continues to do it. Certainly, I’d rather we have clean innings. But I always feel confident that Frankie’s going to get out of it.”

Axford (3-6) claimed the win.

”He was sharp, his command was good,” Rodriguez said. ”He’s going to fight his way back.”

The Brewers took two out of three in the series with the Cardinals, who have lost five of six.

”Bottom line is, we’re not content in here with just fighting back,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ”We’re content to do our jobs, which is to win games.”

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (7-10) got off to a rough start and didn’t get much help from his infielders, who committed three errors in the Brewers’ four-run first inning – including a pair by shortstop Rafael Furcal.

”You can’t really control what goes on behind you or anything else,” Wainwright said. ”You just have to make your next pitch and trust your defense.”

Brewers starter Tyler Thornburg went 4 2-3 innings, giving up two runs on a pair of solo homers. Thornburg was making his second career start after the Brewers decided to push Zack Greinke’s scheduled turn back to next week.

Thornburg had his big league debut against Toronto on June 19, a no-decision, and has made a relief appearance for the Brewers. Coming into Wednesday, he had given up five home runs in 7 1-3 innings.

Ryan Braun was not in the starting lineup for the Brewers after aggravating a nagging groin injury Tuesday night. He is expected to return for a weekend series at Cincinnati after an off day Thursday.

Norichika Aoki led off the game and reached on an error by Furcal, who charged a grounder but dropped it as he tried to get the ball out of his glove and make a throw. Nyjer Morgan then singled and Wainwright hit Aramis Ramirez on the left elbow with a 91-mph breaking ball. Ramirez stayed in the game, and Corey Hart hit a two-run single.

Wainwright then got two quick outs and appeared to be out of the inning when Carlos Gomez hit a grounder to Furcal – but Furcal’s throw to first was offline for his second error of the inning, allowing Ramirez to score. Berkman also was charged with an error on the play when he fell and lost the ball, allowing Hart to score and give the Brewers a 4-0 lead.

Wainwright recovered to go seven innings, giving up four runs – only one of which was earned – and four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks.

Home runs bit Thornburg again, as solo shots by David Freese in the second and Allen Craig in the third cut the lead to 4-2.

”There’s a difference when you’re behind in the count in the minor leagues and when you’re behind the count here,” Roenicke said. ”These guys don’t miss a good fastball. And I’m sure when he was at Double-A, Triple-A, he could throw the ball by guys.”

Thornburg was taken out of the game with two outs and a runner on first in the fifth, making way for Axford.

Axford lost the closer’s job to Rodriguez on Tuesday, in hopes that having Axford pitch in lower-pressure situations might help him sort out his struggles. Axford struck out Berkman to end the inning then gave up one hit in a scoreless sixth.

Axford praised Rodriguez’s performance.

”It looks like he’s bringing that mojo that we need back – get ourselves into trouble and get ourselves out of it,” Axford said. ”That’s what I had all last year, and hopefully he’s bringing that back.”

Although Rodriguez has taken over as closer, Roenicke said before the game that Axford ideally would be able to reclaim the job by the end of the season. For now, Axford is getting used to his new role and clearly hasn’t lost his sense of humor, noting that he wasn’t used to watching the sixth-inning ”racing sausage” mascot race from the dugout.

”They actually go a lot faster than you think,” Axford said.

— Associated Press —

Just when it looked as if the Milwaukee Brewers’ new closer was going to deliver an all-too-familiar result, Francisco Rodriguez managed to wiggle out of trouble — and finally help the bullpen deliver a win for Randy Wolf.

Although it wasn’t pretty, Rodriguez picked up a save just hours after he was named the team’s new closer and Wolf won his first game since April 30 as the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Tuesday.

“It was nice,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “It was nice for Randy, too. He pitched a great game, comes out again with people on base and you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The Cardinals’ Matt Holliday left the game after getting hit in the leg with a pitch in the first inning and Brewers slugger Ryan Braun was removed with a right adductor strain in the seventh. Braun said the injury, something he has been dealing with off and on all season, wasn’t serious. He hoped to play in Wednesday’s series finale, a day game.

“Hopefully,” Braun said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”

Rickie Weeks hit a mammoth home run to give the Brewers the lead in the fourth.

Wolf (3-6) went 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and eight hits with a walk and six strikeouts to end his winless streak.

“It’s been a very, I think, tumultuous year to say the least,” Wolf said. “I’ve had my own personal demons to deal with, just my own frustrations. It’s been tough emotionally more than anything.”

Cardinals starter Joe Kelly (1-2) took the loss. St. Louis’ Lance Berkman was ejected for arguing a call.

With John Axford continuing to struggle and blowing another save Monday night, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke gave the closer’s job to Rodriguez before the game.

“Definitely, I didn’t want to get the job in this way,” Rodriguez said.

It wasn’t easy for Rodriguez, who gave up a leadoff double to David Freese, then a single to Yadier Molina to put runners on first and third with no outs.

Rodriguez then got Matt Carpenter to ground out, holding the runner at third, and struck out pinch hitter Skip Schumaker. With runners on second and third, Rodriguez got pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso to pop up and end the game.

Wolf apparently fought off the temptation to cover his eyes.

“I didn’t quite watch them through my fingers,” Wolf said of the final innings.

Wolf hasn’t had a victory since April 30 at San Diego, but the Brewers’ bullpen shares some of the blame for his winless streak. Coming into Tuesday’s game, Wolf was 0-4 with a 5.45 ERA during his last 12 starts. During that stretch, he left seven games with the lead, only to have the bullpen blow it.

Wolf said he got congratulations from several relievers.

“I said, ‘There it is, the elusive third win,'” Wolf said. “You usually say that in May, maybe.”

Kelly went six innings, giving up three runs — two earned — with six hits, a walk and four strikeouts.

Holliday took an 89 mph fastball from Wolf off his left leg in the first inning. Holliday remained in the game, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny took him out in the bottom of the second. Holliday’s injury was described as a left thigh contusion.

The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Corey Hart, but the Cardinals came back with two runs in the third.

Aramis Ramirez’s RBI single tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the third. Then, Weeks’ ninth homer of the season caromed high off the facade in center field, giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead in the fourth.

Wolf then allowed back-to-back singles to start the seventh. After a lengthy meeting with Roenicke at the mound, Wolf stayed in the game, and Tyler Greene’s sacrifice bunt advanced runners to second and third with one out.

Berkman pinch hit and Wolf ran the count to 3-2 before Berkman was called out on a checked swing. Berkman complained about the call and was thrown out of the game by plate umpire Brian Gorman.

Berkman said afterward that he was mostly upset that Gorman didn’t appeal the call.

“My biggest beef was you can’t make that call (from home plate),” Berkman said. “They think they can, but he was having a hard time getting the strike zone right, much less seeing if anybody swung a bat or not. So my beef was, just appeal. I mean, we’ve got a guy standing down there. It’s not tough to ask, you don’t have to make that call.”

With two outs, Roenicke pulled Wolf for reliever Jose Veras, who got Furcal to pop out to the catcher.

— Associated Press —

Allen Craig hit a bloop RBI single off Brewers closer John Axford to take the lead, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Monday night.

Milwaukee was leading 2-0 going into the ninth but Axford struggled with his control right away, eventually loading the bases with two outs and giving up a game-tying, two-run single to Matt Holliday.

Axford (2-6) then was lifted after giving up the single to Craig, which dropped softly into shallow left field. Axford left the game to a steady stream of boos from the crowd.

Axford’s sloppy inning wasted another strong performance by Brewers starter Mike Fiers, who pitched seven scoreless innings.

Jason Motte (4-3) claimed the win.

St. Louis had lost three straight coming into Monday’s game after getting swept by Cincinnati.

Corey Hart hit a solo home run for the Brewers, his 17th of the season. Ryan Braun added an RBI double in the eighth.

Fiers continued his string of strong performances since he was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on May 29. Fiers was coming off a loss to the Miami Marlins where he gave up two runs in 7 1-3 innings – snapping a scoreless streak of 21 1-3 innings.

Monday’s loss was another setback for the Brewers, who announced earlier in the day that ace Zack Greinke will skip his scheduled start Wednesday and isn’t scheduled to start again until the Brewers’ July 24 game at Philadelphia.

Manager Ron Roenicke said Greinke was fatigued and thrown off his routine after making three straight starts – a July 7 game where he was ejected in the first inning, another start the following day and again in the Brewers’ first game after the All-Star break.

Greinke said before the game that he was ”fine” with Roenicke’s decision but was reluctant to discuss it. Greinke has been subject to trade speculation in recent weeks, with the Brewers mired in fourth in the NL Central.

The Cardinals had a scoring chance in the fourth when Yadier Molina hit a one-out double and David Freese walked. But Fiers got Matt Carpenter to fly out to center – allowing Molina to take third base – then got Daniel Descalso to ground out and end the inning.

Milwaukee had a chance with two outs in the fifth when a sharp grounder by Cody Ransom glanced off the glove of Freese at third base, allowing Ransom to take second base on a play that was ruled a double. But Descalso charged a soft grounder by Fiers and threw him out, ending the inning.

Descalso led off the seventh with a single, and Lynn remained in the game to hit. After taking a ball from Fiers, Lynn put two bunt attempts foul then struck out on another bunt attempt. Rafael Furcal hit a grounder back to Fiers, who bobbled the ball but recovered in time to throw Furcal out at first as Descalso took second. Fiers then got Skip Schumaker to line out, ending the inning.

Francisco Rodriguez relieved Fiers in the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Matt Holliday, but got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Braun then gave the Brewers some breathing room, hitting a double to score Norichika Aoki. Braun took third on the throw home.

— Associated Press —

Scott Rolen hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning Sunday night, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 victory and three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds’ sixth straight win matched their best surge of the season, moved them a season-high 12 games over .500, and jumped them a game ahead of Pittsburgh for the NL Central lead. St. Louis fell 4 1/2 games back.

Rolen’s two-out single off Mitchell Boggs snapped a 2-all tie and provided a satisfying moment for the 37-year-old third baseman, limited all season by a bad shoulder and back. Jake Westbrook (7-8) set up the winning rally with a walk, a wild pitch and a hit batter.

Homer Bailey (8-6) went eight innings during a fill-in start for Johnny Cueto, sidelined by a blister.

With the 39,280 fans on their feet chanting ”sweep,” Aroldis Chapman fanned the side in the ninth for his 13th save in 17 chances. The hard-throwing left-hander pitched in all three games of the series – only the second time he’s gone three days in a row during his career. The other time was in 2010, when he helped the Reds on their push to the NL Central title.

Bailey was scheduled to start next Tuesday, but got pushed up two days after Cueto developed a blister on the index finger of his pitching hand during a bullpen throwing session. It was a break for the Cardinals – Cueto leads the Reds with 10 wins and is third in the NL with a 2.39 ERA.

Joey Votto singled and had an RBI double, his first hits of the series. Votto hasn’t gone more than two games without a hit this season.

Yadier Molina had a single, a run-scoring double and his second homer of the series, getting loudly booed as he rounded the bases in the sixth after tying it at 2. Molina has been booed during every at-bat since his fight with Brandon Phillips in 2010 at Great American Ball Park.

The solo shot made it 68 straight games with a homer at the ballpark, the longest streak since there were 80 consecutive games with a homer at Coors Field in 2002-03.

Matt Holliday had a pair of hits and extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest by a Cardinal this season.

Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman made his first start since tearing cartilage in his right knee on May 19. He reached on first baseman Votto’s error in the first inning, then came all the way around to score standing up on Molina’s double to the gap in left-center.

Berkman slowed to a walk once he crossed the plate and got teased by teammates when he reached the dugout after his first-to-home dash.

Molina undercut the rally by getting caught trying to advance to third base on a pickoff throw.

— Associated Press —

Rafael Furcal warmed up for his National League All-Star Game start by triggering a home plate celebration. Heath Bell heads into the All-Star break with his job in jeopardy.

Furcal capped a three-run ninth-inning rally with a two-run, bases-loaded single off the vulnerable Miami closer that gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 victory over the Marlins on Sunday and a feeling of exhilaration in the clubhouse.

”That’s pretty good, especially when it’s 4-2 in the ninth inning and against one of the best closers in the game,” Furcal said. ”It’s very special to do that, and now we’re ready to go for the second half.”

Pinch hitter Austin Kearns put the Marlins up 4-2 with a three-run home run in the seventh.

The blown save was the sixth in 25 chances for Bell (2-5), saddled with a 6.75 ERA. The right-hander gave up a run while earning his 19th save in the series opener Friday and Ryan Webb was warming up when the game ended.

”I feel like I’ve let the whole organization down,” Bell said. ”I’m the reason that we’re 10 games back, plain and simple.

”If I’ve been doing my job we’d be right in the hunt.”

Manager Ozzie Guillen put Bell on notice, but said he’d wait until after the break before deciding anything. The right-hander is in the first year of a three-year, $27 million free agent deal after three straight 40-plus save season with the Padres, going 15-9 with 132 saves in 146 chances and a 2.23 ERA from 2009-2011.

The Marlins are actually nine games out in the NL East.

”I’ve stood behind him but he’s got to be better than that,” Guillen said. ”He is better than that. If he’s not better, I’ll find a solution.

”I have to make a decision and it will be drastic.”

Guillen wasn’t happy with Hanley Ramirez, either. Ramirez left the game with a lacerated right finger that needed stitches from punching a cooling fan in the dugout after grounding out in the sixth.

”A very stupid injury,” Guillen said. ”Very immature, very immature. You hurt yourself because you can’t hit? Good hitters don’t do that.”

General manager Mike Hill thought Ramirez would be ready on Friday when they begin a four-game series at home against the Nationals. Ramirez, batting .248 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs, was embarrassed.

”I got mad. I know I’ve been playing hard but at the same time I’ve got to produce more. I’ll be there Friday, I think definitely. I’m going to die on the field.”

Mitchell Boggs (2-1) struck out Donovan Solano with the bases loaded to end the ninth after Marc Rzepczynski left with heat-related woes in a game that began with the temperature at 94 degrees. Rzepczynski said he was having trouble focusing on the catcher’s glove.

”Not overheated, but getting very close to it,” Rzepczynski said.

Furcal also had an RBI single in the fifth and has 36 RBIs overall, most among National League leadoff men. He singled to left on a 1-2 pitch and David Freese barely beat catcher John Buck’s tag for the winning run.

”Great way to end the first half,” Freese said. ”We worked some good ABs off Bell and got it done.”

Buck had the ball ahead of the slide and the Marlins briefly argued the call. After watching a replay, Buck said home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi had gotten it right.

”I came in here and checked it, and I think he got it,” Buck said.

The Cardinals took two of three from Miami and headed into the All-Star break on a 6-2 streak after taking two of three from Miami.

The Marlins were minus another star most of the series. Giancarlo Stanton, the team’s lone All-Star, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Sunday after playing just two innings a day earlier.

Hill said the surgery was a success and that the team was hopeful Stanton would be back in four to six weeks.

Omar Infante added three hits and Logan Morrison and Greg Dobbs extended their hitting streaks to 11 games for Miami, which despite the loss has won seven of 11.

Tony Cruz cut the deficit to a run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly with one out in the ninth and Daniel Descalso coaxed an 11-pitch walk to load the bases again ahead of Furcal’s winning hit. Furcal, who had been 0 for 4 with the bases loaded and 0 for 10 the last two seasons, is 5 for 14 against Bell with four RBIs and four walks.

The top three in the Marlins’ order, Jose Reyes, Ramirez and Carlos Lee, were a collective 1 for 31 with five walks, an RBI and two runs. Florida pitchers held Cardinals All-Star Carlos Beltran to a single in 13 at-bats.

Rookie Joe Kelly allowed an unearned run in six innings for the Cardinals. But manager Mike Matheny’s attempt to finesse the seventh with three relievers flopped when Mikael Cleto gave up a double and a walk with one out to the only batters he faced and Kearns greeted Victor Marte with his third career pinch homer on a 2-0 fastball that landed an estimated 409 feet in the visitor’s bullpen in left-center.

Furcal’s RBI single in the fifth had put the Cardinals ahead 2-1. Skip Schumaker had an RBI single in the second and Matt Holliday extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Florida starter Anibal Sanchez gave up two runs in six innings and walked none for just the second time this season. He entered Sunday’s start 2-6 with a 5.64 ERA over 10 starts, but also was stingy against the Cardinals on June 27 at home when he allowed three runs in seven innings and got the win in a 5-3 victory.

Mike Dunn didn’t allow a hit in 1 2-3 innings and Steve Cishek struck out Holliday with a man on third to end the eighth. St. Louis hitters are 1 for 19 against Cishek, who worked 1 2-3 hitless innings on Friday in a 3-2 victory.

The Marlins took the lead without a hit in the first, fueled by one-out walks to Ramirez and Carlos Lee. Ramirez stole second on the first pitch to Lee, the pair pulled off a double steal as Logan Morrison struck out on a full count and Ramirez scored without a play after catcher Tony Cruz threw wildly into left field.

Kelly struck out five and walked five, but kept his pitch count manageable by allowing just two hits and getting two double plays – one that he started himself after snaring a liner by John Buck in the second. Pitching coach Derek Lilliquist visited after 10 of Kelly’s first 18 pitches were balls.

— Associated Press —

The Miami Marlins have to be happy they’ve seen the last of Kyle Lohse.

The right-hander isn’t the hardest thrower in the St. Louis Cardinals’ rotation, getting the job done by staying ahead of the hitters and keeping the ball down with good movement.

He’s had the Marlins’ number this season.

Lohse worked seven innings of three-hit ball in a 3-2 victory on Saturday, beating Miami for the third time this season.

”As far as a pitch-maker goes, I think he’s as good as anybody right now,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”It’s just not trying to overwhelm people with stuff as much as making pitches.

”It looked like he was commanding the ball well enough to get them to do what he wanted them to do.”

Tony Cruz hit a go-ahead two-run triple in the fourth for the Cardinals, who have won five of seven and snapped the Marlins’ three-game winning streak. Allen Craig had three hits and Skip Schumaker added an RBI single in the fourth for the Cardinals.

The 106-degree heat didn’t seem to bother Lohse.

”I just tried to do my best to block it out,” Lohse said. ”The only thing you can do is keep the team off the field by throwing strikes, getting ahead of guys and trying to limit the damage.”

Marlins starter Carlos Zambrano didn’t mind it, either.

”Yeah, it was hot,” Zambrano said. ”I come from Venezuela, so it doesn’t bother me.”

David Freese was hit by a pitch twice, walked and singled to reach base safely in all four trips.

Justin Ruggiano hit a two-run home run for the Marlins, who missed a chance to climb back to .500. Zambrano (4-7) needed 102 pitches to get through five innings and Giancarlo Stanton lasted just two before leaving with right knee soreness, the injury that had kept him out four straight starts.

Stanton, the Marlins’ lone representative in the All-Star game, will undergo arthroscopic surgery Sunday in Miami that manager Ozzie Guillen said could sideline him a month.

”He’s a big bat,” Guillen said. ”This is our power hitter, the RBI guy. I think everybody out there has got to step it up a notch and try to cover the space.

”We feel bad for the kid, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez and Carlos Lee, the top three in the Miami lineup, were a combined 0 for 11 with a walk and are 1 for 22 with two walks the first two games of a three-game set heading into the All-Star break.

Lohse (9-2) is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts against Miami, allowing nine hits in 21 2-3 innings, and found his stride after Ruggiano’s homer with one out in the third. The Marlins had two base runners the last five innings on a walk and a fielding error by Craig at first that was wiped clean when Reyes was caught flat-footed, getting picked off to end the fifth.

Lohse has won his past three starts overall and has worked seven or more innings six straight times. He threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 26 hitters.

”I think I’ve really figured out what it takes to be successful and that’s going out and locating, not trying to overpower anybody, using my defense,” Lohse said. ”You look at how I’m getting ahead of guys and then pitching off that, that’s kind of been the key to my first half.”

Jason Motte allowed a pair of two-out singles in the ninth before getting Donovan Solano to foul out to end it for his 20th save.

Stanton singled to start the second and with one out Ruggiano hit his sixth homer, a drive to left-center to put the Marlins ahead. Ruggiano has 18 hits during a 10-game hitting streak.

The Cardinals stranded four runners the first three innings before getting to Zambrano in the fourth with the first four batters reaching safely. Schumaker hit an RBI single and scored when Cruz followed with an opposite-field drive into the right field corner that scooted past Ruggiano’s attempt to cut off the ball.

Cruz has started the past two games in place of All-Star Yadier Molina, who returned to Puerto Rico on bereavement leave following the death of his wife’s grandfather.

Zambrano lost for the first time at seven-year-old Busch Stadium after entering 6-0 in seven starts with a 1.73 ERA, the lowest among active pitchers at the ballpark. He lost for the second time in nine career decisions overall in St. Louis.

”I know I’ve pitched good, I didn’t know it was the first loss,” Zambrano said. ”There’s always a first time and unfortunately it was today.”

Marlins reliever Wade LeBlanc struck out the Cardinals’ 3-4-5 hitters in the seventh and allowed one hit in three scoreless innings.

— Associated Press —

It seemed like Ricky Nolasco was always in trouble. But in a game that began in 103-degree heat, it was the St. Louis Cardinals who were sweating.

Nolasco allowed an unearned run in six innings while scattering nine hits and a walk and Jose Reyes got the go-ahead RBI with an infield hit in the seventh, leading the Miami Marlins to a 3-2 victory on Friday.

”Obviously, I had a lot of baserunners,” Nolasco said. ”Very tough lineup. They made me battle, made me keep fighting. Just enough to get these guys.”

Logan Morrison added his second home run in three games in the eighth for the Marlins, who won their third in a row and beat the Cardinals for just the second time in the last 10 meetings. St. Louis was 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position, stranding five at third base to frustrate a sellout crowd that waited patiently for a rally that never materialized.

”We had a lot of opportunities out there with runners on base,” Allen Craig said after going 1 for 4 with an infield hit. ”We got a lot of hits, we just didn’t drive them in.”

Fans had to settle for a great view of the Fair St. Louis fireworks display on the Mississippi River waterfront – easily visible over the scoreboard in right-center – that began right before Reyes beat out a slow roller down the third-base line to break a 1-all tie.

David Freese had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, production that was offset when he committed two errors and nearly had a third in a sloppy sixth that allowed the Marlins to tie it. Freese, picked to his first All-Star Game on Thursday, entered with five errors in 76 games.

Freese left Busch Stadium without talking to reporters.

Heath Bell allowed pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker’s leadoff double and a one-out, run-scoring infield hit by Rafael Furcal in the ninth before finishing for his 19th save in 24 chances. He entered 0-3 with an 8.83 career ERA against St. Louis, and 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA on the road this season with four blown saves in 11 opportunities.

Bell was pitching for the fourth straight day, and manager Ozzie Guillen had been concerned. But noted the Cardinals hit only one ball hard.

”I personally thought I was fine,” Bell said. ”I’m definitely not going to be 100 percent, but I felt like I was 97 percent. I could hit my spots, and throw pitches.”

Jake Westbrook (7-7) allowed two runs, one earned, in 6 2-3 innings. He had the Cardinals’ third error with a wild throw on Reyes’ soft tapper not far from the plate.

”If it was another runner I’d have a little more time,” Westbrook said. ”I felt like I had to rush it a little bit just because of who it was and I just didn’t make a good throw on it.”

Nolasco (8-6) gave up nine hits but got the big outs when it counted against the Cardinals, holding them to 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. The right-hander beat the Cardinals for the first time in five career decisions, two starts after allowing an unearned run in 6 2-3 innings but got no decision in an 8-7 loss to St. Louis in Miami.

Freese made a nice stop on Reyes’ smash to start the inning, righted himself and then pulled Craig off the first base bag with a high throw. The Cardinals settled for a forceout the next at-bat when Freese fielded a grounder by Hanley Ramirez and pulled second baseman Daniel Descalso so far off the bag he had to make a diving stab with his glove.

Carlos Lee’s grounder went right between Freese’s legs for a two-base error as Ramirez scored from first. Freese’s throw on Justin Ruggiano’s double-play ball was also high, but Craig landed his foot in time.

Craig reached on an infield hit and took second on Reyes’ wild throw from shortstop, then scored on Freese’s double that bounded high off the third-base bag.

Morrison hit his 11th homer off Maikel Cleto in the eighth to make it 3-1 and also was hit twice by Westbrook, doubling his season total. He has four homers and 11 RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak, plus has homered in his last two games against St. Louis with a pinch hit drive June 27 in Miami.

— Associated Press —

Adam Wainwright pitched six strong innings and Matt Holliday had three hits to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night.

Wainwright (7-8) gave up one run, struck out seven and allowed eight hits to help the Cardinals win for the third time in four games. He fanned seven of the first 13 hitters and threw a first-pitch strike to nine of the first 10 batters.

Wainwright was coming off one of his worst performances of the season. He gave up seven earned runs in five innings of a 14-5 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday.

Holliday, who went 3-for-4, is 33-for-64 (.516) with four homers and 19 RBI in his last 16 games.

St. Louis scored runs in the first and second off Colorado spot starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-8), who gave up two runs in six innings. Guthrie allowed six hits and struck out two in his first start since being dropped from the rotation June 17.

Holliday brought in Jon Jay with a double to left in the first. Jay began the rally with a one-out walk.

The Cardinals pushed the lead to 2-0 in the second. Yadier Molina, Skip Schumaker and Rafael Furcal singled to load to the bases. Jay was hit on the hip by a two-strike offering from Guthrie.

Guthrie drove in the Rockies’ lone run with a single in the fifth. It was his first career RBI.

David Freese pushed the lead to 4-1 with a bases-loaded single off reliever Adam Ottavino in the eighth.

Wainwright, nursing a 2-1 lead, wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth by inducing Tyler Colvin to fly out. Jonathan Herrera bounced into a 3-6-5 double play to end the sixth.

Relievers Maikel Cleto, Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Motte each pitched a scoreless inning. Motte picked up his 18th save in 22 opportunities. The trio combined for six strikeouts. The St. Louis pitchers fanned 13.

Carlos Gonzales extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning single. It is the longest current streak in the NL and the longest by a Rockies player this season.

— Associated Press —

Allen Craig hit a pair home runs, Carlos Beltran extended his RBI streak to a major league high nine games and Kyle Lohse worked into the eighth inning of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 9-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Matt Holliday had a homer and sacrifice fly and Jon Jay doubled and walked twice with a steal for the Cardinals, who punished a pitching staff that entered the game with a major league-worst 5.37 ERA.

Tyler Colvin and Wilin Rosario homered for the Rockies, who have dropped five of seven. Rosario homered for the third straight game, but Colorado pitchers totaled four wild pitches, eight walks and an error that allowed a run.

Beltran, an NL All-Star game starter picked to participate in the home run derby, leads the league with 63 RBIs. He has 15 RBIs during the streak.

Craig has 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 40 games in a season abbreviated by injury. He was awarded a bonus RBI single by Major League Baseball on Monday after review of a play originally ruled a fielding error on the Marlins’ Jose Reyes at Miami on June 26.

Lohse (8-2) worked seven or more innings for his fifth straight start, striking out five and walking two in 7 1-3 innings. He’s 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA in three starts against the Rockies the last two seasons.

Lohse was tenacious at the plate, too, coaxing an 11-pitch walk out of Josh Outman in the second and singling in the fourth.

Outman threw five of his first 10 pitches in the dirt and finished with two wild pitches and more balls (36) than strikes (34) in an abbreviated three-inning start, exiting with a 9.00 ERA. Outman, who played at suburban Lindbergh High School, gave up two runs and matched his career high with five walks.

The Cardinals took the lead in the first on two walks, two wild pitches and a sacrifice fly by Beltran. Holliday’s 13th homer in the third made it 2-0 before Colvin’s ninth of the season tied it in the fourth.

Craig put the Cardinals ahead for good with a two-run homer in the fifth off Tyler Chatwood (1-1), a drive to straightaway center estimated at 438 feet two pitches after a visit from co-pitching coach Bo McLaughlin. He wrapped up the scoring with a 416-foot homer off Matt Reynolds in the eighth for his career multihomer game.

The Rockies loaded the bases in the fifth on a pair of scratch hits and a walk to Carlos Gonzalez before Lohse got cleanup man Michael Cuddyer to pop out to shallow center on a full count.

Holliday had been 1 for 15 with one RBI the previous six games against his old team after batting .415 (17 for 41) with three homers and six RBIs his first 11 games against Colorado according to STATS LLC.

Colvin is 10 for 25 with two doubles, two triples, two homers and 10 RBIs the last seven games. Rosario, a rookie, leads NL catchers with 14 homers after connecting off Maikel Cleto in the ninth.

— Associated Press —