David Freese hit a grand slam and a two-run homer and rookie Lance Lynn struck out a career-high 11 in earning his ninth win as the St. Louis Cardinals cruised past the Houston Astros 14-2 on Thursday night.

Freese’s slam in the seventh inning was the third homer of the game for St. Louis. He added a two-run shots in the ninth as the Cardinals scored a season-high.

Carlos Beltran connected on his National League-leading 16th homer in the fifth and Shane Robinson added a two-run shot in the seventh to help the Cardinals take the series.

Lynn’s nine victories are tied with R.A. Dickey of the Mets for most in the NL.

Lynn (9-2) allowed six hits and two runs to continue his mastery of the NL Central. He is 7-0 with 60 strikeouts in 15 career appearances in the division.

Houston starter J.A. Happ (4-6) allowed five hits and four runs with five walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals were up 5-2 before piling on seven runs in the seventh. St. Louis batted around in that inning with 11 Cardinals coming to the plate.

Rafael Furcal singled with two outs in the seventh before consecutive walks to Beltran and Matt Holliday. Allen Craig hit an RBI single before Freese’s shot to the Crawford Boxes in left field cleared the bases.

Jed Lowrie gave Houston a 1-0 lead with a homer to the first row of the Crawford Boxes in the first inning.

Brett Wallace doubled in the second on a ball that sailed over a leaping Craig and into the far corner of right field. Chris Johnson followed with an RBI double down the right field line to make it 2-0.

Chris Snyder hit a one-out single and Jordan Schafer drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Lynn limited the damage by striking out Jose Altuve to end the inning.

The Astros couldn’t get much going offensively after that while the Cardinals heated up.

Tyler Greene got the Cardinals’ first hit with a single to start the third inning. Happ then battled Robinson to a 12-pitch at-bat before walking him. Greene and Robinson both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Lynn before Greene scored on a bunt by Furcal to cut the lead to 2-1.

A sacrifice fly by Beltran tied it at 2-2, before Holliday walked. Craig’s broken-bat RBI single to shallow right put St. Louis up 3-2. Happ finally got out of the inning when he struck out Freese on his 40th pitch of the frame.

Beltran’s first-pitch homer to left center came with one out in the fifth to push the lead to 4-2.

Robinson singled in the sixth and scored on a single by Furcal with one out.

Houston manager Brad Mills made some strange changes in the ninth inning when he put outfielder Brian Bogusevic in to pitch and moved Johnson, the third baseman, to right field. Bogusevic was drafted as a pitcher, but had never pitched in a major league game and it was Johnson’s first career appearance in the outfield.

Bogusevic allowed three hits and the home run to Freese in one inning.

— Associated Press —

Astros closer Brett Myers didn’t expect to pitch on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals after Houston entered the ninth inning ahead by five.

After St. Louis put up two quick runs on a triple off David Carpenter, Myers had to quickly warm up.

He then allowed a full-count, two-run homer to Rafael Furcal that closed the gap to one run before settling in to shut down the Cardinals and help the Astros hold on for a 9-8 win.

After the homer, Myers retired Carlos Beltran before walking Matt Holliday, but Allen Craig grounded out to give Myers his 14th save.

“It was quick. I threw like nine pitches in the `pen and I wasn’t ready at all,” he said. “But that’s the way the game goes sometimes, you’ve just got to go out there and try to grind through it. It worked out for us tonight.”

Justin Maxwell hit a two-run homer and Jose Altuve tied a career high with four hits as the Astros got to St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia early to build a big lead.

The Astros scored four runs in the first inning and Maxwell’s homer in the second stretched their lead to 6-1. Brian Bogusevic added a solo home run in the fourth and Chris Snyder drove in two runs for Houston.

Garcia (3-4) yielded five hits and the six runs tied his season high, set against the Astros earlier this season. The loss drops the left-hander to 0-5 in seven career starts against Houston. He has allowed at least three runs in each of those starts.

It was the shortest start of the season for Garcia, who was scratched from his last start with a sore elbow. He was replaced by Maikel Cleto for the third inning.

Afterward, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny conceded that Garcia wasn’t himself.

“He’s not right,” Matheny said. “We had given him some thorough examinations, and we were confident that he would be ready to go, but he obviously wasn’t.”

Garcia said the velocity on his fastball has been down, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the problem was.

“I wish I knew what was wrong,” he said. “I would have fixed it a while ago.”

Houston starter Lucas Harrell (5-4) allowed eight hits and four runs — three earned — in six innings to improve to 4-0 in five home starts this season.

Adron Chambers drove in two runs with a one-out triple off Carpenter in the ninth inning to get St. Louis within 9-6.

Matt Adams had a three-run homer in the third inning for the Cardinals, who have lost six of their last seven.

Furcal reached second base on a two-base error by Altuve to start the game. He scored on a two-out groundout by Holliday to make it 1-0.

Altuve doubled and scored on a two-out single by J.D. Martinez to tie it at 1-1 in the first. Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace drew consecutive walks to load the bases before Martinez scored on a wild pitch.

Snyder’s two RBI single to left field extended Houston’s lead to 4-1.

Garcia finally got out of that inning when Bogusevic grounded into a forceout.

Maxwell’s two-out homer, which was his second home run in his last three at-bats, sailed into the Crawford Boxes in left field and put Houston up 6-1. His last home run came on a two-run shot Sunday as a pinch hitter. Altuve singled with one out to set up the homer which was Maxwell’s fifth of the year.

“We did a good job of putting some runs up early, and we needed every single one of them tonight,” Maxwell said.

Craig singled with two outs in the third before a double by David Freese. Adams followed with his homer to the deepest part of the ballpark in center field to get St. Louis within 6-4.

Bogusevic’s homer, which bounced off the foul pole in right field, came in the fourth to push Houston’s lead to 7-4.

Altuve doubled with two outs in the sixth inning and made it 8-4 when he scored on an error by rookie reliever Sam Freeman.

Back-to-back doubles by Johnson and Wallace added a run for the Astros in the seventh inning.

— Associated Press —

For more than 50 years, the New York Mets chased that elusive no-hitter. Johan Santana finally finished the job.

Santana pitched the first no-hitter in team history, helped by an umpire’s missed call and an outstanding catch in left field in an 8-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

After a string of close calls over the past five decades, Santana went all the way in the Mets’ 8,020th game.

“Finally, the first one,” he said. “That is the greatest feeling ever.”

He needed a couple of key assists to pull it off.

Carlos Beltran, back at Citi Field for the first time since the Mets traded him last July, hit a line drive over third base in the sixth inning that hit the foul line and should have been called fair. But third-base umpire Adrian Johnson ruled it foul and the no-hitter was intact — even though a replay clearly showed a mark where the ball landed on the chalk line.

“I saw the ball hitting outside the line, just foul,” Johnson told a pool reporter.

The umpire acknowledged that he saw the replay afterward but declined to comment.

“It was in front of his face, and he called it foul. I thought it was a fair ball,” Beltran said. “At the end of the day, one hit wasn’t going to make a difference in the ballgame. We needed to score more runs and we didn’t do that.”

Hometown kid Mike Baxter then made a tremendous catch in left field to rob Yadier Molina of extra bases in the seventh. Baxter crashed into the wall, injured his shoulder and left the game.

Making his 11th start since missing last season after shoulder surgery, Santana (3-2) threw a career-high 134 pitches in his second consecutive shutout. Relying on a sneaky fastball and the baffling changeup that’s always been his signature, he struck out eight and walked five.

“Amazing,” Santana said after tossing the majors’ third no-hitter this year. “Coming into this season I was just hoping to come back and stay healthy and help this team, and now I am in this situation in the greatest city for baseball.”

Before the game, Mets manager Terry Collins said he planned to limit Santana to 110-115 pitches all season.

“I just couldn’t take him out,” a choked-up Collins said afterward.

Born in 1962, the Mets have been built on pitching when they’ve fielded their best teams. But neither Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver nor Dwight Gooden could throw a no-hitter for the Mets — though all three are among the seven pitchers who tossed one after leaving the team.

Philip Humber is another one. He pitched a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox at Seattle on April 21, and Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels no-hit Minnesota on May 2.

After the game, Santana addressed his teammates in the clubhouse. He thanked them and said: “Yeah, baby! Believe it!”

Santana got a warm ovation as he headed out to the mound for the ninth inning, and the two-time Cy Young Award winner quickly retired Matt Holliday and Allen Craig on shallow fly balls.

With the crowd of 27,069 on its feet in a frenzy, World Series MVP David Freese went to a 3-2 count before his foul tip was caught by Josh Thole, just activated from the disabled list earlier in the day.

Santana pumped his left fist and slammed it into his glove as Thole showed the ball to plate umpire Gary Cederstrom and then went running out toward the mound.

“I don’t think anybody expected that tonight. Everything came out perfect for him,” Beltran said. “It should mean a lot for him after battling last year with the injuries. … I’m not happy about it, but at the same time he’s a good man and I’m happy for him.”

The Mets rushed out of the dugout and mobbed Santana in a raucous dogpile as security tackled a fan who ran onto the field near home plate. Moments later, the pitcher raised his right arm and saluted the crowd, which was chanted his name from the eighth inning on. The big scoreboard in center flashed Santana’s picture and read “No-Han.”

“It was a crazy night — my fastball moving all over the place,” Santana said. “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown a no-hitter in video games.”

The Cardinals should have had a hit in the sixth.

Beltran, traded by the Mets to San Francisco last July after 6½ rocky seasons in New York, led off with a low liner over third. Television replays showed the ball nicked the foul line just behind the bag on the dirt, taking a small chunk of chalk with it. But Johnson called it foul immediately and Beltran eventually grounded out.

“It was tough because it happened so quick. I wasn’t able to see anything,” Santana said.

“The umpire made his call and that was the end of it,” he said.

But with the next batter at the plate, Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo twice got in Johnson’s face for heated arguments — the two even appeared to bump each other. Rookie manager Mike Matheny also came out to protest, but nobody was ejected.

Almost exactly two years ago — on June 2, 2010 — Armando Galarraga lost a perfect game when first base umpire Jim Joyce admittedly blew a call that should’ve resulted in the final out. The miss in Detroit instead gave Cleveland’s Jason Donald a single with two outs in the ninth.

Major League Baseball had considered expanding replay for this season to review fair-or-foul calls and trapped balls. The change required the approval of MLB and the unions representing the umpires and the players — when there was no agreement, extra replay was postponed until at least 2013.

Santana cruised from there into the seventh, when Molina hit a one-out drive to deep left. Baxter, who grew up rooting for the Mets only 10 minutes from where Citi Field stands, raced back and made a terrific catch before crashing full force into the fence.

Baxter stayed down on the warning track as Mets trainers, players and coaches rushed out to him. Santana crouched in the infield with a couple of teammates and then made a few warmup tosses to stay loose.

Baxter walked off the field under his own power, with trainer Ray Ramirez holding the outfielder’s left arm. The Mets said Baxter has a bruised left shoulder and was having more tests.

“When I saw him running back onto the warning track and he made that play, it was amazing. An outstanding play and he saved the game,” said Santana, traded to the Mets by Minnesota before the 2008 season. “All these guys, I want to thank them for what we accomplished.”

Lucas Duda hit a three-run homer off Adam Wainwright (4-6) and drove in four runs, tying a career high. Daniel Murphy added three RBIs.

The San Diego Padres, who started play in 1969, are now the only team without a no-hitter.

The Mets’ seemingly endless pursuit had become something of a famous quest, with at least one website even dedicated to counting off their total number of games without one each day during the season.

The list of pitchers who have thrown no-hitters after leaving the Mets includes Ryan and Seaver, both Hall of Famers, plus Gooden, David Cone, Mike Scott, Hideo Nomo and Humber.

Seaver came within two outs of a perfect game in 1969 and fell one out shy of a no-hitter in 1975, the previous time a Mets pitcher had made it into the ninth without yielding a hit.

— Associated Press —

Two big swings and one last 98-mph fastball left the Atlanta Braves with a giant sigh of relief.

Dan Uggla hit a three-run homer and Michael Bourn also went deep Tuesday night, leading the Braves to a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, snapping an eight-game losing streak — Atlanta’s longest in more than two years.

“This is not an indication of what’s going to happen the next day or the next week or the next month,” Uggla said. “But it definitely snaps the feeling of, ‘Aww, man, are we ever going to win again?'”

Bourn led off the bottom of the first with his fifth homer of the season, tying a career high. Uggla made it 4-0 in the third, sending one into the seats in left-center. The Cardinals closed within a run in the seventh, but Eric O’Flaherty and Craig Kimbrel each worked one perfect with two strikeouts to preserve the win.

Kimbrel earned his 14th save in 15 chances, ending the game by fanning Matt Holliday on a fastball that clocked 98 mph. The right-hander pumped his fist and slapped hands with his teammates, everyone looking as though a weight had been lifted.

“Everyone knows how bad we’ve been scuffling,” Uggla said. “When you get that first one, it eases the tension, eases the pressure. We know what it feels like to win again. It was obviously a big night for us.”

Randall Delgado (3-5) worked into the sixth, allowing three runs, and the Cardinals got closer in the seventh on Yadier Molina’s third RBI of the night, a run-scoring single. He went 4-for-4, including a solo homer.

Moline liked the previous day better, when he had just one hit but the Cardinals won.

“I feel good,” said Molina, who is hitting .560 (14 for 25) with three homers and 11 RBIs during a six-game hitting streak. “At the same time, I’d trade my 1 for 5 from last night and the win and not take the 4-for-4 and the loss.”

Jake Westbrook (4-4) struggled to keep his sinker down and lasted only five innings.

“That’s a couple of games in a row I’ve put us in a hole,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better job. With the sinker that I have, that should keep the ball in the yard.”

The Braves shook things up before the game, sending reliever Kris Medlen to the minors so he could stretch out his arm and return to the big leagues as a starter. He was replaced on the roster by speedy outfielder Jose Constanza, who started in left and batted ninth — ahead of Delgado — as manager Fredi Gonzalez looked for ways to shake the team out of its worst slump since a nine-game winless stretch in April 2010.

“Why not?” Gonzalez said.

The unusual lineup paid off in the fifth, when Constanza led off with a single, moved to second on Westbrook’s errant throw to first, raced to third on Bourn’s deep flyout and sped home on Westbrook’s wild pitch. That gave the Braves a 5-2 lead, which turned out to be just enough to hold off the Cardinals.

“He brings the team a little energy,” Gonzalez said of Constanza, who also sparked the Braves last season after being called up.

Molina had his third four-hit game of the season. He began the comeback with a run-scoring single in the fourth, when St. Louis scored twice to halve Atlanta’s lead to 4-2. Molina followed in the sixth with his eighth homer, a one-out shot into the left-field seats. Then, in the seventh, he came through again with an RBI single to right off Jonny Venters, making it a one-run game.

But Venters, whose struggles have apparently cost him his role as the eighth-inning setup man to Kimbrel, escaped the jam by striking out Matt Adams with runners at first and third.

“Jonny made some strides,” Gonzalez said. “He got them hitting ground balls. Now we’ve got to work on getting them to hit ground balls at somebody.”

Westbrook gave up only five hits, but the long ball sent him to his fourth straight start without a win. Bourn drove a 2-2 pitch into the seats to start the Atlanta first, tying the career high for homers that he set with Houston in 2008. There’s plenty of time to take down that mark, with four months left in the season.

“I’m not trying to hit home runs,” Bourn said. “They just come when they come.”

Bourn took the more customary leadoff role in the third, working Westbrook for a one-out walk. Martin Prado singled on a hit-and-run and Brian McCann grounded out before Uggla came through with his eighth homer.

— Associated Press —

Mike Matheny saw a different edge in Lance Lynn as he approached his second start this year against the Atlanta Braves, the only team to beat him this season.

“He had fire in his eyes today,” Matheny said.

Lynn joined Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels as the major leagues’ first eight-game winners, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ extended the Braves’ longest losing streak in two years to eight games with an 8-2 victory Monday.

Matheny said Lynn threw “probably his best game.” He said Lynn, who was making his 10th start of the season and 12th of his career, isn’t sneaking up on any teams.

“You figure at this point they’ve seen quite a bit of him and he’s not a secret in the league anymore,” Matheny said. “For him to go out on this start and make it his best one says a lot about him, to get a chance against the team that got him before.”

Lynn (8-1) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, striking out eight. While Lynn was dominating the Braves, Hamels pitched the Phillies to an 8-4 win at the Mets.

Lynn lost to the Braves 7-4 on May 13 in St. Louis.

“They played a great game against me that game in St. Louis and there was a little added incentive to be sure,” Lynn said.

Atlanta is on its worst skid since the Braves lost nine in a row from April 21-29, 2010. The Braves have fallen from first place to a last-place tie with the Phillies in the NL East at 26-24.

“We’ve got to turn this thing around — soon,” Braves catcher Brian McCann said. “We’ve just got to stay afloat. We hit a bump in the road. We have to bear down.”

Atlanta has given up seven runs or more in four straight games for the first time since five in a row from July 26-30, 2008, according to STATS LLC.

“We’ve always been known for our pitching, and we will,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We’re just going through a stretch right now.”

Daniel Descalso hit a two-run homer as a fill-in starter at third base for David Freese, who was given a day off with a mild sprain of his right hand.

Rafael Furcal had three hits, including a homer, and Matt Adams had three hits with three RBIs for St. Louis.

Marc Rzepczynski and Eduardo Sanchez followed Lynn with hitless relief, completing a five-hitter.

Atlanta’s Tommy Hanson (5-4) gave up a season-high six runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.

“I don’t think anybody’s panicking right now. We’re still above .500 right now,” said Hanson, who had given up no more than two runs in his previous four starts.

Hanson left the bases loaded in the first and stranded a runner on third base in the second, then fell behind 4-0 in the third.

Matt Holliday singled and scored on McCann’s passed ball. After Carlos Beltran was caught in a rundown between third and home when he broke for the plate on a pitch, Yadier Molina singled in a run and Descalso followed with his second home run this season.

Furcal’s home run off Hanson and Adams’ RBI single off Kris Medlen made it 6-0 in the fourth.

Juan Francisco had a two-run single in the bottom half. Adams added a two-run double against Medlen in the sixth.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman didn’t start for the third straight day due to vision problems.

Freeman said he can’t wear contacts because his tear ducts aren’t producing. He can’t wear normal glasses when playing because he can’t see when hitting from his closed stance. He said he hopes prescription sports goggles will arrive Tuesday.

Atlanta arranged a Memorial Day surprise for the family of Air Force Sgt. David Sims in the middle of the fifth inning.

Sims’ wife, Robin, and four children were on the field to see his message to the family shown on the Braves video board. Sims, who has been serving in Afghanistan, emerged on the field after the video and was quickly engulfed by a group hug from his children, followed by a long embrace from his wife, as the crowd of 42,426 cheered.

— Associated Press —

Shane Victorino helped the Philadelphia Phillies make a statement.

Victorino and Freddy Galvis each drove in three runs, including Galvis’ go-ahead single in the sixth inning, and the Philadelphia Philles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-9 on Thursday night.

“We had the early lead, lost the lead early. This was a test of character,” Victorino said. “What kind of team really are we? I think we can be a great team. It’s just a matter of us going out there and doing it.”

Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz and Ty Wigginton added three hits apiece for Philadelphia, which had a season-high 18.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 13th straight save.

“That was a really good game for us,” Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. “The hits that we got, that was definitely a confidence booster for us. We’ll be OK.”

With two outs and two on against Fernando Salas (0-3), Galvis drove in Victorino with a single and pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot singled to score Wigginton and make it 9-7.

St. Louis narrowed the margin to 9-8 with a two-out homer by David Freese. His 10th homer of the season went 463 feet and is the second longest homer in the stadium’s seven-year history.

“I’d say they did a great job of fighting and staying with it, not quitting,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s something we’ve seen pretty consistently with this team. You just hate to have to fight that much.”

Wigginton homered in the eighth to add an insurance run that proved valuable when Skip Schumaker hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning.

A three-run fifth by St. Louis chased Philadelphia starter Joe Blanton and tied it at 7. Matt Holliday led off the fifth with his 10th homer. Raul Valdes (1-0) got two outs to end the inning.

Carlos Beltran, who had three hits, doubled but was thrown out at third on a ball hit in the hole by Freese. Two pitches later, Yadier Molina, who had four hits, crushed the ball out to deep center.

Blanton, who gave up four homers in his last start, gave up two in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed 10 hits.

The Phillies led 6-0 after two innings against St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook.

Victorino hit into a fielder’s choice to bring home a run, Wigginton singled up the middle to score Hunter Pence and Galvis hit a two-run single to make it 4-0.

“I try to be more relaxed up there,” Galvis said. “I try to protect the whole home plate. It was the best game I’ve ever played, you know.”

Victorino hit a two-out, two-run double in the second inning.

St. Louis fought back with a four-run third inning against Blanton. Westbrook led off with a single and scored on a groundout. Beltran hit an RBI single and Freese then doubled to drive in Beltran and later scored on a single by Molina.

It was Westbrook’s shortest outing of the season. He allowed eight hits and three walks.

— Associated Press —

Adam Wainwright was so excited after throwing a shutout for the St. Louis Cardinals, he acknowledged he got emotional.

“It was a huge sense of relief,” Wainwright said. “A huge sense of feeling blessed. I’ve worked very hard to get back to where I am.

“I told Jake (Westbrook) I think it might be the best feeling I’ve ever had pitching. I’ve done some things that are pretty fun but I can’t remember ever feeling that emotional after a game.”

Wainwright threw a four-hitter and the Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 4-0 on Tuesday night.

“All of the emotion came from just knowing it’s been over a year since I’ve done that,” Wainwright said. “Mentally, I was so much better.”

It was his first shutout victory since Aug. 6, 2010, and third in his career. Wainwright (3-5), who missed 2011 with elbow ligament replacement surgery, struck out nine and walked one while throwing 111 pitches. He retired the first eight batters and allowed just one runner to reach third base.

“I think all of the emotion came from just knowing it’s been over a year since I’ve felt really locked in like that,” Wainwright said. “I was locked in all night. I knew I could do it. I knew I would do it. This year, it started rough for me but I knew if I kept grinding, it would come back to me.”

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was happy to see it.

“It’s nice to have that kind of outing from start to finish,” Matheny said. “It’s one he can build on. He believes in himself and rightfully so. He’s accomplished a lot in this game.”

San Diego manager Bud Black agreed.

“I just saw an up-tempo guy with a tremendous amount of focus of getting guys out,” Black said. “As the game went on, that didn’t waver. He pitched a good game.”

Carlos Beltran had two hits and two RBIs and Matt Holliday added two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals.

Edinson Volquez (2-4) gave up five hits and three runs in six innings. The former Cincinnati Red remains winless in St. Louis. He is 0-3 in four career starts at Busch Stadium with a 6.50 ERA.

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Matt Carpenter hit a double to left field and appeared to hurt himself as he left the batter’s box. Daniel Descalso came in to run for Carpenter and scored on Beltran’s two-out single. Descalso stayed in the game at third base for Carpenter, who experienced “right side tightness,” according to a club spokesman.

Descalso scored on a bang-bang play at home in the sixth. He was hit by a pitch leading off and went to third on a seeing-single between first and second by Holliday. Beltran rapped a sharp grounder to first baseman Yonder Alonso. Descalso came halfway down the line. Alonso threw to third baseman Andy Parrino. Descalso headed home and slid in safely before San Diego catcher Nick Hundley made the tag after getting the throw from Parrino. Hundley did not have the plate blocked.

“I didn’t do the right thing there,” Descalso said. “I got caught in no-man’s land. Once the first baseman threw it, I took off. The ball clearly beat me but the front of the plate was there and I beat him to it.”

With the bases loaded, one out and the infield in, Tyler Greene hit a hard grounder to shortstop Everth Cabrera, who bobbled the ball before pushing it to get the force at second. Holliday scored on the play, making it 3-0.

Holliday gave St. Louis a 4-0 lead in the seventh off reliever Alex Hinshaw when he doubled home Rafael Furcal.

Hundley threw out his major league-leading 15th would-be base stealer when he nabbed rookie Adron Chambers in the fifth inning. Chambers was called up from Memphis last Friday to fill in for the injured Allen Craig. Chambers made his first start as a big-leaguer, hitting eighth and playing center field.

— Associated Press —

Perennial prospect Tyler Greene is finally getting a full shot with the St. Louis Cardinals. Opening some eyes, too.

Greene capped his third three-hit game of the month with a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, trumping Jesus Guzman’s two-run double in the top half, as the Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 4-3 to snap a four-game losing streak Monday night.

The former 2005 first-round pick with a career average of .220 in parts of four seasons has started 10 of the last 15 games at second base.

“You’re just going to see a game that just absolutely blows your drawers off,” manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s what excites you about what he can do on a consistent basis.”

Jaime Garcia allowed two runs and struck out seven in seven-plus innings for the injury-riddled Cardinals, who held their half-game lead over Cincinnati in the NL Central. St. Louis has won just three of its last 11 and Matheny said there was “extreme urgency” before the start of a five-game homestand.

“We just need to get something positive going,” Matheny said. “They’ve been fighting, they deserve some wins.”

Clayton Richard got the first out in the eighth before the Padres went to the bullpen. Yadier Molina hit a broken-bat single with one out off Andrew Cashner (2-3) and with two outs, Greene homered to right-center.

“I thought it was a good pitch, down and away,” Cashner said. “You’ve just got to tip your cap to him. That’s the pitch I wanted to make.”

Padres manager Bud Black referred to the combination as “the old bloop and a blast.”

Greene gives the Cardinals pop from a middle infield spot, with four homers and 10 RBIs in 79 at-bats. He lowered his elbow for a more even stroke earlier this month and had a career-best two homers in a three-hit game at Houston on May 6, and three hits and a walk May 15 against the Cubs.

“I’ve felt great since that day in Houston, and I think it’s starting to show,” Greene said. “The adjustments we made are really paying off.”

Jason Motte (3-1) allowed Guzman’s two-run double in the eighth for his second blown save in three chances, but had two fielding assists while finishing off the win with a perfect ninth.

Yonder Alonso had two hits for the Padres, who are a major league-worst 4-11 on the road after dropping the first game of a 10-game trip.

Guzman’s go-ahead hit came against the fourth pitcher St. Louis used in the eighth. Marc Rzepczynski, who gave up Scott Van Slyke’s go-ahead three-run homer in Sunday’s loss at Los Angeles, walked Alonso, the only batter he faced, on four pitches.

Garcia’s third career balk, and first this season, was costly in the second. Alonso went to second after hitting a leadoff single, then advanced on a groundout before scoring on Nick Hundley’s sacrifice fly.

Matheny let Garcia hit in the seventh with one out, a man on second and the Cardinals down by a run. Garcia came through with an infield hit, beating out a grounder deep in the hole that shortstop Andy Parrino gloved but followed with a late, offline throw.

Rafael Furcal busted a 1-for-14 slump with a single to tie it and Garcia scored the go-ahead run on Matt Carpenter’s groundout.

Garcia intentionally walked Parrino, the No. 8 hitter, to load the bases in the seventh before striking out Richard to end the threat. Richard struck out all three at-bats and is 1 for 20 on the season with a single and 13 strikeouts.

Earlier in the seventh, Alexi Amarista just missed on a squeeze bunt attempt barely foul down the third-base line before striking out.

Garcia lasted just one more batter, departing after Chris Denorfia doubled to start the eighth. He struck out seven, giving him 16 in 14 1/3 innings his last two outings.

Richard’s outing was his longest of the season, and his fifth of seven or more innings in nine starts this season.

— Associated Press —

Scott Van Slyke has been hearing the same tired story since his childhood days.

It’s the one about the time his father was in the on-deck circle at Dodger Stadium when Jack Clark hit a go-ahead three-run homer in Game 6 of the 1985 NL Championship Series to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Dodgers and clinch the NL pennant.

Then-Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda had wanted Tom Niedenfuer to face Clark with first base open because he felt Andy Van Slyke had a better chance to do some damage against the Dodgers’ tired closer.

Sunday night brought back a flood of memories for the elder Van Slyke, who was in the stands and witnessed his son’s first big league homer — another three-run shot that put the Dodgers ahead in the seventh inning of a 6-5 victory over his hometown team.

“Tommy Lasorda reminds me of that every time he sees me,” Scott Van Slyke said with a laugh. “I also had a couple of friends in the stands from St. Louis, and we’re all from St. Louis. So I’m sure a little piece of them was cringing. But whatever team it was against, I think it would have been just as thrilling. It was important that the home run counted for something and helped the team win.”

Kyle Lohse allowed three runs and 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and left with a 5-3 lead. But rookie Elian Herrera started the Dodgers’ winning rally with a one-out single against Victor Marte, and Bobby Abreu greeted Marc Rzepczynski (0-2) with a single.

Van Slyke got the green light from manager Don Mattingly on a 3-0 pitch and drove it into the left-field bullpen after Andre Ethier struck out.

“At first, I looked down at (third base coach) Tim Wallach, and maybe there was a little part of me that was surprised,” the 25-year-old outfielder said. “But once I got back in the box, I was really zoned in, trying to get a pitch I could do something with.”

The home run was the third allowed in 15 1/3 innings this season by Rzepczynski, the only left-hander manager Mike Matheny has in the bullpen for situations like that.

“My plan was to go with sinkers away early and see if he could hit a groundball,” Rzepczynski said. “Then I threw a 3-0 changeup, thinking he’d be a little bit out in front of it, I just left it a little bit up, and it was right in his wheelhouse. He sat back on it and hit it well. He’s got the power. I know it was his first career home run, but he was definitely up here for a reason — to get a chance to hit in that situation.”

Javy Guerra (2-3) got the win, which completed a three-game sweep for the Dodgers and improved the best record in the majors to 28-13. Los Angeles is 15 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2009 season and leads San Francisco by seven games in the NL West, the Dodgers’ biggest margin of the season.

Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save.

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley gave up five runs — three earned — and eight hits in six innings and struck out seven — including World Series MVP David Freese all three times he faced him. The right-hander is 0-3 over his last seven starts with a 5.20 ERA.

The Cardinals placed first baseman Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list before the game because of an injured right knee, and purchased the contract of Triple-A first baseman Matt Adams. The rookie smoked the first pitch he saw in the big leagues to center for a single in the second inning for the first of his two hits and started an inning-ending double play in the first after fielding Adam Kennedy’s grounder in the hole.

The Cardinals turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Daniel Descalso led off with a single and Rafael Furcal reached on an error by Billingsley, who went to cover first base on Furcal’s grounder in the hole and took the throw from James Loney with his foot off the bag on a bang-bang play.

Skip Schumaker followed with a two-run triple, then scored the go-ahead run when Carlos Beltran beat the relay to first from shortstop Justin Sellers on a potential inning-ending double-play grounder to short after a walk to Matt Holliday. Furcal added a two-run bloop single that made it 5-2 in the sixth.

— Associated Press —