ST. LOUIS (AP) — Keon Broxton and Eric Thames homered to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

Thames’ 18th of the season off Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh (1-3) in the ninth barely skimmed over the right field wall and broke a 4-4 tie as the Brewers won their second straight series against the Cardinals. Milwaukee had gone 0-15-2 in the previous 17 series.

Broxton drilled the first pitch he saw 489 feet into the left field seats to tie the game 2-2 in the second. It is the longest home run in Busch Stadium III’s history and the second-longest this season in the major leagues.

Domingo Santana’s single scored Eric Sogard to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead in the third.

For the second consecutive start, Brewers right-hander Zach Davies gave up four runs in five innings. He gave up nine hits and struck out one.

Oliver Drake earned his first career save for the Brewers. Josh Hader and Carlos Torres (3-4) combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

Stephen Piscotty and Aledmys Diaz had RBI singles to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in the first.

Dexter Fowler tied it for the Cardinals with a solo home run in the third and again with a single scoring Matt Carpenter in the fifth.

Carpenter doubled in the first and fifth, scoring both times. He has doubled in six straight games.

Michael Wacha struggled again, giving up four runs in four innings. It is the fourth of his last five starts that the Cardinals right-hander failed to go five innings.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

The Brewers had bases loaded with no outs in the fifth, but only scored once on a single by Travis Shaw. Thames was thrown out at home trying to score from second on Shaw’s hit and Santana was thrown out at home on a safety squeeze.

PINBALL WIZARD

Yadier Molina was retired on a rare 3-4-1 play in the eighth. His grounder went off Thames’ glove, but Sogard barehanded the deflection and threw to Torres to get Molina at first.

FACES IN THE CROWD

Actor and comedian George Lopez was on the field during batting practice interviewing players on their superstitions for a segment in his upcoming show.

TRAINING ROOM

Brewers: OF Ryan Braun (left calf strain) fielded balls in left field during batting practice, but there is no timetable for a return.

Cardinals: INF Paul DeJong was recalled from Triple-A Memphis and 2B Kolten Wong (right triceps strain) was placed on the 10-day DL.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (1-1, 2.45 ERA) will make his sixth start as the team returns home for a three-game set against San Diego and RHP Miguel Diaz (1-1, 6.92 ERA). He is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two career starts against the Padres.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (5-5, 2.95 ERA) will kick off a three-game series at Baltimore and RHP Kevin Gausman (3-5, 6.49 ERA). His 1.93 Interleague ERA is the fifth-lowest in MLB history (minimum eight starts).

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw may have looked locked in Tuesday night, but his mind was hundreds of miles away.

Keon Broxton and Shaw hit solo home runs and combined for five RBI to help the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 and split their day-night doubleheader.

The Cardinals won the opener 6-0 behind Jose Martinez’s two home runs.

In the nightcap, Shaw’s eighth-inning single against Trevor Rosenthal (1-3) broke a 5-5 tie. Shaw, who was reinstated from a family medical emergency before the doubleheader, went 2 for 5 in the second game and drove in two runs.

Shaw left the club Friday after his newborn daughter, Ryann, had complications from open heart surgery. She’s in stable condition now.

“It’s nice to get back, at the same time my mind’s still elsewhere,” Shaw said. “There’s more important things than baseball and a lot of things got put in perspective last week. It was nice to get a win, nice to contribute, but I’m still thinking about her at home.”

Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson went 5 2/3 innings, but is still winless in 11 career games (10 starts) against the Cardinals. He gave up nine hits, two walks and struck out four.

Jared Hughes (2-1) got the decision after giving up a game-tying homer to Matt Carpenter. Corey Knebel earned his ninth save in 12 opportunities.

Back-to-back homers by Aguilar and Shaw sparked a four-run Brewers fourth. Broxton followed with an RBI triple and scored on a fielder’s choice giving Milwaukee a 5-2 lead.

Broxton’s line drive home run to lead off the third was the Brewers’ first hit of the game. His sacrifice fly capped Milwaukee’s three-run eighth.

“It wasn’t the biggest number we’ve put on the board but it was the best offensive game we’ve had this year for sure,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The eighth inning was great at-bats up and down the lineup.”

Broxton is hitting .583 (7 for 12) with two homers and five RBI at Busch Stadium this season.

“I think this park, I just kind of find my stroke whenever I get here,” Broxton said. “I don’t’ know what it is. Timing I guess. I just try to keep things as simple as possible. Just see the ball.”

Marco Gonzales lasted just 3 1/3 innings in making his first start since Sept. 1, 2015 after missing all of 2016 with Tommy John surgery. Three of the five hits he gave up were homers.

All four batters Rosenthal faced reached base and three scored, his worst outing since June 24, 2016, when he also gave up three runs without an out against Seattle.

“I feel like I’m pretty good about just showing up every day and giving it my best and that’s what it’s all about, but it’s always tough just being in that spot,” Rosenthal said. “It definitely stinks to be able to not get the job done.”

After Martinez’s RBI fielder’s choice gave the Cardinals the lead in the first, Carpenter made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the second.

Dexter Fowler’s two-out pinch-hit single in the sixth scored Aledmys Diaz and Carpenter led off the seventh with a homer to tie it 5-5.

In the opener, Martinez’s 415-foot opposite field drive to right-center ignited a three-run Cardinals rally in the fifth. Carpenter followed with an RBI double and scored on Fowler’s single to make it 3-0.

Right-hander Lance Lynn (5-3) struggled with his control with four walks, but was able to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth. Lynn struck out eight, including the side in the fourth inning and Tyler Lyons pitched the final three innings of the opener to earn his first career save.

SAVE THAT BALL

Lewis Brinson legged out his first major league hit in the nightcap when Greg Garcia couldn’t bare-hand his slow roller down the third base line in the third. Brinson was hitless in his first seven at-bats with the Brewers.

“You take it,” Counsell said. “How they come, who cares?”

TRAINING ROOM

Brewers: RHP Brandon Woodruff (right hamstring tightness) was placed on the 10-day DL and RHP Paolo Espino was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Cardinals: RHP Sam Tuivailala was recalled from Triple-A Memphis, INF Jhonny Peralta was given his unconditional release and INF Paul DeJong was optioned to Memphis.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (7-3, 4.74 ERA) has won seven of his last eight decisions. He is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in five career starts against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (5-5, 2.70 ERA) has given up 11 runs over his last three starts after given up 13 over his first nine. He is 5-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 14 career starts.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals needed a big hit, and Dexter Fowler delivered — again.

Fowler hit a three-run homer and Adam Wainwright tossed five solid innings, leading St. Louis to a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

The Cardinals have won three in a row since a season-high seven-game losing streak.

Daniel Nava homered for the Phillies, who have dropped five in a row.

Philadelphia led 2-0 before Fowler connected against Aaron Nola (3-4) in the fifth inning. Eight of Fowler’s nine homers in his first season with St. Louis have given his team the lead.

“I could have kissed him,” Wainwright said. “That was such a big hit for us as a team, but also for me.”

Tommy Pham, who had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for St. Louis, said Fowler’s homer served as a perfect pick-me-up.

“A big momentum-shifter right there,” Pham said. “He’s a clutch player.”

Wainwright (7-4) gave up six hits, struck out four and walked two, bouncing back nicely from a rough start at Cincinnati on Tuesday. Seung Hwan Oh pitched a rocky ninth inning for his 15th save.

Wainwright needed 50 pitches to get through the first two innings, but allowed just one hit over his final three frames.

“I had very, very average stuff,” Wainwright said. “It wasn’t coming out great. But we found a way to win.”

Nola gave up just four hits, but needed 93 pitches to get through five innings on a 90-degree afternoon.

“I just didn’t execute the pitch where I wanted it,” Nola said of the Fowler home run.

Pham and Eric Fryer added run-scoring singles in the sixth, and Kolten Wong’s RBI double made it 6-3 Cardinals in the eighth. Wong’s hit took on added importance when Oh faltered in the ninth.

Philadelphia pulled within one on RBI singles by Odubel Herrera and Howie Kendrick. Oh then got Tommy Joseph to fly to right with two runners on, ending the game.

“It was good to see us score off their closer in the ninth inning,” Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin said. “We just fell short again.”

WORTH NOTING

Herrera went 3 for 5 with two RBI, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

BUSCH DOMINATION

The Cardinals have won 11 of their last 13 games at home against Philadelphia and have captured the last five series between the teams in St. Louis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: INF Cesar Hernandez was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. He suffered the injury making a throw on Friday. … RHP Joaquin Benoit was activated from the disabled list and got two outs, allowing two runs and three hits. He had been on the DL since June 3 with a left knee strain.

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina was held out of the lineup for the third straight game with lower back stiffness. He is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday, according to manager Mike Matheny.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (0-7, 5.15 ERA) will face Boston RHP Rick Porcello (3-8, 4.46 ERA) in the first of a two-games series against the Red Sox on Monday. The teams meet for two games in Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (4-3, 2.88 ERA) will pitch on Tuesday afternoon against Milwaukee in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. LHP Marco Gonzales will make his season debut for St. Louis in the nightcap.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Martinez has been waiting for this moment.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ ace right-hander struck out 11 and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-0 on Saturday, the first shutout and first complete game of his career.

“All I can really say is I’m living out my dream,” Martinez said through an interpreter. “This was one of my goals, one of my dreams. The next one is to pitch a perfect game. And I just feel so happy with my performance. I was completely focused today. All of my pitches were perfect, in my opinion. The location, they were perfect. I’m just really happy.”

Jedd Gyorko drove in three runs for the Cardinals, who have won two straight against the Phillies after their seven-game skid on their recent trip.

“I think it kind of gets everyone feeling good,” Cardinals catcher Eric Fryer said. “Obviously the road trip was a rough one. Coming here, getting the win, breaking the streak, was obviously what we wanted to accomplish. Then coming out here and Carlos putting his foot down and just saying let’s get going, it’s pretty nice.”

Martinez (5-5) allowed four hits and walked one. Martinez’s 101st pitch of the game was a 100 mph fastball that struck out Howie Kendrick for the second out in the ninth.

The young righty has turned in some impressive performances in his four-year career — including tossing nine shutout innings in a 13-inning game last month — but Saturday’s start may go down as the best of them.

“I think he would tell you it was his best,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I don’t think we could disagree. What more would you want? He had the strikeouts when he wanted them. He pitched to contact at other times. He had the live fastball and wanted to show it off late because he still had it. Just did a little bit of everything. I thought he had a real nice rhythm too.”

“He threw all his pitches for strikes and changed speeds and had that velocity late in the game,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.

Martinez survived a scare in the seventh inning when he was hit by a pitch on his pitching hand from Phillies reliever Jeanmar Gomez. He was down on the ground briefly but got up and stayed in the game. He later scored from third base on a sacrifice fly by Gyorko.

“Thank God it wasn’t anything major,” Martinez said. “I saw the ball. I thought it was coming right to my face. That’s why I reacted so quickly and moved out of the way. It only got my hand and nothing major.”

The Cardinals gave Martinez all the run support he would need with a four-run fourth, which tied their season high for runs in an inning, and then three runs in the seventh.

Gyorko opened the scoring with a two-run double off the wall in right-center, after a leadoff walk by Dexter Fowler and a double by Stephen Piscotty. Gyorko scored on a balk by Nick Pivetta. Fryer made it 4-0 with an RBI single.

Pivetta (1-3), making his sixth career start, allowed four runs and four hits in five innings, with four walks and two strikeouts.

St. Louis added three runs in the seventh on Matt Carpenter’s two-run double and Gyorko’s sacrifice fly. The Cardinals finished with six hits.

GETTING PICKY

Pivetta, the Phillies’ starter, picked off Fowler and Tommy Pham to end the first and second innings.

BALK THIS WAY

Pivetta’s fourth-inning balk was the Phillies’ seventh of the season. The seven balks have come from seven pitchers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: 2B Cesar Hernandez was not in the lineup Saturday after experiencing tightness in his side during Friday’s game.

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina was scratched from the lineup for the second straight game with lower back stiffness.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola (3-3, 4.28) tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits, in his only previous start against the Cardinals.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (6-4, 4.82) is 6-2 with a 2.85 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts) against the Phillies. He is 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA in three day game starts this season.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Getting back in the win column was big for Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Aledmys Diaz hit a solo home run and Wacha pitched six strong innings as the Cardinals snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

Earlier Friday, the Cardinals, who had lost 17 of their last 22 games, reassigned some members of the coaching staff and released veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta.

“This definitely feels good,” Wacha said. “We have the music blaring in here after a win. It’s been awhile so it’s good to get back in that win column.”

Seung Hwan Oh pitched the ninth, earning his 14th save in 16 chances. He gave up a leadoff double to Odubel Herrera, who went to third on a ground out. But Oh got a strikeout and left fielder Tommy Pham made a diving catch on a line drive by Freddy Galvis to pick up the save.

“As soon as I saw Tommy running, I knew he had it,” Oh said through translator Eugene Koo. “We got the job done and I’m happy with the results.”

The bullpen had surrendered 11 runs in the previous 8 1/3 innings. Against the Phillies, the bullpen had three scoreless innings.

Wacha (3-3) went six innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. He allowed five hits and two runs.

“I felt like I had pretty good command of mostly everything,” Wacha said. “Overall, my stuff felt really good.”

It was the first quality start in any of the past seven games for a St. Louis starter. Wacha had not able to finish five innings in each of his last three starts.

Jeremy Hellickson (5-4) took the loss. He pitched six innings, allowing 10 hits but just three runs. It was the 14th start of six innings or longer this season for the Phillies.

“Hellickson dodged bullets all night,” Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin said. “He gave up a lot of hits but beared down when he had to. He pitched well enough to win and he pitched well enough to lose. We just couldn’t score.”

Diaz gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead when he hit a two-out homer in the fifth inning.

“You never go to home plate expecting to hit a homer but I think when you put a good swing on it, you get a chance to hit a homer,” Diaz said.

It was Diaz’s first home run since May 1.

“I’ve got to keep the ball in the yard,” Hellickson said.

The Phillies scored two in the second with two outs. Howie Kendrick doubled and scored on a single by Tommy Joseph. Aaron Altherr then tripled off the wall in right.

The Cardinals answered with two runs in the third to tie.

“Those two runs got us back after being down two,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “The offense was putting some pressure on right away and got us right back in the game.”

Matt Carpenter singled and went to third on Dexter Fowler’s double. A sacrifice by Stephen Piscotty scored Carpenter and Jed Gyorko’s single drove in Fowler. St. Louis loaded the bases but Hellickson struck out Eric Fryer.

“I just didn’t execute that inning,” Hellickson said. “They took advantage of my mistakes.”

Philadelphia lost its third straight game. The lack of a big hit was a factor in this loss to St. Louis.

“We had a couple of chances with a guy on third and less than two outs and we didn’t get it done,” Mackanin said.

CHANGES:

Phillies: Philadelphia traded INF Taylor Featherston, who was at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations. He joined the Rays’ for their Friday game against Oakland.

Cardinals: Before the game, John Mozeliak, the Cardinals general manager announced some coaching moves. Mike Shildt is the new third base coach and will handle outfield defense. Coach Chris Maloney, in his second year as third-base coach, will be reassigned to a new role in the organization. Assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller is taking a leave of absence. Mark Budaska will join the club to take his spot. Also, Ron Warner will join the Cardinals to assist the coaching staff.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Phillies: RHP Joaquin Benoit is expected to be activated from the 10-day DL on Sunday. He strained his left knee walking down the steps last weekend at Citizens Bank Park.
Cardinals: C Yadier Molina was scratched from starting lineup with lower back spasms. … St. Louis activated INF Kolten Wong from the DL. Wong missed 13 games with a left elbow strain.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Nick Pivetta (1-2, 5.18) is coming off his first major league victory, an 11-4 win over Atlanta. The rookie went five innings, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks along with four strikeouts. This will be his first ever appearance against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (4-5, 3.25) is 2-0 against the Phillies in five appearances. He has pitched six or more innings in his last eight starts.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joey Votto had one of those frequent days when he hits everything hard — the last thing the St. Louis Cardinals needed at this point.

Votto had a two-run homer among his four hits, Adam Duvall had three hits off Mike Leake — his counterpart in one of Cincinnati’s rebuilding trades — and the Reds beat the Cardinals 5-2 on Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.

“Joey Votto is something else,” Reds starter Scott Feldman said. “I get a big kick out of watching his approach at the plate. You have to see him every day to appreciate how good he is. When he’s hot, there’s nobody better.”

The Reds hadn’t swept the Cardinals in four games since 2003 in Cincinnati, during the first season at Great American Ball Park. St. Louis has lost seven in a row overall for the first time since 2013.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have been through runs like this,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “This is baseball. It’s heavy right now, there’s no doubt about it. In the long run, we’re going to snap out of this. It’s just hard finding what that key is.”

Feldman (5-4) limited the Cardinals’ slumping lineup to four singles in seven shutout innings. Matt Carpenter hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Austin Brice. Raisel Iglesias got his 12th save.

The Reds traded Leake (5-5) to the Giants for Duvall in 2015, and the right-hander signed with the Cardinals after that season. Leake has yet to beat his former team, going 0-4 in seven starts with a 4.79 ERA. The Cardinals have lost all seven games.

Leake figures that the Reds’ familiarity with him — Votto is one of their holdovers from 2015 — helps them.

“I’m sure he’s a voice in their meetings, might speak up to kind of help other guys,” Leake said. “But I feel I’ve done a pretty decent job with Joey up to this point. Today he went 3 for 3, but he hasn’t really killed me.”

Duvall had an RBI double in the fifth, Scooter Gennett followed with an RBI single and Yadier Molina’s throwing error let in another run. Votto connected off left-hander Tyler Lyons for his 16th homer an inning later, giving the Reds all the room they needed to finish the sweep.

“Obviously, it’s phenomenal,” manager Bryan Price said. “That was an all-around great ballgame and a great series.”

The series highlight was Gennett becoming the 17th major leaguer to homer four times in a game during the Reds’ 13-1 win on Tuesday night. In his next two games, he went 3 for 8 with three singles and an RBI.

NICE PLAY

Leake escaped harm in the fourth when the Reds loaded the bases with no outs. Feldman struck out, and Billy Hamilton hit into an unusual double play: Carpenter fielded his grounder, stepped on first, and threw to Molina, who tagged Gennett at the plate.

STATS

The Reds have won 11 of their last 16 games against St. Louis. They outscored the Cardinals 28-9 during the sweep. … Votto’s four hits matched his career high. He’s done it 22 times. … Duvall has hits in six straight plate appearances against Leake. He’s 11 for 22 career off him. … Leake allowed a season-high 10 hits in five innings. … Zack Cozart has reached safely in 30 straight games, the longest on-base streak by a Reds shortstop since Barry Larkin’s 31-game streak in 1991.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Dexter Fowler was back after getting a day out of the starting lineup to rest. He went 0 for 4.

Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani is behind schedule in recovering from a strained elbow that has sidelined him since spring training. Manager Bryan Price said Thursday that he’s probably not going to be ready until August. … LHP Brandon Finnegan will make a rehab appearance for Double-A Pensacola on Sunday and could be back by the end of the month. Finnegan has been sidelined since mid-April by a sore left shoulder.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Michael Wacha (2-3) faces the Phillies’ Jeremy Hellickson (5-3) as the Cardinals open a seven-game homestand. Wacha allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 7-6 loss at Wrigley Field on Sunday.

Reds: LHP Amir Garrett (3-4) makes his second start since returning from a hip injury, facing LHP Rich Hill (2-2) as the Reds open a series in Los Angeles. The Reds have lost their last six games and their last five series at Dodger Stadium.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — St. Louis kept Scooter Gennett in check a day after his four-homer game, but Patrick Kivlehan had a pinch three-run shot that sparked the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 victory on Wednesday night, extending the Cardinals’ longest losing streak in four years.

The Cardinals have dropped six in a row. They let a 4-1 lead slip away when Kivlehan — another utility player like Gennett — and Joey Votto homered during a five-run seventh inning.

Gennett became the first Reds player to homer four times in a game during the 13-1 win a night earlier. He connected in his last four at-bats and had a chance for more history on Wednesday — nobody has homered in five straight plate appearances.

Using the same tan bat that produced five hits overall the previous night, Gennett grounded into a double play his first time up against Lance Lynn, ending his homer streak. He also struck out, hit into another double play and singled as part of the Reds’ go-ahead rally.

Kivlehan’s first career pinch-hit homer off Brett Cecil (0-2) tied it 4-4. Votto’s two-run homer off Trevor Rosenthal finished the eight-batter rally.

Scott Schebler had a homer among his three hits for the Reds, who have won all three games in a series that ends on Thursday. They have taken back-to-back series against St. Louis for the first time since 2011, and have won 10 of their last 15 games overall against the NL Central rival.

Wandy Peralta (3-1) got the win in relief of Bronson Arroyo. Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth, staying perfect in 11 save chances.

The Cardinals built their early lead with the help of Matt Carpenter’s solo homer off Arroyo, who has given up a major league-leading 20 this season. Sixteen of them have been solo shots.

CARDINALS MOVES

The Cardinals called up utility player Chad Huffman and optioned RHP John Gant to Triple-A Memphis. Gant gave up two of Gennett’s four homers on Tuesday night.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: CF Dexter Fowler, who is 3 for 16 on the trip, got a day out of the starting lineup but had a pinch RBI double. Carpenter batted leadoff for the first time this season.

Reds: RHP Homer Bailey will make a rehab appearance Friday for Double-A Pensacola. He had spurs removed from his pitching elbow before the start of spring training. He’s not expected back until late June at the earliest.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (5-4) has yet to beat his former team. He’s 0-3 in six career starts against the Reds with a 4.95 ERA. St. Louis has lost all six games.

Reds: RHP Scott Feldman (4-4) lasted only 4 1/3 innings in a 6-5 loss to Atlanta on Saturday, giving up five runs and seven hits.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Scooter Gennett hit four home runs , matching the major league record, and finished with 10 RBI as the Cincinnati Reds routed the slumping St. Louis Cardinals 13-1 on Tuesday night.

Gennett became the 17th player to homer four times in one game — and perhaps the least likely. A scrappy second baseman who was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee in late March, he began the night with 38 career home runs in five seasons, including three this year.

Josh Hamilton was the previous player to hit four home runs in one game, for Texas against Baltimore in May 2012.

The 27-year-old Gennett singled his first time up and then homered in four straight at-bats , including a grand slam . His 10 RBI tied Cincinnati’s club record.

Gennett snapped an 0-for-19 slump during the Reds’ 4-2 win over the Cardinals on Monday. He went 5 for 5 on Tuesday and raised his batting average 32 points to .302.

Since being picked up by the Reds late in spring training, Gennett has played a utility role for Cincinnati. He started in left field Tuesday night.

The last National League player to hit four home runs in one game was Shawn Green for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Milwaukee in May 2002.

Gennett hit an RBI single and his second career slam off St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright (6-4), who brought a long scoreless streak into the game but couldn’t handle a team that has hit him like no other. He lasted only 3 2/3 innings and gave up nine runs for just the third time in his career.

The last time? Also against Cincinnati in 2013.

Gennett’s grand slam was the first Wainwright had allowed since 2012.

Eugenio Suarez’s bases-loaded triple in the fourth ended Wainwright’s outing. Gennett followed with his fifth homer of the season off John Gant, and then hit a solo shot off the right-hander.

Gennett got his second curtain call of the game after his two-run shot off John Brebbia in the eighth.

Tim Adleman (4-2) gave up one run — on Stephen Piscotty’s homer — in seven innings.

The Cardinals have dropped a season-high five straight and eight of their last 10.

The Reds have won three in a row against the Cardinals for the first time since 2015. They’ve taken nine of their last 14 against St. Louis.

Wainwright’s streak of scoreless innings ended at 17 in the first. Billy Hamilton tapped a grounder that the Cardinals let roll, and it stopped on the first base line. He advanced on a groundout and scored on Gennett’s single that got the Reds rolling.

Wainwright fell to 9-11 career against Cincinnati with a 5.01 ERA.

REDS MOVES

The Reds reinstated left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani from the disabled list and optioned right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla to Triple-A Louisville. Cingrani had been sidelined April 21 with a strained right oblique. Bonilla was 1/3 with a 7.43 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Rookie INF Paul DeJong made his first start at shortstop in place of Aledmys Diaz, who got a day off. DeJong has started eight games at second base, but played both positions in the minors.

Reds: RF Scott Schebler was out of the lineup for the third straight game with a sore left shoulder, but came in on defense after the Reds built their big lead.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (4-3) gave up only one run in six innings of a 7-5 win over the Reds at Busch Stadium on April 28. He is 9-4 career against Cincinnati.

Reds: RHP Bronson Arroyo (3-4) is coming off one of the best outings of his comeback season. He allowed only two runs in six innings of a 3-2 victory over Atlanta on Friday.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Carlos Martinez dominated the Cincinnati Reds for six innings, and the slumping St. Louis Cardinals still found a way to give up the lead on the way to another loss.

Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett hit consecutive two-run doubles in the seventh inning, and Cincinnati came from behind to beat St. Louis 4-2 on Monday night.

Martinez (4-5) was almost perfect through six innings before wilting in the seventh as the Cardinals dropped their fourth straight and eighth in 11 games.

“It’s been frustrating, but I think our team will remain united and get through this negative period,” Martinez said through a translator. “You’ve got to keep your mind positive.”

The Reds had lost two in a row and five of six going into the opener of this four-game series.

Martinez, who was 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his previous six starts, faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings with the help of catcher Yadier Molina, who threw out major league stolen base leader Billy Hamilton trying to swipe third in the first inning and Adam Duvall attempting to steal second in the second.

“He was as dominant as you can be,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said about Martinez. “It snowballed in a hurry. You’ve got to make plays to get outs. The next thing you know, your back’s up against the wall.”

Martinez retired 14 straight batters after Duvall’s leadoff single before the Reds got to him in the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out. Suarez sent a line drive to center field that Dexter Fowler dropped while sprinting toward the wall.

“We were facing an ace,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “It looked like he was on. He didn’t give us much to be excited about. Then we get a bunt hit.�It’s the things you have to do.”

Left-hander Kevin Siegrist was brought in to face the left-handed-hitting Gennett, who snapped an 0-for-19 slump with a double down the right-field line.

“This is a crazy game,” Gennett said. “You can do everything right. You can hit the ball hard and get nothing or you can make soft contact like I did�tonight�and get a double. The more you play the game, you understand that hitless streaks are going to happen. You just embrace it and do the best you can.”

Lisalverto Bonilla (1-3) pitched a perfect inning and Raisel Iglesias struck out three in a hitless ninth to remain perfect in 10 save chances.

Asher Wojciechowski tossed six effective innings in his second major league start for the Reds. Wojciechowski allowed eight hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings against St. Louis after giving up four hits, including three homers, and four runs over four innings last Tuesday at Toronto.

“I was focusing on fastball location,” Wojciechowski said. “They made good plays behind me — two double plays.”

Wojciechowski faced the minimum nine batters through three innings and didn’t permit a hit until Matt Carpenter’s one-out single in the fourth. But the Cardinals bunched together five hits in a two-run fifth, including Tommy Pham’s RBI double and Martinez’s safety squeeze that scored Pham from third.

Martinez’s bunt pushed Paul DeJong to second base, but he was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Fowler’s single to left field — the first of Duvall’s two assists in the game.

“Those throws by Duvall were huge,” Wojciechowski said. “It gives you confidence and you know you only have to get one more out.”

Matheny had no problem with either runner trying to advance.

“You’ve got to let guys use their heads,” he said. “Sometimes, they get it right. Sometimes, they don’t. It would’ve been nice to get a little more there. We had some momentum going.”

MR. CONSISTENT

Reds SS Zack Cozart singled twice and has reached base in 27 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors.

MOWED DOWN

Duvall, who entered with one outfield assist in 53 games, got two in two innings against the Cardinals. In addition to cutting down DeJong at the plate in the fifth, Duvall threw out Stephen Piscotty at third base in the sixth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Hamilton returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a strained left shoulder sustained while trying to make a diving catch Saturday. … RF Scott Schebler, who left Saturday’s game with the same injury after making a diving catch, missed his second straight start.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Veteran RHP Adam Wainwright (6-3) takes a streak of 16 1/3 scoreless innings into Tuesday’s start against the Reds. Wainwright has allowed one run in his last four starts.

Reds: RHP Tim Adleman (3-2), who is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his last two starts, set career highs by allowing eight hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings during his April 28 start at St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Ian Happ’s first home run wound up in the street, and his second drew a curtain call from the screaming crowd.

Not a bad night for the prized rookie, and it turned out well for the Cubs, too.

Happ hit two homers, pinch hitter Jon Jay drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh with a single and Chicago beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

Happ broke out of a 4-for-32 slump by staking Chicago to a 6-4 lead with his solo drive in the third and a three-run shot in the fourth against Michael Wacha. The first homer hugged the right-field line , bouncing onto Sheffield Avenue, and the second whipped fans into a frenzy. Happ came back out of the dugout and tipped his helmet to the screaming crowd.

“Awesome, awesome moment,” he said. “These fans are unbelievable.”

Jay broke a 6-6 tie with his two-out single off Matt Bowman (1-2) in the seventh. Anthony Rizzo had three hits and scored the go-ahead run, and the Cubs (28-27) moved back over .500 with their 10th home win in 12 games. They also swept three from the Cardinals at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2006, and they did it after an 0-6 trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego.

Cubs players held a meeting before the final game against the Padres that was more of a reminder of who they are than a clear-the-air session.

“It was nothing big,” Jay said. “Not a big deal at all. Just reminding ourselves what we can do.”

Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Kyle Hendricks. The Cardinals tied it with two in the sixth against Hector Rondon, only to lose for the eighth time in 11 games.

“I’d say we’ve had two weeks of being in every single game,” manager Mike Matheny said. “Two weeks of having multiple games that we typically would put away and for whatever reason, they’re just hard to finish now. They’re always hard to finish here.”

Singles by Rizzo and Jason Heyward put runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh. Jay — batting for Pedro Strop — lined a single to center and Rizzo crossed the plate before Heyward got tagged out in a rundown between second and third.

Strop (2-2) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Carl Edwards Jr. retired the side in the eighth. Koji Uehara worked a perfect ninth for his second save in four chances after Wade Davis closed the previous two games.

Hendricks gave up four runs and four hits in four innings.

Pounded in back-to-back losses to the Dodgers, Wacha lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs and six hits. The Cardinals had just scored four in the fourth when Chicago answered with five in the bottom half after the first two batters were retired.

“That’s on me,” he said. “They’ve been giving me a lead out there, and I’ve just been serving it right back to them and that’s not the way to go about it. Whenever we get a lead, that starter is supposed to keep that lead for us and I haven’t been doing that.”

GYORKO RETURNS

Cardinals third baseman Jedd Gyorko singled and scored. The slugger missed two games to be with his wife Karley, who had a girl named Brooklyn Ellee on Tuesday. With Gyorko back from paternity leave, St. Louis optioned outfielder Magneuris Sierra to Double-A Springfield. The 21-year-old Sierra debuted last month and is 12 for 32 with hits in all eight games he has played in. He is the first Cardinals rookie with a hit in each of his first eight games since Homer Smoot did it in 1902.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: INF/OF Kolten Wong (strained left elbow) will likely begin a minor-league rehab assignment in the next couple of days, manager Mike Matheny said. Wong played 41 games this season, hitting .278 with one homer and 16 RBI before going on the DL on May 28.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: St. Louis sends surging RHP Carlos Martinez (4-4, 3.08 ERA) to the mound as the Cardinals open a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Martinez is 4-1 in his past seven starts and has lowered his ERA from 4.76. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 5.63) pitches for the Reds.

Cubs: Chicago begins a three-game series against Miami, with RHP Eddie Butler (2-1, 4.42) pitching for the Cubs and RHP Dan Straily (4-3, 3.56) going for the Marlins.

— Associated Press —