ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joey Votto and Adam Duvall hit two of the Cincinnati’s four homers as the Reds routed the St. Louis Cardinals 15-2 on Monday night.

Reds starter Tim Adleman (3-4) retired the first 10 Cardinals he faced and went a career-long seven innings. It was his first win since Aug. 19.

Steve Selsky went 5-for-5 including a homer, four RBI and scored three runs. He’s the first Reds rookie to have five hits in a game since Wade Rowdon against the Mets on July 9, 1986.

The Reds improved to 6-4 in their last 10 games against the Cardinals, who fell one game behind the idle San Francisco Giants for the second wild card spot with six games to go.

Votto and Duvall hit back-to-back homers in the first to start the offensive barrage. They combined for seven hits, six runs, three homers and six RBI.

Duvall’s three-run homer in the fifth gave him a career-high five RBI. It was the third multi-homer game and his first four-hit game of his career.

The Reds sent 12 men to the plate in a seven-run fourth and 11 more in a four-run fifth.

Brandon Phillips had his 14th career four-hit game.

Jaime Garcia (10-13) lasted just one inning in his shortest outing of his career and possibly last as a Cardinal. Jose Peraza and Phillips singled against him and combined to steal three bases and almost a fourth, but Peraza was thrown out at third.

Garcia drew boos from the 34,942 fans after Phillips easily swiped third base after it appeared Garcia didn’t bother to look him back. It was the first time in 240 regular season games that the Cardinals failed to drew at least 40,000, dating back to Sept. 24, 2013.

Michael Wacha gave up seven runs and Luke Weaver gave up five runs in 3 1/3 innings of combined relief.

TRAINERS ROOM

Cardinals: IF Matt Carpenter (right ring finger) was out of the lineup and it is uncertain if he will play tomorrow. … SS Aledmys Diaz left the club to join Jose Fernandez’ family in a private ceremony. Diaz and Fernandez, the Miami Marlins pitcher who died in a boating accident early Sunday morning, were boyhood friends.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Robert Stephenson (2-2, 5.59 ERA) gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings to the Cubs last Wednesday. It is his first career appearance against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (12-9, 4.57 ERA) has given up four runs while failing to get out of the fifth inning in each of his last two starts. He is 0-1 with a 6.06 ERA in three starts this season against Cincinnati.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — David Ross homered and teamed with Jon Lester for another scoreless performance, and the Chicago Cubs hurt St. Louis’ wild-card chances with 3-1 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday night.

Ben Zobrist had three hits and scored two runs as Chicago finished with a major league-best 57-24 home record. It’s the most home wins for the Cubs since they went 58-19 at the West Side Grounds in 1910.

The Cardinals lost for the third time in four games, wasting a chance to improve their playoff positioning. They remain a half-game back of San Francisco for the second NL wild card after the Giants lost 4-3 at San Diego earlier in the day.

Ross, Lester’s regular catcher, plans to retire after the season and was greeted with a long standing ovation when he came to the plate in the second inning. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina walked halfway to the mound, forcing the unassuming Ross to take in the moment, and he took off his batting helmet to acknowledge the cheering crowd of 40,859.

Ross then struck out against Carlos Martinez, but he got another chance in the fifth and drove the right-hander’s second pitch over the wall in left for 1 -0 lead. Ross clapped his hands as he rounded first on his 10th homer and the cheers continued after he reached the dugout, prompting a curtain call.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon pulled Ross with two out in the top of the seventh, giving the crowd another opportunity to cheer the journeyman catcher.

Lester (19-4), one of the top candidates for the NL Cy Young Award, struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander allowed three hits and walked one while improving to 10-0 with 1.34 ERA in his last 13 starts.

The Cardinals pulled within one on Jhonny Peralta’s two-out RBI single in the eighth, but Brandon Moss flied to center with runners on the corners. Willson Contreras responded with an RBI single in the bottom half and Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his 16th save with the NL Central champions and No. 36 on the year.

Martinez (15-9) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, dropping to 3-2 in five September starts. He struck out six and walked four.

RESTING AND MOURNING

St. Louis shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who is dealing with some arm fatigue, got the day off. Diaz also was a childhood friend of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident over the weekend.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he would have scratched Diaz had he been in the lineup. Diaz declined an interview request through a team spokeswoman.

“He’s pretty stoic. You see how he goes about his business,” Matheny said. “That’s kind of how he’s handling this right now. He was a close, close friend, so he’s trying to figure out how to mourn for his friend right now and take all the information in. None of that is easy.”

LOOK OUT

Second base umpire CB Bucknor was struck by Zobrist’s liner up the middle in the second, resulting in a single. Bucknor was checked on by a Cubs trainer and stayed in the game.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (10-12, 4.59 ERA) faces Cincinnati RHP Tim Adleman (2-4, 4.06 ERA) on Monday night in the opener of a seven-game homestand. After four against the last-place Reds, the Cardinals finish the regular season with a three-game series against Pittsburgh.

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (15-8, 2.06 ERA) pitches for Chicago in the opener of a four-game series at Pittsburgh. RHP Chad Kuhl (5-3, 3.73 ERA) gets the ball for the Pirates on Monday night.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Arrieta almost certainly won’t win a second straight NL Cy Young Award. He likely won’t be the No. 1 or 2 postseason pitcher for the loaded Chicago Cubs, either.

Arrieta showed Friday he can still dominate. And he figures it’s because he’s stopped trying so hard.

Arrieta struck out 10 in seven innings and the Cubs beat the sloppy St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 for their 98th victory, the most since they last played in the World Series in 1945. Chicago clinched home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.

“A lot of the time more effort creates some inconsistencies in my delivery,” Arrieta said. “Trying to do more than I have to. I had several outs today where I took my foot off the gas and I was at 60-70 percent and got nice, easy groundballs to second base or shortstop.”

Manager Joe Maddon said Arrieta looked “familiar” when he struck out the side on 11 pitches in the first inning, a reference to his 22-win 2015 season that included a 1.77 ERA. Arrieta said “competitiveness and stubbornness” have been the reasons his walks, hits and runs are up from a year ago.

“We’ve been hyper-critical of him all year based on what he did last year,” Maddon said. “But to his credit, I think he’s handled that very well.”

With veteran Miguel Montero back catching him, Arrieta (18-7) allowed five hits and walked one. Anthony Rizzo had three hits and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs as the Cubs tied a team record with their 56th home win.

Chicago scored four runs in the first inning off Mike Leake (9-11) and dropped the Cardinals 1 1/2 game behind the Mets and one behind the Giants for the two NL wild-card berths.

Pedro Strop came off the disabled list to work the eighth, and Travis Wood and Carl Edwards Jr. finished the five-hitter.

Rizzo, Zobrist and Chris Coghlan drove in runs in the first off Leake, who lasted 3 1/3 innings and is winless in four starts since recovering from shingles.

“I couldn’t locate early. I was slightly erratic,” Leake said. “I just started out on the wrong foot.”

Leake allowed another run on one of two wild pitches. Cardinals’ gaffes included Kolten Wong face-planting into the turf chasing Rizzo’s first-inning double and Matt Adams getting picked off first.

Leake gave up five runs, seven hits and three walks. Manager Mike Matheny used six relievers.

The Cardinals are hoping to return to Wrigley Field in two weeks. But that requires earning one of the two wild-card berths and then winning the single-elimination game for a spot in the division series.

Zobrist’s fourth-inning groundout added another run for Chicago (98-55), which has won four straight.

The Cubs have so much depth as they seek their first World Series title since 1908 that Arrieta is likely the No. 3 playoff starter behind Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks.

But Arrieta feels if he can “control his effort,” he’ll be at his best come October.

“I don’t give up many hits,” Arrieta said. “So if I can keep guys off base via the walk, I’m going to be in a pretty good spot.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: LF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) took batting practice off RHP Mike Mayers before the game. “He blistered a couple balls,” Matheny said. “It was exciting to see.” Holliday will likely have another BP session before he’s activated. … SS Aledmys Diaz (arm fatigue) was out of the lineup.

Cubs: Strop (knee, groin) worked around a leadoff walk in his first appearance since Aug. 10. “Once he settled in and the slider became his pitch again, he felt at home,” Maddon said.

GROOMSMAN STRIKES OUT

Arrieta and Cardinals 2B Matt Carpenter were college teammates at TCU. Arrieta was Carpenter’s wedding groomsman. Yet Carpenter can’t solve his friend. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, leaving him 0 for 24 in the regular season against Arrieta.

CARDINALS ROTATION

LHP Jaime Garcia will take the Cardinals rotation spot of struggling RHP Luke Weaver on Monday vs. Cincinnati.

ROSS RECOGNIZED

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts presented retiring C David Ross with the No. 3 from the Wrigley Field manual scoreboard before the game.

UP NEXT

RHP Jason Hammel (15-9, 3.56 ERA), contending for the final Cubs postseason rotation spot, faces rookie RHP Alex Reyes (3-1, 1.08) on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

DENVER (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals picked up a win before a pitch was even thrown when reserve outfielder Jose Martinez captured a playful, pregame staredown with Colorado reliever Carlos Estevez.

Too bad for the Cardinals that didn’t count in the standings. They sure could’ve used it.

Nolan Arenado hit a grand slam, German Marquez pitched five solid innings for his first major league win and the Rockies slowed the Cardinals’ playoff chase with an 11-1 victory on Wednesday.

The Cardinals, who had won four straight, entered the day tied with New York and San Francisco atop the NL wild-card standings. The Mets and Giants both played later.

Arenado broke open the game in the second with his NL-leading 39th homer of the season. His fourth career slam made it 6-1.

It’s a pitch that simply caught too much of the plate.

“Stayed straight,” starter Luke Weaver said. “For it to flatten out at such a big moment right there is disappointing.”

Weaver (1-4) was roughed up by the Rockies, surrendering seven hits and six runs in two innings. Before this game, the right-hander had allowed 12 earned runs in his last seven starts combined.

The Cardinals had some early momentum when that standoff went their way just after the anthem.

Here’s how it unfolded: Estevez and Martinez stood near their dugouts — with their baseball cap over their heart — and refused to back down until the other moved first.

Estevez blinked first and made a winner of Martinez, who celebrated before retreating to the dugout. Estevez said manager Walt Weiss pulled him in out of fear of being ejected.

“It’s not fun to have one less bullpen guy,” Estevez explained.

Martinez was going to see this thing through to the end — no matter the consequences.

“The umpire asked me, `Why you do that?’ I’m like, `When you’re a rookie and a big league guy asks you to stand up there, I stand up there,” said Martinez, who had a pinch-hit single in the seventh. “The most important thing is we have fun and the fans enjoyed it.”

This was a memorable day for Marquez (1-0), who made his first big league start after three appearances out of the bullpen. He allowed one run and struck out three.

At 21 years, 212 days, Marquez was the second-youngest pitcher in Rockies’ history to earn his first win, the team announced. The youngest was Jamey Wright (21-206).

“A great pitching performance from the kid today,” Weiss said. “It’s easy — easy velocity. Very effortless.”

The hard-throwing Marquez was acquired in January as part of the deal that sent outfielder Corey Dickerson to Tampa Bay. Marquez pitched a majority of the season for Double-A Hartford, where he was chosen as the pitcher of the year in the Eastern League.

Marquez worked his way out of several dicey situations against the best road team in baseball. He allowed his only run in the second, when Jeremy Hazelbaker led off with a double and later scored on Kolten Wong’s sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals took two of three from Colorado during a series in which their starting pitchers were brilliant at the plate. Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright and Weaver went a combined 4 for 4 with two doubles and six RBI. Weaver had a single in his only plate appearance.

DJ LeMahieu got two hits and drove in two runs to raise his average to .351. He holds a slight lead over Washington’s Daniel Murphy in the NL batting race.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) is hoping to take live batting practice Friday at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cubs series. … C Yadier Molina had the day off.

Rockies: Third base coach Stu Cole sat out another day after being hit in the head by a ball that caromed off another during batting practice Tuesday.

THIS & THAT

Rockies catcher Tom Murphy had a three-run homer as part of a five-run seventh. … Arenado’s grand slam gives him 128 RBI this season, which leads the majors.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: After a day off, RHP Mike Leake (9-10, 4.54 ERA) opens a three-game series Friday in Chicago. RHP Jake Arrieta (17-7, 2.96) goes for the Cubs.

Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (11-9, 4.13) takes the mound Thursday to begin a four-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Chatwood is 7-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 11 road starts this season.

— Associated Press —

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alex Reyes arrived in the majors this year already packing some of the best stuff in baseball.

On Sunday, the 22-year-old Cardinals right-hander showed he can handle the spotlight just fine, too.

Reyes pitched seven dominant innings in his third major league start, fellow rookie Aledmys Diaz hit a two-run homer and St. Louis moved up in the tight NL wild-card race by beating the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on Sunday.

“He kind of answers a lot of questions about whether he can handle pressure when you put him in a spot like that,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He knows where we are in the season and he’s been able to stay focused and continue to really maximize the moment.”

The Giants dropped one game behind the New York Mets for the top NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals closed within one game of San Francisco.

St. Louis split this four-game series, winning the final two. The struggling Giants finished their homestand 2-5 and have won just one series at AT&T Park since the All-Star break.

Reyes (3-1) has thrived since being called up on Aug. 9 when Michael Wacha went on the disabled list with shoulder discomfort.

“Coming into the series you know it’s going to be a playoff atmosphere,” Reyes said. “Being on the field for the first time here in San Francisco it was fun and it was exciting to be on the mound.”

Reyes gave up four hits, struck out six and walked two. The righty’s fastball was consistently in the mid-to-upper 90s mph, and he also mixed in a slider.

Not the 100-plus mph stuff he’s flashed, but an efficient game plan that got the job done.

“Just being consistent, throwing everything for strikes and getting early contact and not being afraid to let them put the ball in play,” Reyes said. “That’s what worked today.”

Seung Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save.

Diaz hit his 16th homer in the third off Albert Suarez (3-4). The All-Star’s shot followed Matt Carpenter’s two-out double.

Suarez has allowed three runs or fewer in his first 11 career starts, but the rookie is winless in 10 outings (including six starts) since June 23.

The Giants appeared to still be reeling from another blown ninth-inning lead in Saturday’s 3-2 loss.

“That hurt, not holding on, that’s a big swing,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Saturday’s game.

The Giants were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

“We created some chances today, we just couldn’t get them in, we couldn’t get the big hit,” Bochy said.

LAW AND ORDER

With the Giants in desperate need of bullpen help, manager Bruce Bochy said right-hander Derek Law will be a ninth-inning option in a reshuffling plan going forward. Giants relievers have blown seven of 11 save opportunities this month. The team has already tied a franchise record with eight losses in games it led after eight innings.

Law has an 0.39 ERA in 26 outings since July 4.

“It’s time to tweak it a little bit,” Bochy said, “I’m not saying Law’s the closer, but with him and (right-hander Hunter Strickland), they’re going to be more in the mix in the eighth and ninth.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Umpires: Plate umpire Brian O’Nora left the game after being struck in the mask by a foul ball of Hunter Pence’s bat in the second inning. He was diagnosed with a concussion by Giants team doctor Kenneth Akizuki. Second base umpire Laz Diaz called the rest of the game behind the plate.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I’ve never been hit that hard,” O’Nora said.

Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams was out of the lineup a day after being pulled from Saturday’s game with a jammed left wrist, but was available to pinch-hit, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. … Plans to let injured OF Matt Holliday bat in a simulated game are on hold until further notice. Holliday has been out since Aug. 12 with a swollen right thumb. “We’d like to see consecutive days with him letting it go and no setbacks in order for us to even start talking about having a live session,” Matheny said.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (14-8, 3.15 ERA) pitches the series opener in Colorado. He is 4-1 with six quality starts in his last seven outings.

Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (14-9, 2.66 ERA) faces three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw in what will be the 11th matchup between the two southpaws in the series opener in Los Angeles. Bumgarner is 4-3 with a 4.44 ERA in nine starts since Aug. 2.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jon Lester gave the Chicago Cubs a much-needed boost.

Anthony Rizzo hit a pair of home runs and Lester pitched eight dominant innings as the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 on Wednesday to clinch a playoff berth.

The Cubs improved their major league-best record to 93-52, and their magic number is one to clinch their first NL Central title since 2008. They can wrap up the division crown Thursday night with a win at home over Milwaukee or a St. Louis loss in San Francisco.

Chicago secured at least a wild card because the four-game series between the Cardinals and Giants makes it impossible for both to catch the Cubs in the standings.

“I’ll tell you, if you were in that dugout at the beginning of the game, the guys were dead on their feet,” Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. “To play the kind of game we did today — really hot, last game of a long road trip — I give them a ton of credit. (Lester) really played into all that.”

The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the New York Mets and one game behind the Giants for the two NL wild cards.

Lester (17-4) allowed four baserunners, none of which got past first. Cubs catcher David Ross threw out two Cardinals trying to steal second and Lester faced just two batters over the minimum.

Cardinals outfielder Brandon Moss called Lester one of the best in the game.

“Today was one of those days were he had both working and he wasn’t missing over the middle and he was even throwing some curveballs and change-ups to keep you off of everything,” Moss said.

Lester improved to 7-0 with a 1.02 ERA in his last nine starts. He also helped his cause at the plate with an RBI single in the third.

“I’m just trying to give a good at-bat,” Lester said. “He elevated a changeup for me and I got it far enough out there to give us a run.”

Rizzo’s two-run homer in the ninth gave him 31 homers and 101 RBI on the season. He is the second Cubs left-handed hitter in franchise history to post multiple 30 home run and 100 RBI seasons (Billy Williams did it in 1965, 1970 and 1972).

“Billy Williams, his numbers speak for himself and he’s done it so many years, so it’s a really good feeling,” Rizzo said.

Ross’ two-run homer in the fifth snapped a 0-for-8 streak and it was his first home run since Aug. 17.

St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez (14-8) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings.

Martinez started off strong, striking out the side in the first and four of the first six batters he faced. Five of his nine strikeouts came on called third strikes. He entered the game having allowed just 12 homers this season and his home run per nine innings average of 0.63 was second in the National League to the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard (0.52).

Ross’ home run was just third by a right-handed batter against Martinez, who had his four winning decisions streak snapped.

The loss dropped the Cardinals’ home record to 33-41, assuring St. Louis of its first losing record at home since 1999 when it played in Busch Stadium II.

While clinching at least a wild card spot is nice, the Cubs look forward to wrapping up the division at home this weekend, preferably tomorrow.

“Let’s do it,” Maddon said. “The sooner, the better. Then we can make our appropriate plans going forward and really set things up to make our best push.”

TRAINERS ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder inflammation) was activated from the disabled list and will pitch out of the bullpen … OF Matt Holliday (fractured right thumb) is expected to take live batting practice later this week. . RHP Trevor Rosenthal (right shoulder inflammation) could be activated from the DL tomorrow.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (1-1, 3.67 ERA) will kick off a four-game series as Chicago hosts Milwaukee on Thursday. The Brewers counter with RHP Jimmy Nelson (14-7, 4.42 ERA)

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (11-8, 4.45) will look to build on a one run, eight inning performance in his last start as St. Louis travels to San Francisco for a four-game series Thursday. RHP Johnny Cueto (15-5, 2.90) will start for the Giants.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Moss broke out of a lengthy slump with a tiebreaking home run and Aledmys Diaz connected in his return to the starting lineup, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs 4-2 Tuesday night.

The Cardinals ensured that the runaway Cubs won’t clinch the NL Central at Busch Stadium. Chicago’s magic number is three, and the series in St. Louis wraps up Thursday.

St. Louis remained a half-game behind the New York Mets for the second wild-card spot.

Moss entered the game mired in a 1-for-41 skid. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Jason Hammel (14-9).

Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run against Jaime Garcia.

Alex Reyes (2-1) won with 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Kevin Siegrist got his second save.

Moss singled in the second and scored on Diaz’s 15th homer of the season. Diaz started for the first time since July 31, when the All-Star shortstop broke his thumb.

Garcia, who lasted just 1 2/3 innings, the shortest outing in his 146-start career. Garcia gave up two runs on three hits, including Fowler’s seventh leadoff homer of the season.

Hammel allowed four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out nine and walked two.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: INF Matt Carpenter was in the starting lineup after leaving Monday’s game with back tightness. … RHP Trevor Rosenthal threw batting practice. He has missed 46 games with shoulder inflammation. … RHP Michael Wacha is expected to be activated off the disabled list tomorrow and could be headed to the bullpen. He has been out since Aug. 9 with shoulder inflammation.

UP NEXT

Cubs LHP Jon Lester (16-4, 2.51) takes on RHP Carlos Martinez (14-7, 3.05) in the final game of the three-game set. Lester has allowed one run or less in each of his last five starts. He is 6-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his previous eight starts. Martinez is 6-3 in 11 day starts this season. He has induced an NL-leading 32 double plays.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kyle Hendricks was so good Monday night he even surprised himself.

The right-hander took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up Jeremy Hazelbaker’s leadoff home run, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 to close in on the NL Central crown.

“I never thought I’d get that close to one,” Hendricks said. “A guy who throws to contact and doesn’t throw hard, you don’t think about it. You can run into one of those special days and you think, why not?

“My pregame bullpen was probably the worst I’ve had all year. Hopefully it clicks once the game starts, and it did.”

All the way until the ninth inning.

Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th homer before Hendricks (15-7), the major league ERA leader at 2.03, was relieved by Aroldis Chapman.

“If you’re going to give it up, at least it’s that way and not a cheap hit,” Hendricks said. “I just left the ball up and he got it. It was just a changeup and I wanted to throw it in the dirt and get him to chase.”

Hazelbaker was looking for a changeup.

“I wasn’t surprised by it,” he said. “He’d been throwing that pitch all night. It was a good pitch he threw me. I was able to handle it like I wanted to.”

Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs, who lowered their magic number to three for clinching the division crown. They lead the second-place Cardinals by 17 games and can wrap up the NL Central with a three-game sweep in St. Louis.

The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Mets for the league’s second wild card. New York lost 8-1 at Washington.

Soon after Hazelbaker’s shot cleared the fence, teammates went to the mound to talk to Hendricks — leading to an animated argument between Cubs manager Joe Maddon and plate umpire Joe West.

Maddon was ejected for the third time this season, and Chapman entered to finish the one-hitter. He got three outs for his 14th save with Chicago, and is 34 for 37 overall this year with the Cubs and Yankees.

After the pitching change, Maddon argued some more with West before leaving.

“It was a misinterpretation there,” Maddon said. “We needed more time there. I needed the catcher to go to the mound. We were denied. I made my stand.

“I truly believe I was proper in that, but this is not about that. This is Kyle’s night.”

Hendricks, who threw 96 pitches, struck out seven and walked two.

“Pretty special night all around,” he said. “It was fun, man.”

It was the fourth no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning this season. Cubs teammate Jake Arrieta tossed the lone no-hitter in the majors this year, winning 16-0 at Cincinnati on April 21.

Hendricks got some help from his defense, especially in the sixth.

Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, deep in the hole, went to his knees on the outfield grass for a sliding stop of Jhonny Peralta’s sharp grounder and made a strong throw to first.

Right fielder Jason Heyward then reached into the stands to catch Hazelbaker’s foul fly, practically wrestling with a fan in a Cardinals jersey for the ball.

“He was unbelievably great,” Maddon said about Hendricks. “Unfortunately, he didn’t get the no-hitter. They didn’t have good swings against him all night. He was in charge the entire game. It was a spectacular performance. Kyle was the star.”

Hendricks’ control made him tough to hit, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

“He was pushing the corners all day long and he’s been doing that most of the season and didn’t give us a whole lot,” Matheny said.

Mike Leake (9-10) pitched six innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Leake, making his second start since a stint on the disabled list due to shingles, allowed six hits and four runs (three earned).

Anthony Rizzo had an RBI single for the Cubs.

The last time the Cubs won a division title was 2008. They did it by beating St. Louis on Sept. 20 at Wrigley Field.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder) threw batting practice to Brayan Pena, Jose Martinez and Alberto Rosario. Wacha said he hopes to come off the disabled list Wednesday. … LF Matt Holliday took batting practice on the field for the first time since breaking his right thumb Aug. 11 against the Cubs. … Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh, who has 17 saves and a 1.87 ERA, was unavailable Saturday and Sunday against Milwaukee because of a sore groin. Speaking through translator Eugene Koo, the reliever said he would not be available Monday but should be Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (10-12, 4.58 ERA) makes his 29th start of the season Tuesday night, his most since 2011 when he made 32. He has started seven games against the Cubs and is 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA.

Cubs: RHP Jason Hammel (14-8, 3.50) allowed nine runs — eight earned — and a career-high 13 hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 12-5 loss at Milwaukee last time out. He is 4-4 with a 4.80 ERA in 10 starts against the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun fouled off the pitch he liked before coming through for the Brewers.

Braun hit a solo home run in the ninth inning and the Brewers beat St. Louis 2-1 on Sunday, dropping the Cardinals back in the NL wild-card race.

The Cardinals are a half-game behind the Mets for the second wild-card slot.

Braun connected on a 3-2 fastball off Kevin Siegrist (5-3) for his 27th homer of the season and 19th in his career against the Cardinals.

“The 0-1 pitch was the best pitch to hit,” said Braun, who fouled it off. “It was better than the one I hit. The one I hit out was on the black in.”

Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell liked Braun’s approach in the at-bat.

“He hit a couple of foul balls there where he took really good swings,” Counsell said. “He’s (Siegrest) tough on righty’s, always has been. Braun got himself back in the count and he made a mistake. It was a no-doubter.”

St. Louis had tied it in the eighth when Matt Carpenter doubled and scored on Stephen Piscotty’s sacrifice fly off Tyler Thornburg (6-5).

Thornburg struck out three in the ninth.

“We only used Thorny once in the last week so he was well rested,” Counsell said. “We gave him the extra outs. He’s got a great mentality in this role.”

The Cardinals fell to 32-39 at home this season.

“It’s always disappointing,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “In these close games, you feel like you got a real shot and they’re always hard to swallow when it doesn’t work out.”

The Brewers’ other run came in the first on singles by Scooter Gennett and Braun and a sacrifice fly from Chris Carter.

Milwaukee had just four hits in the game, with Braun getting the only one after the fifth inning.

Zach Davies pitched 7 1/3 innings and gave up one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking one.

“This is a game where you have to battle even harder,” Davies said. “Every pitch counts.”

Cardinals rookie Luke Weaver allowed three hits in six innings. He struck out eight with one walk.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha, who has missed 29 games with shoulder inflammation, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Monday. He threw one Friday.

ACTIVATED

The Cardinals activated All-Star shortstop Aledmys Diaz from the disabled list. Diaz, 26, had missed 36 games since he broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch from the Marlins’ Andrew Cashner. At the time he was injured, Diaz was hitting a team-leading .312 with 14 homers and 57 RBI in 96 games.

ATTENDANCE

The Cardinals eclipsed the 3 million mark in attendance for the 13th consecutive year and joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as the second team to pass the figure this season. It is the 20th time overall St. Louis has passed the 3 million total.

UP NEXT

Brewers: Wiley Peralta (6-9) will face Cincinnati’s Keyvius Sampson(0-1). Peralta, the opening day starter, earned a win in his last start Sept. 6 in a 12-5 victory over the Cubs.

Cardinals: Mike Leake (9-9) will face Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks (14-7) on Monday night at Busch Stadium. It will be Leake’s 199th career start. He was activated from 15-day DL (shingles) before his last start on Sept. 7 and allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings for no-decision in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals relied on power and the pitching of Carlos Martinez to solve their home woes Friday night.

Matt Carpenter and Stephen Piscotty supplied two-run homers for the National League’s leading home run team and Martinez (14-7) pitched seven strong innings in a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The win improved the Cardinals to 31-38 at Busch Stadium and kept them a half-game behind the New York Mets for the NL’s second wild card.

Jimmy Nelson (7-14) retired the first eight Cardinals before Martinez started a two-out rally with a single up the middle. Carpenter followed with his 19th home run, Kolten Wong walked and Piscotty gave St. Louis the lead by hitting his 21st homer into the bullpen in right field.

“That gave me the extra energy to make it through and get the win for the team,” Martinez said of the long balls.

Martinez gave up nine hits and hit two batters in seven innings but was helped by three double plays. He equaled his win total from last season and improved to 3-0 in four starts against Milwaukee.

“He’s our guy right now,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “Carlos has been so consistent we’ve begun to anticipate he’s going to have that strong outing.”

Nelson lasted six innings and allowed five hits but fell to 0-7 in eight career starts against St. Louis.

“The two guys that can really hurt him, hurt him,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Make mistakes to those guys and that’s what’s going to happen.”

“It’s just a crazy game and stuff happens,” Nelson said. “There’s never really just one answer in this game to anything. You don’t want to think there’s something wrong and start overanalyzing stuff so you just try to keep it simple.”

Scooter Gennett’s two-run homer in the third gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead. Milwaukee scored an unearned run in the first when Gennett walked, Chris Carter was hit by a pitch and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a hard one-hopper that shortstop Jedd Gyorko did not handle.

After the first-inning error, the Cardinals’ defense later stopped two potential rallies. Piscotty made a running, over-the-head catch that saved a run in the sixth and Wong helped Martinez escape the third by making strong plays on two grounders at second base.

“Defense showed up, for sure,” Piscotty said.

Wong reached base three times by walking twice and getting hit by a pitch.

“I’m just tired of people thinking that I’m not good,” said Wong, who has been relegated to backup duty much of the season. “I believe in myself to the fullest.”

Seung-Hwan Oh worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his 17th save in 20 chances.

DOUBLING UP

Martinez induced double-play grounders in the second and third innings to increase his NL-leading total to 32, two shy of the Cardinals’ team record set by John Denny in 1978. Wong backhanded a grounder up the middle and scooped the ball from his glove to Gyorko to start the third-inning double play. “That’s one of the best plays we’ve seen here,” Matheny said. The Brewers popped out into a double play in the fourth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: SS Aledmys Diaz (right thumb) went 2 for 4 for Double-A Springfield in a rehab start Friday night. … RHP Trevor Rosenthal (shoulder inflammation) will throw to hitters Saturday for the first time since he went on the DL on July 26.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (8-11, 4.73) has allowed three earned runs in 10 1/3 innings in two starts at Busch Stadium this season.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (10-8, 4.61) has allowed one home run at home this season but has lost his past two home starts.

— Associated Press —