CHICAGO (AP) — Following two stints in the minors this season, Randal Grichuk is back in the majors and eager to prove he belongs.

Grichuk hit a grand slam that capped a six-run burst in the eighth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals stopped the Cubs’ 11-game winning streak, beating Chicago 8-4 Saturday.

After a run-scoring wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the eighth put the Cardinals ahead 4-2, Grichuk connected.

It was his second homer since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday — and it came on his 25th birthday, no less.

“I feel like a lot of people let that opportunity slip away thinking they’re going to have many more,” Grichuk said. “I’m definitely thankful for being up here right now and getting the opportunities, and I’m definitely trying to take advantage of it.”

Brandon Moss and Jedd Gyorko also homered for St. Louis.

Addison Russell hit his 14th homer for the NL Central-leading Cubs.

Alex Reyes (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings of relief to get his first major league win in his second appearance.

St. Louis starter Luke Weaver gave up two runs on four hits in his major league debut. The 22-year-old was lifted for a pinch hitter after four innings and 85 pitches.

Carl Edwards Jr. (0-1) allowed five runs while getting only two outs.

Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks struck out 12, matching a career best, in seven innings. He gave up five hits, including two homers. His ERA rose slightly from 2.17 to 2.19.

“Just two bad changeups, really, two changeups up (in the strike zone),” Hendricks said. “That was about it. Hopefully, we could keep that winning streak going, but we’ll start a new one tomorrow.”

It was 2-all in the eighth when the Cardinals loaded the bases with one out. Edwards Jr. struck out Yadier Molina with a breaking pitch in the dirt and the ball bounced off the chest of catcher Willson Contreras and rolled toward the third-base dugout, allowing Stephen Piscotty to score.

Edwards then walked the next two batters to force in another run. Joe Smith relieved and Grichuk hit his slam.

“It means a lot,” Grichuk said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster. In Wrigley against the Cubs, a division rival, it’s definitely big and, hopefully, the confidence can carry over through the rest of the season.”

FUTURE ACES?

With Weaver and Reyes, 21, the Cardinals have a pair of prized pitching prospects. Manager Mike Matheny was asked if he allowed himself to think about both being in the rotation next season while watching them on Saturday.

“I won’t deny that that hit me at some point in that game,” Matheny said. “I even turned to (bench coach) Dave Bell and said, `This is really impressive stuff. These kids are making a nice first statement.’

“You probably couldn’t throw them into a hotter spot than what we just threw them into. This is a tough place to pitch and watching them . not just survive, I thought they looked terrific,” he said.

LA STELLA UPDATE

The Cubs are awaiting a decision from INF Tommy La Stella, who was put on the inactive list earlier this week after failing to report to Triple-A Iowa following a demotion last month. La Stella returned to his home in New Jersey.

“I’m still very optimistic about him coming back, but nothing has really abruptly changed right now,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I think he was very clear how he felt. I think we were very clear back to him how we felt.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) was placed 15-day disabled on Saturday to make room for Weaver on the roster.

Cubs: After a bullpen session Friday, RHP Hector Rondon (sore triceps) reported no physical complications. Maddon said the reliever was “real close” to a return to the active roster … RHP Pedro Strop, who had an arthroscopic procedure to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee on Thursday, was back in the clubhouse on Saturday walking on crutches. He’s expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.

UP NEXT

Cubs RHP John Lackey (9-7, 3.56 ERA) pitches the finale on Sunday. Lackey, who jumped from the Cardinals to the Cubs in the offseason, is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA against St. Louis this season. RHP Mike Leake (8-9, 4.79) goes for the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rizzo drew a bases-loaded walk from Zach Duke with two outs in the 11th inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday night for their 10th consecutive win.

Pinch-hitters Willson Contreras and Jorge Soler led off with singles against the lefty Duke (2-1) and Dexter Fowler walked to load the bases with one out. Kris Bryant struck out before Rizzo took a 3-1 pitch inside to give the Cubs their longest winning streak since getting 12 straight in 2001.

Mike Montgomery (4-5) allowed a single and two walks to load the bases in the 11th before striking out Matt Carpenter to end the threat. He won his first game for Chicago since being acquired from Seattle last month.

The Cardinals fell 13 games behind Chicago in the NL Central and lost Matt Holliday in the 10th after he was hit on the right hand by Mike Montgomery’s 94 mph fastball.

Randal Grichuk, called up from the minors before the game, tied it for St. Louis with a pinch-hit solo home run off Travis Wood in the seventh. Brandon Moss also homered for St. Louis.

Chris Coghlan had a two-run single and David Ross an RBI bunt single in the sixth for the Cubs.

Both managers used their closers in the ninth. Chicago’s Aroldis Chapman needed three pitches to get two liners to third and a groundout, while Seung Hwan Oh struck out the side for St. Louis. Oh then worked out of a 10th-inning jam.

The Cubs wasted three good opportunities to score before capitalizing in odd fashion.

After Coghlan’s two-out two-run single off Carlos Martinez tied it at 2, the 39-year-old Ross bunted an 0-1 curveball between the mound and third base. Martinez threw to first, and it drew Carpenter off the bag as Jason Heyward scored to put Chicago ahead.

Coghlan also teamed with Addison Russell to throw out Carpenter at the plate from left field on Stephen Piscotty’s double to end the seventh.

Cubs lefty Jon Lester allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts in six innings but lost a chance at his 13th win when Grichuk sent a 1-0 cutter into the left-field bleachers.

Moss hit his first homer off a lefty this season in the sixth to put the Cardinals up 2-0. Yadier Molina added three hits, including an RBI single in the first to extend his on-base streak to 24 games.

Martinez allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings. He hurt himself when he cut off a throw home that seemingly had a chance to get Rizzo on Chicago’s second run.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: A day after being scratched, 1B Matt Adams (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day disabled list. “He’s been working on some things throwing and also with his swing and something didn’t respond well,” manager Mike Matheny said. Grichuk was recalled from Triple-A Memphis.

Cubs: Pedro Strop (knee surgery) will be out four to six weeks and Hector Rondon (triceps) was unavailable. Rondon played catch and is scheduled for a bullpen session Friday.

UP NEXT

Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (13-5, 2.59 ERA) faces RHP Adam Wainwright (9-6, 4.34) on Friday afternoon.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jaime Garcia is finally feeling like himself on the mound.

“I’m a guy who goes after guys and I got away from where I needed to be and I had some mechanical issues that I had to get rid of,” Garcia said. “The last couple of games my defense has been great and hopefully we can do that the rest of the way.”

Matt Carpenter and Jhonny Peralta homered to back up a second straight dominant start by Garcia as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Garcia (9-8) needed just 85 pitches to get through 8-plus innings and 19 of his 24 outs were ground balls or strikeouts. The lefty has given up two runs in his last 16 innings.

“When I’m pitching my goal is to get quick outs and to get them to hit the ball on the ground and I was able to do that today,” Garcia said.

Shortstop Greg Garcia had nine putouts. Greg Garcia and Peralta, who played third, made back-to-back stellar defensive plays to get Jaime Garcia out of the eighth.

“Those ground balls, he had a lot early in the count,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. “Guys thought they saw it and it would just dance out of the zone at the last second.”

Carpenter’s homer in the first inning was his second leadoff home run of the season and 11th of his career. It was also Carpenter’s second career homer against Reds starter Anthony DeScalfani.

Peralta’s solo homer in fourth was the 200th of his career. Peralta is hitting .345 in August.

Peralta didn’t know about the career milestone until teammate Matt Holliday told him.

“It was a surprise for me,” Peralta said. “I try to think in my mind like what’s close to me and everything, but yeah, Holliday surprised me.”

Seung-Hwan Oh earned his 10th save in 11 tries.

“He continues to impress us,” Matheny said. “Everything he does. The way he prepares, the way he competes and just the mix he is on our club. It’s nice to have him.”

DeSclafani (6-1) took his first loss of the season and in his career in five appearances against St. Louis. The three runs he gave up in five innings equaled the three total he gave up in his three previous starts against the Cardinals spanning 19 innings.

Eugenio Suarez’s solo homer in the fourth for the Reds was his first since July 25.

Red manager Bryan Price tipped his cap to Jaime Garcia.

“We’ve seen him really, really good in the past; we’ve seen him other times where he’s a little more vulnerable with his command and up in the zone, but tonight wasn’t one of those nights,” Price said. “There wasn’t much there and Anthony certainly wasn’t on top of his game and still was able to go out there and be able to compete and keep it close. We just weren’t able to do much with Garcia.”

STILL STREAKING

Yadier Molina’s single in the sixth extended his streak of reaching base safely to 23 games. It is the longest streak by a Cardinals catcher since Gene Tenace reached in 35 straight games between 1981 and 1982.

WEB GEM

Reds second baseman Tony Renda made a diving stop on Holliday’s hit up the middle. Renda was able to throw out Holliday at first saving a run.

OMINOUS ANNIVERSARY

Six years ago, the Cardinals and Reds got into an infamous brawl in Cincinnati sparked by comments made by Brandon Phillips about the St. Louis organization. Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue suffered a concussion during the melee and never played again.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon (trapezius) and RHP A.J. Morris (straight shoulder) were scheduled to make their second rehab appearance for Triple-A Louisville.

Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams (left shoulder soreness) was a lineup scratch several hours before game-time. Peralta replaced him at sixth in the order playing third base and Carpenter moved to first base.

UP NEXT

Reds: Homer Bailey has permitted seven runs in 8 2/3 innings his first two starts of the season.

Cardinals: Carlos Martinez gets the call in the opener of a four-game series at Chicago. In two starts against the Cubs this year, both at home, he’s 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Duvall drove in two runs and Tyler Holt’s double drove in the game-winning run as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Holt’s double off Matt Bowman (1-4) broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth. He then scored from second on an infield hit by Billy Hamilton after Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter bobbled a barehanded attempt to get the speedy Hamilton at first.

Duvall’s two-run single in the third broke a career high 0-for-18 skid and gave the Reds a 2-1 lead.

Joey Votto had two hits, an RBI and a walk and has hit safely in 18 of his last 19 games.

Reds lefty Brandon Finnegan struck out five, but walked six in six innings. Michael Lorenzen (2-0) gave up a run in two innings of relief and Raisel Iglesias picked up his first save.

Yadier Molina’s solo home run in the second inning broke a career-high 13-inning scoreless streak for Finnegan. It also extended Molina’s streak for reaching base safely to 22 games.

Matt Holliday’s solo homer in the fifth tied the game 3-3.

Cardinals right-hander Mike Leake failed to record a clean frame in six innings, surrendering a season-high four walks. Still, the three runs allowed were a much better showing than his two previous starts against his former club when he gave up six and seven runs, respectively.

DAZZLING DEBUT

Highly touted prospect Alex Reyes made his Cardinals debut in the ninth. The right-hander’s fastball topped out at 101 mph twice in a perfect frame that included a strikeout of Adam Duvall.

RUN BILLY RUN

Hamilton stole three bases and he has nine steals in his past three games. He has more stolen bases (48) than the Reds have wins (46).

PARKING ISSUES

The Cardinals closed their locker room for about 10 minutes to discuss temporary parking arrangements in preparation for the Paul McCartney concert Saturday at Busch Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon (right trapezius) and RHP A.J. Morris (strained right shoulder) will continue their rehab assignment Wednesday at Triple-A Louisville. Simon is scheduled to pitch two innings and Morris one.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (strained right shoulder) was placed on the DL and Reyes was promoted from Triple-A Memphis.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani (6-0, 2.94 ERA) is coming off a no-decision against Pittsburgh in which he gave up two runs in six innings. Last season, he became the first Reds rookie since Ewell Blackwell in 1946 to face St. Louis in consecutive starts and win them both.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (8-8, 4.04) is coming off eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Atlanta. He drove in the lone run of that game with a single and allowed just three hits.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Never has a 94 mile-per-hour fastball to the ribs felt so good for Yadier Molina as it did Monday night.

Molina started and ended a five-run rally in the ninth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals stunned the Cincinnati Reds 5-4. He was hit by a pitch from Ross Ohlendorf with the bases loaded to drive home the winning run. Instead of wincing, Molina pumped his fist and slid into first base.

“He walked by me and said we have lots of ice,” manager Mike Matheny said. “So he wasn’t concerned about being hit there.”

Molina singled to start the inning against Reds closer Tony Cingrani. Matt Carpenter drove in two runs with a single, Stephen Piscotty singled home another and Matt Holliday walked to load the bases before Cingrani (2-4) was lifted for Ohlendorf, who walked Brandon Moss to tie it before hitting Molina.

“You can have the good approach, you can do all the things you want to, you can hit the ball hard, but it takes a little luck sometimes and you’ve got to get the pitches to do it with,” Moss said. “And in the ninth inning we got a lot of pitches to do it with.”

The comeback erased what had been a night of offensive futility for St. Louis through the first eight innings, as the Cardinals entered the last inning 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

“You trust in each other and that was one of those next men up,” Matheny said. “There was nobody with that huge home run. It was just one right after the other whether it’s a hit batsman, whether it’s walks or whether it’s a big hit. Play the game, good things can happen.”

Seth Maness (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth to earn the win.

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha struggled to settle in as seven of the first 12 batters he faced reached base. Zack Cozart’s double eluded the outstretched glove of Holliday in left field and went off the wall to give the Reds a 2-0 lead in the second. Cozart, who had two hits, scored when Joey Votto followed with a triple.

“Just command early on, especially in the first and second inning I was kind of just all over the place,” Wacha said. “I felt like I was able to settle in and throw some good pitches down in the zone.”

The rally spoiled what had the makings of Cody Reed’s first major league win. Reed’s six scoreless innings dropped the Reds starters’ ERA to 2.84 over the last 11 games.

“It’s miserable,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “It’s a miserable feeling but we’ve just got to come back tomorrow and win the game and get this feeling out of our system.”

GRAND THEFT

Billy Hamilton led off the game for the Reds with a single and stole second and third. He is 17 for 19 in stolen base attempts against Molina, a perennial gold glove catcher, and the 17 stolen bases are the most by any baserunner against Molina.

“When you have a true base stealer like that, he’s going to disrupt,” Matheny said. “That’s just how it goes. Yadi made a good throw . this guy gets some good jumps at times.”

STILL STREAKING

Molina walked in the fourth inning to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 21 games. It is the longest streak by a Cardinals catcher since Gene Tenace reached in 35 straight between the 1981 and 1982 seasons.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon (right trapezius) and RHP A.J. Morris (strained right shoulder) began rehab assignments at Triple-A Louisville on Sunday. Simon gave up a run in an inning and Morris gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons (knee) saw a specialist in Chicago, but no update was available.

UP NEXT

Reds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (7-8, 4.45 ERA) is coming off a two-hit, six-inning shutout of St. Louis in a 7-0 win last week. His current 12-inning scoreless streak is the longest of his career.

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (8-9, 4.80 ERA) will look for better results against his former team after allowing seven runs his last time out in Cincinnati. In two career starts against the Reds, he is 0-1 with a 10.32 ERA.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Foltynewicz set the tone for the capper of the Atlanta Braves’ feel-good weekend.

The right-hander worked six strong innings, Nick Markakis and Erick Aybar had two RBI apiece and the Braves kept the St. Louis Cardinals down at home with a 6-3 victory on Sunday.

Matt Kemp added two hits and an RBI to help the Braves take two of three, outscoring the Cardinals 19-8 the last two games. Atlanta has the worst record in the majors at 41-70, but has won seven of its last 11 overall.

Counting a six-run ninth, they scored 12 runs in three innings.

“The guys are something else, I tell you,” interim manager Brian Snitker said.

Adam Wainwright (9-6) had a rare off-day against Atlanta, surrendering three runs in the first and second. He entered 8-2 with a 2.95 ERA against the Braves, who drafted him in the first round in 2000 and traded him to St. Louis in 2003 in a deal for J.D. Drew.

“We needed to win that game,” Wainwright said. “I’m sorry we didn’t, that was my fault, but the luck was certainly not on my side and sometimes you need it.”

The Cardinals are just 26-32 at home after going 55-26 last season, but have been good on the road at 32-21. They’ve lost 12 series at homme.

“It’s pretty dadgum dark, but nobody in this clubhouse is quitting,” Wainwright said. “We just need our starting pitcher to go out there and not give up six in the first two innings and give the team a good chance.”

Brandon Moss had a sacrifice fly and double and Yadier Molina had three hits and an RBI for St. Louis.

Foltynewicz (5-5) gave up a run and six hits, plus singled and scored his first career run in the second. In his previous three outings, he allowed 14 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.

The big cushion certainly helped.

“It was awesome to see a lead like that, especially with their ace,” Foltynewicz said. “That’s what starting pitchers should do — that’s your job to get deep into games and give your team the best chance to win.”

Jim Johnson earned his eighth save in 11 chances.

Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia made an outstanding stab down the line to turn a double play on Jhonny Peralta in the sixth. Right fielder Nick Markakis made a diving catch on Wainwright’s shallow pop fly to end the fourth.

“The defense was amazing,” Foltynewicz said. “I was grinding since pitch one.”

After needing 61 pitches to get through the first two innings, Wainwright finished strong with four scoreless innings. But the Cardinals stranded five runners the first two innings.

STILL STREAKING

Atlanta’s Ender Inciarte singled and scored in the second and has an 18-game hitting streak, matching his career best set in 2014. He’s batting .380 (27 for 71) during the run.

“Kind of the kid we’ve been waiting to see, I guess,” Snitker said.

Aybar had a two-run triple in the second and has hit in 12 straight.

ROSTER UTILIZATION

Braves RHP Madison Younginer was put straight to work after his contract was purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett and he had a rough debut, allowing two runs while getting two outs. Atlanta claimed RHP Chaz Roe off waivers from the Orioles and designated OF-IF Brandon Snyder for assignment.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 2B Matt Carpenter was not in the lineup a day after getting removed with apparent side muscle difficulties. He was activated off the DL on Friday after missing 24 games with a strained right oblique.

UP NEXT

Braves: Rob Whalen (1-0, 7.20) makes his second career start on Monday, working the opener of a four-game series at Milwaukee.

Cardinals: Michael Wacha (7-7, 4.35) has won his last five decisions heading into the opener of a three-game series against the Reds.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia had three-run home runs and the Atlanta Braves got enough from Roberto Hernandez in his first start this season for a 13-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.

The 35-year-old Hernandez (1-0), who previously pitched under the name Fausto Carmona, was the 14th starting pitcher used by the Braves this season, one off the franchise record in 1975. He allowed three runs in five-plus innings in his first start since July 19, 2015 with the Astros.

Carlos Martinez (10-7) surrendered a season-worst seven runs, and his six earned runs matched his season worst. He entered with a 2.99 ERA and had won six of his previous seven decisions.

Ender Inciarte and Matt Kemp each had two-run homers during a six-run ninth. Inciarte had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, and Kemp’s 24th of the season off Jonathan Broxton was his first since a trade from San Diego.

Atlanta beat the Cardinals for the first time in five meetings this season. Atlanta is last in the majors with a 40-70 record and 70 homers but has won seven of its last 11.

Kolten Wong had a pinch-hit homer for St. Louis but grounded out with the bases loaded to end the sixth against Ian Krol.

Freeman reached safely all five trips, adding two singles and two walks. He’d been batting just .205 with runners in scoring position before his 19th homer put Atlanta up 4-1, and Garcia’s ninth of the season made it a 7-2 cushion in the fifth.

KEY REPLAYS

Atlanta took the lead in the first after challenging a neighborhood play at second base. The Cardinals lost a challenge in the eighth on Tommy Pham’s run-scoring groundout.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina left with a right hand contusion, although it was unclear how he was hurt. Matt Adams pinch hit for him in the eighth and got an RBI double. … LHP Tyler Lyons (right knee) will see a specialist early next week for a stress fracture.

UP NEXT

Braves: Mike Foltynewicz hasn’t made it through the sixth his last three outings, allowing 14 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright has a 1.99 ERA his last six starts and is 8-2 with a 2.95 ERA against Atlanta, which drafted him in the first round in 2000 and traded him to St. Louis in a deal for J.D. Drew in December 2003.

ROSTER FODDER

The Braves acquired two prospects, LHP Michael Mader and SS Anfernee Seymour, from the Marlins in exchange for LHP Hunter Cervenka. They filled the roster spot by purchasing the contract of Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jaime Garcia turned back the clock to his childhood Friday night.

Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings and had an RBI single to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

“I think I did it a bunch of times in Little League,” Garcia said of the dual production. “I think the only thing that would have made it better would be to hit a home run for the only run.”

Garcia (8-8) became the first Cardinals pitcher with the lone RBI in a 1-0 win since Harvey Haddix did it against Pittsburgh on July 17, 1955. Garcia struck out 11 as he topped the 100-strikeout mark for the third time in his career.

Garcia entered the game with a .167 average and he wasn’t about to puff out his chest about his production.

“I’m not a good hitter, but I try my best to get a good swing at the ball,” Garcia said.

He pitched out of a two-on, no out jam in the fourth, striking out Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp before getting Adonis Garcia to ground out. Freeman and Kemp, the Braves’ Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, were a combined 0 for 6 against Jaime Garcia with five strikeouts.

Garcia’s two-out single in the second drove in Matt Holiday for the pitcher’s fourth RBI this season. Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur thought he had a play on Holiday at the plate.

“It was just a bad throw, kind of straight in the ground, which I don’t usually do,” Francoeur said. “So that was a frustrating one.”

Garcia needed just 89 pitches to get through eight innings, facing three batters over the minimum.

“You could tell the breaking ball and change-up were falling off the table, but he went to his sinker whenever he needed to and he wasn’t even in a lot of deep counts,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s why he only threw 89 pitches through eight innings.”

Seung Hwan Oh got the last three outs for his ninth save.

Braves right-hander Joel De La Cruz (0-4) gave up the run and two hits with five walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Garcia’s effort aided a taxed Cardinals bullpen. Prior to his start, five of the last six St. Louis starters failed to pitch into the sixth inning.

“It was huge, trying to get our bullpen another full day,” Matheny said. “But we would have had Oh up and hot again so it wasn’t like he was going to sit around.”

The Cardinals have won six of their last eight games at home to improve to 26-30 at Busch Stadium. St. Louis has won all four games this season against the Braves.

Atlanta’s Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 16 games by leading the game off with a single.

Atlanta has lost eight of its last 11 games at St. Louis.

HEAD OVER HEELS

Braves 3B Adonis Garcia tumbled into the camera well next to the Atlanta dugout to make an acrobatic catch on Brandon Moss’ pop foul in bottom of the third inning.

“It was awesome,” Francoeur said. “I actually saw him from right field disappear and the next thing I saw was a baseball coming over the thing. It was a great play.”

WELCOME BACK

Cardinals All-Star INF Matt Carpenter returned from the disabled list after missing 24 games with a right oblique strain. LHP Dean Kiekhefer was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

TRAINERS ROOM

Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (right lat strain) will play catch on Saturday, but there is no timetable for his return.

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons (knee) will miss at least a month, general manager John Mozeliak said.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Roberto Hernandez will make his Braves debut after being called up from Triple-A Gwinett Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, has pitched for Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (10-6, 2.99 ERA) leads all N.L. pitchers with a career-high 24 double plays induced. He is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 career innings against the Braves.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Since the All-Star break, the last-place Reds have traded away another star and turned into a formidable team.

Brandon Phillips had three hits and left-hander Brandon Finnegan allowed two singles in six innings on Thursday, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-0 victory and a rare series win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds took two of three, giving them only their fifth series win in the last 23 between the NL Central rivals. And it goes beyond the one series.

For the first time since 1999, the Reds have won six straight series after the All-Star break. They traded RBI leader Jay Bruce to the Mets during the current surge.

“This is the time when some teams might phone it in,” manager Bryan Price said. “This group hasn’t.”

Phillips had a single and a pair of doubles, scored three times and drove in a run against former teammate Mike Leake (8-9). Ramon Cabrera drove in three runs, and Eugenio Suarez knocked in a pair.

Finnegan (7-8) allowed only a pair of singles, and then left after throwing 79 pitches on a humid, 88-degree afternoon. The bullpen gave up three more singles while closing out Cincinnati’s fourth shutout, which is tied with Milwaukee and Pittsburgh for the fewest in the NL.

“I didn’t have my best command,” Finnegan said. “They hit some balls hard, but we had some guys catch it. I had a lot of movement on the ball. (It) was a confidence boost, definitely.”

Reds first baseman Joey Votto went 0 for 4, ending a 17-game hitting streak that was the longest of his career.

It was the second time that the Reds faced Leake since they traded him in the middle of last season as part of their rebuilding. On July 7 at Great American Ball Park, Leake allowed only one earned run in 7 1/3 innings of a 7-6 Reds victory that ended with Votto’s homer in the bottom of the ninth.

This time, he left the game after failing to retire a batter in the sixth, giving up eight hits and seven runs. After spending his first 5 1/2 seasons in Cincinnati, Leake suspects the Reds have an advantage because they know how he pitches.

“I’m sure it plays a part,” Leake said.

Leake extended his streak without walking a batter to 35 innings, the longest in the majors this season. It ended when Adam Duvall walked on a full-count pitch to open the sixth. The club record is held by Bob Tewksbury, who went 44 innings without walking a batter in 1993. Duvall later scored on Phillips’ double, his third hit of the game.

The Reds got a pair of runs in the second inning, all on hits to right field. Phillips singled, Scott Schebler doubled and Cabrera pulled a ball down the line for a two-run single. Phillips doubled again to right field in the fourth and scored on Suarez’s sacrifice fly.

STATS

The Reds won nine straight series after the All-Star break in 1999, when they lost a one-game playoff to the Mets for the NL wild card. … The Cardinals got Brandon Moss and Jhonny Peralta back from the DL at the start of the series. Moss went 6 for 13 with two doubles and a homer in the series. Peralta was 2 for 10.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter is expected to come off the DL over the weekend. He’s missed 29 games with a strained right oblique. He went 4 for 12 during a rehab assignment with a homer and a double.

Reds: SS Zack Cozart was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game with a bruised finger on his throwing hand. … Schebler was hit on the right side of the knee in the sixth but stayed in the game. He left after the inning as part of a double switch.

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Cardinals: St. Louis returns home and starts a three-game series against Atlanta. LHP Jaime Garcia (7-8) is 2-1 in seven career starts against the Braves with a 4.32 ERA.

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani (6-0) opens a series in Pittsburgh. He’s 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two career starts at PNC Park.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Brandon Moss singled home a pair of runs during St. Louis’ four-run first inning, extending his season-long streak against the Reds, and the Cardinals held on for a 5-4 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday night to even their series.

St. Louis sent nine batters to the plate against Cody Reed (0-6) in the first inning, with Moss and Greg Garcia each driving in a pair of runs with singles. Stephen Piscotty added a solo homer, the Cardinals’ fifth in two games.

Moss and Jhonny Peralta returned from the disabled list at the start of the series and have contributed as the teams split the first two games. Moss is 5 for 9 with three doubles and a homer.

For the season, he’s 12 of 28 (.429) against the Reds with three doubles and five homers.

Michael Wacha (7-7) gave up a pair of runs in five innings as he won his fifth straight decision. Seung Hwan Ho gave up a hit in the ninth while earning his eighth save in 10 tries.

The NL Central rivals conclude the series on Thursday. The Cardinals have won 18 of their past 22 series, including eight of 11 at Great American Ball Park.

St. Louis had chances to pull out to an even bigger lead, but had a pair of runners thrown out at the plate as they tried to score from third base on grounders. Another was caught in a rundown between third and home.

Joey Votto extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games with an RBI single in the first inning. It’s the longest streak by a Reds player since Brandon Phillips hit in 22 in a row in 2007. Votto is 29 for 58 (.500) during the streak.

The Cardinals’ Yadier Molina went 0 for 2, walked and was hit by a pitch, ending his 16-game hitting streak.

Piscotty’s 15th homer made it 5-2 in the fifth. He was involved in helping the Reds cut the deficit in the sixth.

Adam Duvall hit a fly ball down the right field line, and the ball deflected off Piscotty’s glove as he tried to make a sliding catch, resulting in a triple. Phillips singled for a run, and then was called out at second base as the Cardinals tried to turn a double play. Phillips was ruled safe at second after a review, and he scored on Ivan De Jesus Jr.’s single.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Reliever Tyler Lyons went on the 15-day DL with a sore right knee. Den Kiekhefer was recalled from Triple-A.

Reds: Shortstop Zack Cozart was out of the lineup for a second straight day with a sore finger on his throwing hand.

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Cardinals: Mike Leake (8-8) hasn’t walked a batter in his past 30 innings spanning five starts, a career best. It’s the longest active streak in the majors and the second-longest this season behind Matt Schoemaker’s 30 1/3 innings without a walk for the Angels.

Reds: Brandon Finnegan (6-8) is 1-1 against the Cardinals in five starts with a 3.66 ERA. In two starts this season, he’s gone 1-0 and allowed two earned runs in 12 innings.

— Associated Press —