MILWAUKEE (AP) — Zach Davies had pinpoint command. He frustrated hitters with four pitches and stayed ahead in counts.

What made Davies’ crisp outing on Wednesday even more impressive was that he shut down the formidable lineup of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Davies had a career-high nine strikeouts over eight shutout innings, and the Milwaukee Brewers averted a three-game sweep with a 3-1 win over their NL Central rivals.

“It’s hard to get much better than that,” manager Craig Counsell said.

Davies (3-3) allowed three hits and retired 13 in a row to finish the longest outing of his young career before yielding to Jeremy Jeffress. The closer gave up a pinch-hit solo homer to Brandon Moss before retiring the final three batters for his 13th save.

It was a memorable afternoon for Davies, who got stronger as the game wore on. He struck out the side in the eighth to draw a standing ovation from an appreciative hometown crowd.

Davies, a 23-year-old right-hander, didn’t allow a runner to reach second. He kept hitters guessing with his fastball, curve, cutter and changeup.

That left the Cardinals frustrated after entering the day second in the National League with 71 homers and a .460 slugging percentage.

“It was just being able to find the bottom of the zone and just being able to command the ball a lot better today; making them put the ball in play early and getting ahead of guys,” Davies said.

The Brewers scratched out two runs in the first off Jaime Garcia (4-5) and added insurance with Martin Maldonado’s solo homer in the sixth.

Garcia allowed five hits, three walks and two runs before departing after five innings.

“It’s just one of those where he just had trouble finding the feel on a consistent basis,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “But still, he only gave up only a couple runs five hits. But he had a lot of traffic and a lot of stress innings.”

ZACH ATTACK

Davies was one of the Brewers’ first acquisitions when the organization decided to rebuild at midseason last year, arriving from Baltimore in exchange for outfielder Gerardo Parra. Davies was drafted in the 26th round of the 2011 amateur draft.

He has rebounded after a tough April, when he went 0-3 with an 8.78 ERA in three starts. He had a 3.81 ERA in May in five starts.

Kolten Wong, who struck out twice, said Davies kept the Cardinals off-balance with his changeup.

“Just something that caught us off guard,” Wong said. “He kept us off balance with his fastball coming in and threw that changeup away.”

FIRST FOUR

The Brewers’ first four hitters opened the game with a walk and three straight singles, capped by run-scoring hits for Ryan Braun and Chris Carter.

Milwaukee squandered opportunities for more offense by leaving the bases loaded in the first and third. Maldonado recorded the inning-ending outs each time before atoning in the sixth with his homer off reliever Matt Bowman that landed on the concourse beyond left-center.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Garcia showed no discomfort and stayed in the game after getting hit in his lower left leg by a hard bouncer up the middle from Aaron Hill in the third. The ball deflected into short left for an infield single.

Brewers: LHP Will Smith was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list before the game. The hard-throwing reliever had been sidelined since spring training after spraining a ligament in his right knee while taking off a shoe in the clubhouse during spring training. Smith had been expected to share closing duties with RHP Jeremy Jeffress this season, and manager Craig Counsell said he would use Smith judiciously to start.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Following an off day, St. Louis returns home on Friday to open a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. Right-handed ace Adam Wainwright (5-3) gets the start. He is 5-0 in his last seven games.

Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (2-6) opens a four-game series on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park against the Phillies. He is 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA in three career starts against Philadelphia.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Eight hits in two days have made Matt Carpenter a happy man.

Carpenter tied his season high with four hits for the second straight game, scored four times and drove in two runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 10-3 on Tuesday night.

“When you feel good, you feel good,” Carpenter said after his 13th multihit game this season. “Hits come in bunches. I’ve had stretches during this year where I felt really good, was hitting balls right at people. Baseball has a funny way of working itself out.”

Carpenter is 8 for 10 with seven runs, three doubles and two triples during this three-game series which ends Wednesday.

“It’s pretty clear he’s locked-in,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s tough to pitch to when he’s like that.”

Jedd Gyorko hit a three-run homer, and Mike Leake (4-4) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four over six innings for his fourth win in the last five starts. His only mistakes were Jonathan Lucroy’s home run leading off the second and Ryan Braun’s RBI double in the sixth.

Carpenter and Matt Holliday — 2 for 4 with two RBI — continued their torrid hitting against the Brewers, this time against Wily Peralta (3-6).

In the Cardinals’ 6-0 win on Monday, Carpenter had four hits and three runs and Holliday added his second consecutive three-hit game, including his second home run of the nine-game road trip.

Tuesday night, Carpenter doubled, singled and tripled twice. Holliday singled twice, driving in Carpenter both times. Carpenter also scored when Holliday hit into a double play in the seventh. Carpenter scored again when Aledmys Diaz grounded out to third during a five-run eighth.

Carpenter has been rolling since his wife, Mackenzie, gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Kinley Rae, last Wednesday. He says he’s been more relaxed since then.

“When we got the good news, it’s definitely one less thing to think about,” he said. “A kid doesn’t guarantee you’ll go out and get four hits, but it’s certainly one less thing to think about.”

Seung Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless seventh, Kevin Siegrist surrendered Lucroy’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth and Jonathan Broxton finished with a perfect ninth.

Peralta needed 29 pitches to get through the first, but then held the Cardinals in check until the fifth. He allowed three runs on nine hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out two while dropping to 0-7 over his past eight starts against the Cardinals. He lost 7-0 in his first start this season against the Cardinals on April 14 at Busch Stadium.

CARDINALS DROP A DIME

St. Louis had 10 or more runs in a game for the 10th time this season and improved to 10-0 when doing so.

BREWERS MOVES

The Brewers claimed RHP Neil Ramirez (0-0, 4.70 ERA) off waivers from the Chicago Cubs and designated INF Colin Walsh for assignment. Manager Craig Counsell said Ramirez would join the club on Wednesday. Walsh, a Rule 5 player, appeared in 38 games, batting .085 in 63 plate appearances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Stephen Piscotty was back in the starting lineup after missing Monday’s game with a stomach ailment.

Brewers: LF Ryan Braun was back in the starting lineup after missing consecutive games with a sore neck. The team’s leading hitter also has been bothered by soreness in his lower back and right wrist this season. He is hitting .351 with nine home runs and 30 RBI and hadn’t played since Saturday in Cincinnati, when he pinch-hit and hit into a double play. … RHP Matt Garza (Class A Wisconsin), RHP Corey Knebel (Class A Brevard County) and OF Domingo Santana (Double-A Biloxi) began rehab assignments Tuesday night.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Jaime Garcia makes his second start of the season against the Brewers. He pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout in a 6-1 win at Busch Stadium on April 30. He is 10-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 18 career games, including 17 starts, against Milwaukee.

Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (2-3, 5.40 ERA) makes his ninth start of the season and first career against the Cardinals. Opponents are batting .294 with seven home runs against him since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on April 17.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Carlos Martinez’s teammates greeted the pitcher with hugs and handshakes following his eight innings of work at Miller Park.

After a tough couple weeks, the young right-hander ended May on a high note.

Martinez struck out eight in a crisp performance and Matt Carpenter had four hits, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

After giving up at least four runs in each of his three previous starts, Martinez rebounded nicely with another masterful outing against Milwaukee. Entering Monday, he had a 1.34 ERA in 15 career games, including four starts, against the Brewers.

“It was a mental adjustment, not mechanics or physically. I think I have control of that,” Martinez said through an interpreter. “It is just knowing when to place the ball.”

Martinez allowed five singles and walked one. Trevor Rosenthal finished the five-hitter.

“That was phenomenal,” manager Mike Matheny said about Martinez. “He can be as dominating as anybody in the game when he puts it all together.”

Carpenter sparked the offense from the leadoff spot. He even scored from second in the seventh after catcher Jonathan Lucroy lost track of a wild pitch by Jhan Marinez that trickled to the backstop.

The Cardinals never trailed after building a 3-0 lead in the third off Junior Guerra (3-1), who allowed eight hits and three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. St. Louis capitalized on some questionable Milwaukee defense in the third.

“They were kind of `woulda-coulda-shoulda’ plays but certainly not routine plays,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The way Martinez was pitching, we pretty much needed to make every play today.”

BAD BREW

The top of the third included a throwing error and passed ball for the Brewers. Another run scored when Alex Presley, who was wearing sunglasses, couldn’t get to a towering fly by Matt Adams to the warning track in left on a sunny afternoon.

The ball fell to the dirt for an RBI double. Presley said the ball had drifted and fell just behind him and to his right.

Martinez had more than enough support against a team that he has dominated through his four-year career, including a 0.59 ERA in three starts in 2015. The fastball topped at about 98 mph, and Martinez mixed in a curveball, slider and changeup.

“He does a good job of mixing pitches even though he has good velocity,” Presley said. “He can get you off balance, and just called an unpredictable-type game at times. With his stuff, it’s a tough combo.”

FANTASTIC FOUR

The top four hitters in the Cardinals’ lineup accounted for 10 of the team’s 12 hits. Third-place hitter Matt Holliday was 3 for 4 with three RBI, including a 466-foot homer in the seventh off Marinez that landed in the top row of the bleachers in left.

“We put traffic out there. We put pressure on them to make pitches and guys came through with the big hits when we needed them,” Matheny said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Stephen Piscotty missed the game with a stomach bug. “He got some bad food last night, or something zapped him,” Matheny said. … SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) needed stitches after cutting a finger on his right hand with a knife during his rehab assignment Saturday night at Double-A Springfield. Peralta might miss another couple days.

Brewers: LF Ryan Braun (sore neck) missed a second straight game. The Brewers’ best hitter also has been bothered by soreness in his lower back and right wrist this season. … LHP Will Smith (right knee) was scheduled to return to Milwaukee on Monday night from his rehab stint in the minors. He could be activated on Thursday when the team opens a four-game series in Philadelphia.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: The team is scoring 5.25 runs a game in the last four starts of RHP Mike Leake (3-4) after averaging 3.7 runs over his first six outings.

Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (3-5) is 4-9 with a 5.00 ERA in 14 career starts against St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Strasburg won his 12th consecutive decision dating to last season and Jayson Werth connected for a pinch-hit grand slam to help the Washington Nationals close out the season series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 10-2 win on Sunday.

Wilson Ramos had three hits, including a two-run homer, and drove in four runs. Bryce Harper hit an RBI single during Washington’s three-run fourth inning off Michael Wacha (2-6).

Strasburg (9-0) pitched six innings of one-run ball as Washington salvaged a split of the four-game series. The Nationals went 5-2 against the Cardinals this season.

Strasburg improved to 12-0 in 15 starts since losing to the Mets on Sept. 9, and the Nationals have won all 15 of those games. The 12 consecutive winning decisions is a franchise record for a starter, breaking a mark shared by Livan Hernandez (2005) and Dennis Martinez (1989).

The right-hander also became the first starter in franchise history to win his first nine decisions in a season, one more than Pedro Martinez in 1997. Washington is 11-0 this season in games started by Strasburg, who lowered his ERA to 2.69 and tied Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta for the NL lead in wins.

Anthony Rendon and Werth homered in the seventh for Washington in its final game before a three-city road trip.

Brandon Moss hit a solo home run off Strasburg for a short-lived lead. Matt Holliday had three hits for the Cardinals.

Werth’s drive off Dean Kiekhefer highlighted the decisive five-run seventh as Washington batted around. Rendon started the inning with a homer after St. Louis made it 3-2 in the top of the inning on Matt Adams’ sacrifice fly.

Wacha dropped his sixth straight decision after starting the season 2-0. He was unable to complete more than four innings in any of his three previous starts while allowing 20 earned runs combined.

Though he worked deeper against the Nationals, the fourth inning was costly.

The Nationals went 1 for 13 and no RBI with runners in scoring position over the first three games. That futility ended in the fourth. Following Michael Taylor’s leadoff double, Harper’s single tied it at 1.

Ryan Zimmerman’s one-out double put runners on second and third. After Rendon struck out, Ramos drove in both runners with a two-out single.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Adams went 0 for 2 with a walk in his first start since exiting Thursday’s game with mid-back stiffness. He had a two-run, pinch-hit double in Saturday’s 9-4 win.

Nationals: RHP Matt Belisle (right calf strain) allowed two runs over two innings Saturday in his third rehab appearance with Single-A Potomac. Belisle visited Washington’s clubhouse Sunday and said he expects to pitch for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday before Washington decides on his next step.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (4-5, 4.25 ERA) looks to snap a string of five consecutive losing decisions as St. Louis opens a three-game series at Milwaukee. RHP Junior Guerra (3-0, 3.30 ERA) starts for the Brewers.

Nationals: Washington’s nine-game road trip opens Monday in Philadelphia. The Nationals’ Tanner Roark (3-4, 2.71 ERA) will face fellow RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-3, 3.97 ERA).

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two on, two out, a run in and a chance for St. Louis to take control of its game against the Washington Nationals.

Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright couldn’t wait to step to the plate.

Wainwright delivered a two-run double and pitched seven gritty innings Saturday night to help St. Louis secure a 9-4 victory.

Matt Holliday homered for the Cardinals, who took control with a four-run second inning highlighted by Wainwright’s fifth extra-base hit of the season.

With runners at the corners in the second, Wainwright lined the first pitch from Gio Gonzalez (3-3) into the left-center gap for a 3-0 lead.

“Several times a year, a pitcher has a chance to swing a ballgame in his favor with a positive plate appearance,” Wainwright said. “Sometimes that’s getting a bunt down, sometimes that’s getting a hit when you need it. Off a tough pitcher like Gio, you have to take advantage of those situations.”

Matt Carpenter, activated from the paternity list before the game, followed with an RBI double.

That started Wainwright (5-3) on a path to his fifth straight win. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits — including a career record-tying three home runs. He struck out five and walked none.

“My stuff is back,” Wainwright declared. “I’ve just got to hone it a little bit. Home runs sometimes can cost you the lead or a loss, but luckily our offense did a good job.”

Wainwright received a whopping 45 runs of support in his previous six starts. The trend continued in this one — with the pitcher himself as a main contributor.

“I almost love to hit more than I love to pitch,” Wainwright said. “It’s close.”

He leads all major league pitchers this season in extra-base hits and RBI (a career-high eight).

“He’s had huge hits for us this year,” manager Mike Matheny said. “He smashed that ball today. He’s putting together some good at-bats. He’s also our best bunter. Just ask him.”

Ryan Zimmerman went 4 for 4 with two homers, and Bryce Harper had a solo shot for the Nationals, who send unbeaten Stephen Strasburg to the mound Sunday hoping to salvage a split of the four-game series.

Harper’s home run was his 13th of the season and second in three games. But the reigning NL MVP is 7 for 43 (.163) since May 13, dropping his batting average 33 points to .245.

After St. Louis’ big second inning, Zimmerman connected in the bottom half after Daniel Murphy hit a leadoff single. Murphy’s hit was his 41st in May, most ever in one month by a Nationals player since the team moved from Montreal in 2005.

Holliday went deep in the third and Randal Grichuk snapped an 0-for-11 skid in the fifth with an RBI double. The hit chased Gonzalez, who gave up six runs, six hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. Half those walks came in the pivotal second inning.

“That got his pitch count up,” manager Dusty Baker said. “Then it really hurt when Wainwright got that double.”

Harper homered to deep center in the sixth, and Zimmerman hit his second of the game leading off the seventh to get Washington to 6-4.

Matt Adams answered with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the eighth.

Greg Garcia had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals. Recalled from the minors Thursday when Carpenter was placed on the paternity list, Garcia is batting .647 in 11 big league games this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb ligament) was held from the Double-A Springfield lineup Saturday night after cutting a finger on his right hand. The cut, which required stitches, will interrupt his rehabilitation assignment for a few days.

Nationals: RHP Matt Belisle (right calf strain) received treatment in the Nats training room before packing a bag and driving to nearby Woodbridge, Virginia, for a rehab stint with Class A Potomac. “I feel great. Ready to rock,” said Belisle, who was slated to throw two innings.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (2-5, 5.04 ERA) starts the finale Sunday after allowing 20 runs in his last three starts, including a career-high eight in his last outing vs. Chicago.

Nationals: Strasburg (8-0, 2.79) is 11-0 with a 2.14 ERA in last 14 starts, dating to Sept. 15.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Jaime Garcia rediscovered his winning form, pitching counterpart Max Scherzer lost the strike zone and then the game by allowing yet another home run.

Stephen Piscotty hit a grand slam off Scherzer during a five-run third inning and Garcia quieted the Washington Nationals lineup as the St. Louis Cardinals won 6-2 on Friday night.

Coming off consecutive ineffective starts, Garcia held Washington to two runs and seven hits over seven innings. The Cardinals had lost four of five.

“You can tell when his (sinker) is there,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Garcia, who opened the game with four scoreless innings. “He had very good movement and used his changeup and slider, but the sinker was a great pitch for him tonight.”

Scherzer allowed two earned runs in each of his previous three starts including his 20-strikeout gem on May 11 in a victory over Detroit. That version didn’t show early against St. Louis. He walked four batters and allowed five runs, all by the third inning. Scherzer surrendered three hits over seven innings.

Danny Espinosa’s second home run in as many games broke up Garcia’s shutout bid in the fifth.

Bryce Harper went 1 for 4 after hitting the go-ahead home run in Washington’s 2-1 series-opening win Thursday.

Greg Garcia homered for St. Louis, which scored six runs on four hits.

Jaime Garcia’s one-out single in the third was the first hit off Scherzer and started a stretch of five straight batters to reach base. After Scherzer walked Matt Holliday with the bases loaded to score Garcia, Piscotty made it 5-0 with his first career grand slam deep into the stands in left field.

“It wasn’t the home run pitch,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said of Scherzer’s troubles. “It was the walks before the home run. That’s what really hurt.”

Piscotty recognized Scherzer fell into slider-heavy rut against him.

“Including the (previous) at-bat he threw me four straight sliders,” the right fielder said. “Luckily I got that one.”

Scherzer, who finished with six strikeouts, then reversed course by retiring the final 14 batters he faced. He leads the majors with 15 home runs allowed and has alternated wins and losses over his last six starts.

“I know I’ve been giving up a ton of home runs,” Scherzer stated, “but that one, that’s just an execution thing. That’s just me not throwing the right pitch at the right time and with poor execution.”

With the victory, St. Louis improved to 25-24, avoiding falling below .500 for the first time since a 13-14 record on May 3.

In his previous outing against the Nationals this season, Garcia allowed four runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 6-1 home loss on April 30. He gave up eight runs and 15 hits combined over his last two starts.

“I made some adjustments I needed to make,” Garcia said. “That’s part of baseball, that’s part of pitching.”

NOT HERE FOR LONG

INF Greg Garcia began his second stint with St. Louis this season after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday with Matt Carpenter placed on the paternity list. Along with the home run, he walked twice, scored two runs and started a double play. Yet with Carpenter expected back Saturday, he will probably return to Memphis despite batting .615.

STRANDED AT THE DRIVE-IN: Washington went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Harper and Ryan Zimmerman each grounded into double plays with two runners on base. Zimmerman’s scored Harper in the sixth to make the score 5-2.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams did not start, but was available despite leaving in the fifth inning of Thursday’s loss due to mid-back stiffness.

Nationals: RHP Taylor Jordan, who pitched for the Nationals during each of the previous three seasons, underwent Tommy John surgery on Thursday. Jordan, who made three appearances for Triple-A Syracuse this season, had the same procedure in 2011.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (4-3, 5.77 ERA) makes his first appearance against the Nationals since 2014. He is 7-3 with a 2.18 ERA all-time versus Washington.

Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 2.87) allowed seven runs and 10 hits over five innings in his previous start, a 7-1 loss to the New York Mets.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even when he’s struggling at the plate, Bryce Harper knows how to put a good swing on a bad pitch.

Harper hit a slump-busting home run, Danny Espinosa also went deep and the Washington Nationals got seven strong innings from right-hander Joe Ross in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

Washington trailed 1-0 in the sixth inning before Harper ended a 4-for-33 skid with a no-doubt-about-it shot into the upper deck, far beyond the wall in right field. It was his 12th homer of the season, the first since May 13.

“It felt good to get one,” Harper said. “It was the kind of pitch I could handle and do some damage.”

The light-hitting Espinosa snapped the tie in the seventh with a drive to right. Batting eighth, Espinosa came in with a .199 batting average and three home runs.

Both homers came off Mike Leake (3-4), who won his previous three starts while allowing only two runs over 21 innings.

“Hanging changeup and a hanging slider, right where hitters want the ball,” Leake said. “If you take those back, it’s a zero-run ballgame.”

The first-place Nationals have been winning in spite of Harper’s recent dry spell, but he was delighted to contribute to this one.

“It was good to get the `W,” he said.

Harper, the reigning NL MVP, is batting .245 after a 1-for-4 performance.

“I feel good. Swing feels great, hands feel good,” he said.

Ross (4-4) gave up one run and six hits over seven innings. He had lost four straight decisions since beating the Cardinals in St. Louis on April 30.

“I was hoping for him to get the win,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He had been trying so long.”

Felipe Rivero worked the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon got three straight outs for his 13th save.

Aledmys Diaz homered for St. Louis, 0-4 against Washington this season.

The Cardinals were without their top run producer, Matt Carpenter, who was placed on the paternity list earlier Thursday. He leads St. Louis with nine homers and 32 RBI.

“A couple solo home runs shouldn’t be enough to do that to us,” manager Mike Matheny said after the loss, “but we just had trouble doing anything offensively.”

Washington, in turn, went through the game with torrid-hitting Daniel Murphy on the bench. He was given the day off by Baker, who said, “One of their big bats is out of the lineup, so they offset. It worked out perfectly.”

The Nationals got runners on second and third with two outs in the second before Espinosa grounded out.

Diaz led off the fourth with his seventh home run, a drive to left into the St. Louis bullpen.

I GOT IT

One play before Espinosa’s home run, Stephen Drew hit a popup that was converged upon by third baseman Greg Garcia and Diaz, the shortstop, both of whom had their gloves raised to make the catch. The players collided and the ball popped out of Garcia’s glove — right into the mitt of catcher Yadier Molina, who was trailing the play.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams left in the fifth inning with mid-back stiffness. He will be re-examined Friday. … INF Jhonny Peralta will report to Double-A Springfield on Friday after going 3 for 13 in five rehab games at Single-A Peoria. Peralta was operated on in March to repair an injured ligament in his left thumb. Matheny says, “He’s one guy on the immediate radar to help us.”

Nationals: Reliever Matt Belisle (right calf strain) will make a rehab appearance Saturday with Class A Potomac. The 35-year-old tossed a scoreless inning in both his previous outings with Potomac.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (3-4, 3.59 ERA) enters Friday night’s game in bounce-back mode after giving up a total of eight runs and 15 hits in his last two starts.

Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (5-3, 3.80) is 1-2 lifetime against St. Louis, but he threw seven shutout innings against the Cardinals on May 1.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jake Arrieta got some help from the Cubs’ offense to stay perfect.

Arrieta remained unbeaten on the season despite allowing as many as four runs for the first time in nearly a year and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 on Wednesday.

“I picked a good day to be (bad),” Arrieta said.

“I was aggressive but they had a good game plan coming in and it was a good thing our offense was able to be extremely productive today.”

Arrieta (9-0) joined the White Sox’s Chris Sale as the only nine-game winners in the majors.

Arrieta allowed four runs in a regular-season game for the first time since June 16, 2015.

“We grind whoever it is,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “We acknowledge the fact that he’s a good pitcher and has had a good start, but I think for us to give him too much credit and go up defeated it a bad route.”

Arrieta became the first Cub to win his first nine decisions since Kenny Holtzman in 1967 and it is the best start to a season for the franchise since Jim McCormick went 16-0 in 1886.

The Cubs have won Arrieta’s past 23 starts, a franchise record.

“There was not any good flow to his pitching today,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “You look at the gun everything’s normal. The guy competes.”

Kris Bryant hit a three-run homer and Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist each drove in two runs for the Cubs.

Bryant drove a 3-2 pitch from Seung Hwan Oh about 411 feet in the sixth inning, giving the Cubs a 9-4 lead. Bryant has homered in three of his past six games.

The Cubs sent 11 men to the plate in a six-run second, five of the runs scored with two outs. Heyward’s two-run double and Zobrist’s two-run single capped the scoring as Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez threw 38 pitches.

Hector Rondon earned his eighth save.

Stephen Piscotty, hitting .360 in May, had an RBI single in the first to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. It was the first run Arrieta had given up in the first inning of a regular-season game since May 29, 2015.

Randal Grichuk’s solo homer in the second inning cut the Cubs’ lead to 6-2 and was the first homer Arrieta had given up in 51 regular-season innings, which was the longest active streak in the majors.

The Cardinals made it 6-4 in the fourth on RBI hits by Matt Adams and Grichuk and they loaded the bases again in the fifth, but Cubs third baseman Tommy La Stella bailed out Arrieta with a diving stop on Grichuk’s grounder and forced Yadier Molina at second.

“I think that was one of the turning moments in the game,” Bryant said. “The momentum could have completely changed. I think that was the play of the game.”

Matt Holliday snapped a 3-for-39 slump with a three-run homer in the sixth to make it 9-7. Adams hit his second homer of the series in the seventh to cut it to a one-run deficit.

“Grichuk I mean is really swinging the bat well,” Maddon said. “Adams got toasty at the wrong time and up and down their lineup Piscotty’s a good player, (Aledmys) Diaz does swing the bat that well, they don’t quit that’s why they win championships.”

Martinez (4-5) lost his career-high fifth straight start.

BUNDLE OF JOY

Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter, hitless in 16 at-bats against Arrieta, was out of the lineup Wednesday because he was with his wife, who went into labor before the game with their first child. Kolten Wong hit in Carpenter’s leadoff spot.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Acquired OF Jose Martinez from the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations and assigned him to Triple-A Memphis. RHP Mitch Harris (elbow) was moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Martinez on the 40-man roster.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (4-3, 2.60 ERA) will kick off a 10-game homestand Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Lester is 4-0 with a 1.76 ERA in six starts against the Phillies.

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (3-3, 4.07 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season, starting a seven-game road trip at the Washington Nationals. Leake is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in his past three starts.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jason Hammel had a lot to do with the early six-run cushion.

The pitcher went above and beyond in helping end the Chicago Cubs’ first three-game losing streak of the season with a 12-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Right out of the gate, took my first swings before I made my first pitch,” Hammel said after working 7 1/3 stingy innings and contributing a two-run double to Chicago’s big first.

Hammel has beaten the Cardinals twice this season, allowing two runs in 13 1/3 innings. This was his longest outing of the year, and manager Joe Maddon thought he could have thrown a complete game.

“It’s important for us, it’s important for him psychologically to be able to do that,” Maddon said. “It’s important that they know he can.”

Michael Wacha (2-5) gave up a career-worst eight runs in four innings and has lost five consecutive decisions for the first time. The 24-year-old right-hander was a 17-game winner last season and the NL championship series MVP as a rookie in 2013, but this season has a 5.04 ERA.

“It’s a pretty discouraging start,” Wacha said. “I never really gave the team a chance.”

Jorge Soler drew a bases-loaded walk in the first and hit a two-run home run in the fifth.

The six-run inning was a season-best for the NL Central leaders, who snapped their first three-game losing streak of the season. David Ross had an RBI double for his 500th career hit on a ball that somehow eluded center fielder Randal Grichuk’s glove at the warning track, and Kris Bryant had an RBI single in the outburst.

Hammel (6-1) bounced back from his first loss in his previous start, allowing one run on four hits and retiring the side in order five times. The two-run double gave him a career-best five RBI on the year and his sixth hit in 23 at-bats.

“Nice, let’s focus on that,” Hammel said. “And I’ve got four months to go.”

The outing was his longest since throwing 7 2/3 innings against the Dodgers on June 23, 2015. He’s 6-1 for the second time in his career, also doing it in 2012.

“Honestly, I really wasn’t that good tonight,” Hammel said. “I got away with a lot of stuff.”

Wacha had no losing streak longer than three games prior to this season. In his last three outings he has allowed 20 runs, 16 earned, in 12 innings with all three lasting four innings.

“When the season broke he was as good as anybody,” manager Mike Matheny said. “He found a real good spot and we know what it looks like when he can get into a good rhythm.”

Pinch hitters Tim Fedorowicz and Matt Szcur had an RBI apiece in a four-run ninth off Dean Kiekhefer.

GREAT GRABS

Cardinals rookie SS Aledmys Diaz made an outstanding over-the-shoulder catch in shallow left, the start of a highly unusual 6-4-3 double play to end the second. Kris Bryant singled and had rounded second when Diaz snared Anthony Rizzo’s flare. Diaz tossed to second baseman Kolten Wong, who flipped to first.

Cubs reliever Justin Grimm fielded a smash by Diaz between his legs in the eighth.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Chicago has won Jake Arrieta’s last 22 starts, a franchise record. He’s 19-0 since his last loss on July 25, 2015 against the Phillies. Arrieta leads the majors with a 1.29 ERA and .153 opponents’ batting average.

Cardinals: Carlos Martinez (4-4, 3.56) has lost four consecutive starts for the first time in his career. But he’s 3-0 for his career against the Cubs.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: RF Jason Heyward (ribs) returned after missing three games and had two walks.

Cardinals: Jhonny Peralta (thumb) was 2 for 3 and scored a run in a rehab start for Class A Peoria.

GOOD TOSSES

J.R. Hildebrand, who’ll start from the fifth row in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, was one of two celebrities throwing first pitches. David Eckstein, the World Series MVP in 2006, also got the honor.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Randal Grichuk told reporters Monday afternoon that his sore back was OK. A few hours later, Grichuk proved it with his first career walk-off home run.

Grichuk’s solo homer in the bottom of the ninth lifted the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

“I was trying to battle and get a pitch in the zone and put good wood on it and get on,” Grichuk said. “Luckily, I was able to get a homer.”

Matt Adams tied the score with a two-run homer in the seventh for St. Louis’ major league-leading ninth pinch-hit homer of the season. It also ended a streak of 13 innings of one-run pitching by Chicago starter John Lackey against his former team.

“This is a team that can do damage in a hurry,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s something we haven’t had in the past as much, the ability for quite a few guys in that lineup that feel good about getting the ball over the fence and create instant offense.”

Grichuk drove a 2-2 pitch off of Adam Warren (3-1) for the win.

Adams drove a high change-up to straight-away center to revive what was a stagnant offense against Lackey. It was Adams’ second pinch-hit homer this season and he’s hitting .500 off the bench.

“It’s no secret,” Adams said. “I just make sure I’m ready to go when my name’s called.”

Trevor Rosenthal (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth.

The Cubs’ Ben Zobrist had three singles and a walk, extending his streak to 29 starts with reaching safely. He is hitting .387 during that span.

St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright pitched in and out of trouble throughout his six innings, scattering seven hits and stranding eight runners, while throwing 68 of his 108 pitches for strikes.

“I had great stuff tonight,” Wainwright said. “I loved my stuff. I just have to attack a little better than I did in a couple of those innings. But that stuff translates. That’s going to play well the rest of the season.”

Lackey gave up three runs in seven economical innings. He struck out nine while throwing just 87 pitches.

“He was really, really, sharp,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “They hit a lot of pop ups, a lot of soft contact.”

Miguel Montero’s second single of the game tied it at 1-1 in the fourth, breaking a 26-inning scoreless streak Wainwright had against the Cubs dating back to May 13, 2014.

Javier Baez followed with a bunt, but was awarded an infield single after Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong failed to backup first on the play, setting up a fielder’s choice from Addison Russell that made it 2-1 Cubs.

Anthony Rizzo drove in his 35th run of the year with a broken-bat single in the fifth.

“Sometimes in my position when they’ve pushed couple across, they get ducks on the pond, you have to limit those innings and keep your team in the game and we kept it close enough so (Adams) could make a big swing and (Grichuk) could make a big swing,” Wainwright said.

Aledmys Diaz gave the Cardinals’ an early lead with a sacrifice fly in the third.

FLYIN’ HAWAIIAN RELEASED

The Cubs released OF Shane Victorino from his minor league contract. Victorino won World Series titles with Philadelphia and Boston and played earlier this month for Triple-A Iowa.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: OF Jason Heyward (contusion) took swings in the batting cage and did other exercises. He was out of the lineup for s second straight game and is day-to-day.

“If it was up to me I’d be playing right now, but obviously you have to go through stuff and test it out,” Heyward said. “We’ll see what they say and we’ll see how it feels after a couple of days.”

Cardinals: SS Jhonny Peralta (thumb) went back to Single A-Peoria after being examined by the team Sunday. Peralta, who Matheny said was progressing, was placed on a 20-day rehabilitation assignment on May 20.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Jason Hammel (5-1, 2.31 ERA) will make his second start of the season against St. Louis. He earned the win, allowing one run in six innings on April 19 and is 3-3 with a 5.26 ERA in eight career starts against the Cardinals.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (2-4, 4.03 ERA) is trying to break a career-long four-game losing streak. He is 3-3 with a 4.86 ERA in 10 career appearances against Chicago.

— Associated Press —