ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jason Hammel has three RBI compared to two runs allowed through three starts. And even though Jason Heyward isn’t getting hits, he’s impacting the game on defense.

Hammel worked six sharp innings and drove in both runs for the Chicago Cubs in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Heyward was 0 for 5, dropping his average to .170, but threw out Matt Holliday at the plate to end the fourth.

“I got a couple good knocks, my first game-winning RBI,” Hammel said. “Honestly, I don’t think I wouldn’t have been out there without Jason’s great play.”

Hammel, a career .136 hitter, is 2 for 6 with a double to go with a 1.00 ERA this season. The hits aren’t exactly coming from extra work in the cage.

“No, no,” Hammel said with a chuckle. “We hit every day but I’m not trying anything different. I’ve just been trying to get the barrel out.”

Heyward, who left the Cardinals for Chicago as a free agent, weathered more boos in his second game in St. Louis, but again didn’t seem to mind.

“The boos got louder after I threw out Holliday at home, but whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Heyward said. “The fans are always going to do what they want to do regardless, and wherever you’re playing you’ve just got to try to help your team win.”

The Cardinals stranded two runners against the Cubs bullpen in the seventh and eighth. Yadier Molina was at second base when Hector Rondon struck out pinch-hitter Jedd Gyorko to earn his third save in three chances.

Chicago leads the majors at 11-3 and goes for a three-game sweep Wednesday over the defending NL Central champions. They last swept St. Louis in three games on the road Sept. 13-15, 2010.

Cubs starters have worked at least six innings the first 14 games of the season. That’s the most in the majors since 1988, when the Astros went 22 games and the Indians 17, according to STATS.

Hammel (2-0) allowed a run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks. The right-hander also gave Cubs pitchers three RBI in two games and the lead with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fourth.

Jaime Garcia (1-1) had thrown 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings before Hammel’s hit. The lefty struck out seven but was hindered by four walks and lasted five innings after throwing a one-hitter his previous outing.

“It’s not what I want to do,” Garcia said. “Way too short and I’ve got to do a better job than that next time.”

Molina had an RBI triple in the second, but the Cardinals missed a chance for more because Matt Adams strayed off second and was picked off. The Cardinals had runners on second and third with none out in the fourth but came up empty when Heyward made a perfect throw to nail Holliday trying to score on Molina’s flyout to right.

Heyward is 0 for 9 in the series.

“I’ve had some good plays made against me and some at-em balls but it’s not about that,” Heyward said. “What’s impressive about our team is we don’t have everyone hitting right now and we’re still finding ways to win.”

St. Louis is 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position the first two games of the series.

“Against a club like that, you’ve got to get runs across,” Adams said. “Everybody was going up there having good at-bats and their pitchers just made good pitches.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: Kyle Schwarber, out for the season with a left knee injury, underwent surgery to repair two ligaments.

UP NEXT

Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 2.84) lost his last start, allowing two earned runs in six innings against Colorado. Carlos Martinez (2-0, 3.46) is 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 12 career day starts. He’s 2-0 against the Cubs as a starter, but with a 5.48 ERA.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Given a rare chance to start, Eric Fryer showed the St. Louis Cardinals what he is capable of.

Fryer had three hits, including a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning during Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds 4-3.

A backup to All-Star catcher Yadier Molina, Fryer got his first start this season and is 6 for 6 at the plate. Fryer also threw out Brandon Phillips attempting to steal in the sixth.

“It’s a combination of everything,” Fryer said. “As a catcher, you take more pride in defense.”

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha, who gave up one earned run and seven hits, felt Fryer’s greatest value was with his pitch-calling skills.

“He was the man today,” Wacha said. “We were on the same page right from the start. He did a great job mixing up the pitches.”

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny agreed.

“All the way across, he had a great day,” Matheny said. “It’s always good when you can get Yadi a day off and still get the job done.”

Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko hit solo homers for St. Louis, which has won three of last four. Ten of the Cardinals’ 21 homers this season were hit in the three-game series against the Reds, who have lost five of six.

Kevin Siegrist (2-0) entered with a runner at second and two outs in the seventh, struck out Zack Cozart and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, fanning two more. Trevor Rosenthal struck out his last two batters in a perfect ninth for his third save in as many chances.

Cincinnati’s Jon Moscot gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings in his first start this season. He had been on the disabled list due to a strained left intercostal muscle.

“I wanted to get that quality start and go deep into the game,” Moscot said. “I made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage of it.”

With the score 3-all, Ross Ohlendorf (2-1) walked pinch-hitter Aledmys Diaz leading off, and Diaz scored on Fryer’s double.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: LHP John Lamb gave up three runs and six hits over three innings of Triple-A Louisville’s 8-6 loss to Toledo on Saturday. Lamb underwent surgery on Dec. 7 to repair a herniated disk in his back.

Cardinals: Molina and OF Matt Holliday were rested and held out of the starting lineup on Sunday. Holliday pinch hit in the ninth, and Molina caught the final inning.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Alfredo Simon (0-1) is to open a a seven-game homestand and three-game series against Colorado on Monday.

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (0-1) is slated to start the open of a three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday was back in the groove Friday night.

The St. Louis outfielder homered twice and drove in four to pace a six-homer attack as the Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 14-3.

Hollliday, who entered the game with a .188 average and without a home run, reached base four times and recorded his 20th career multi-homer game.

“The results haven’t been what I wanted, but you’ve just got to stick with it,” Holliday said. “I felt like I was getting good swings and tonight I finally got some results.”

Aledmys Diaz and Brandon Moss each added three-run homers to help the Cardinals to their sixth win in the last seven games. They have scored seven or more runs in all six wins and hit double-digits four times.

Moss was sure that Holliday would eventually bounce out of his funk.

“He’s been hitting the ball well,” Moss said. “He probably hasn’t gotten as many hits as he’d like, but he’s been squaring the ball.”

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was glad to see Holliday break loose. Holliday had just four homers in 73 games during an injury-plagued campaign last season.

“It’s always nice to see Matt get on the board in the home run column,” Matheny said. “He hit the ball a couple times with authority to center and that’s tough to do.”

Holliday wasn’t the Cardinals only long-ball artist.

Moss, Randal Grichuk and Matt Adams also homered. Adams’ pinch-hit homer was the second of the game and sixth of the season. That surpasses the Cardinals total of four from pinch hitters last season.

Carlos Martinez (2-0) allowed three runs and six hits over seven innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Martinez was pleased with his pitching performance, but wanted to join the home run parade as well.

“When Moss hit a homer, I wanted to hit a homer too,” Martinez said.

Rookie starter Tim Melville (0-1) gave up seven runs in three innings for the loss.

Joey Votto had a three-run homer for the Reds, who have lost eight of their last 10 at Busch Stadium.

Holliday drilled the 11th pitch from Melville over the wall in center to give his team a 3-0 lead. He added a solo shot in the sixth.

Melville began the game with nine successive balls.

“Obviously, he was having a hard time finding the strike zone,” Holliday said. “You just keep taking until you get a strike and then you get aggressive with him.”

Diaz pushed the lead to 7-3 with a line drive over the left-field wall in the third.

Melville, who went to high school in the St. Louis suburb of Wentzville, gave up six earned runs in his second major league start.

“I just wasn’t executing pitches,” Melville said. “It was tough, any loss is tough.”

The Reds injury-plagued pitching staff gave up 13 hits and walked four.

“It was kind of a blood-letting,” Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. “It wasn’t a competitive effort.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: SS Zack Cozart returned to the lineup after missing five games with right quadriceps tightness. … LHP John Lamb will make a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Saturday against Toledo. He underwent disc surgery on Dec. 7, 2015, and did not pitch in spring training.

Cardinals: SS Ruben Tejada went 1 for 3 in a rehab start at Double-A Springfield on Thursday. He was placed on the disabled list prior to the season with a left quad strain and could return as soon as Sunday.

UP NEXT

Reds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (0-0, 2.84) will go in the middle game of the three-game set on Saturday. He allowed two earned runs each in his first two starts of the season.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (0-1, 6.55) will start for the Cardinals. He is 8-9 lifetime with a 4.18 ERA against the Reds, but has won his last three starts against them.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jaime Garcia was simply dominant against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Garcia pitched a one-hitter, allowing only Domingo Santana’s lined single into right field with two outs in the sixth inning, in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 7-0 victory on Thursday.

“There’s a couple guys in their lineup that hit me real well, and it’s a tough lineup,” Garcia said. “They swing the bat. They take good at-bats every time they go up to the plate, so it’s a challenge for me.”

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Garcia was in control from his first pitch.

“Every time he walks out there he has a chance to throw a no-hitter,” Matheny said. “It’s amazing what he can make the ball do when he is in a good rhythm. This is what we expect to see. When he’s healthy, he’s special.”

Garcia struck out 13, three more than his previous career high, and caught eight of them looking at third strikes. The 13 strikeouts were the most by a Cardinals left-hander since Steve Carlton fanned 16 Phillies on May 21, 1970.

“I was just trying to focus on one pitch at a time and just try to do the job to keep us in the ballgame,” Garcia said.

The movement on Garcia’s pitches gave the Brewers fits.

“The changeup was acting as a split finger almost,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He had plus, plus, plus late movement.”

Garcia’s previous shutout had been against Milwaukee on May 6, 2011. He is 4-1 with a 1.44 ERA in his last five starts against the Brewers.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been able to go nine innings,” Garcia said. “It’s definitely a lot of fun, but it’s a long season, just got to try to do that again.”

Randal Grichuk and Jeremy Hazelbaker hit two-run homers. Grichuk’s drive in the third off Wily Peralta (0-3), which boosted the lead to 5-0, barely eluded the glove of center field Keon Broxton. Grichuk actually passed teammate Brandon Moss rounding first while looking to see if Broxton made the catch, but the Brewers didn’t challenge and first base umpire John Hirschbeck missed it, as well.

“You’re taught on deep fly balls like that to play it like (Moss) did,” Grichuk said. “He actually didn’t see it go over. We kind of got confused there rounding first, and going back to first.”

Broxton didn’t know about the missed baserunning blunder until after the game.

“Got a good read on it, tracked it well, found the wall, jumped up caught it with my palm and once I hit the wall it just bobbled out,” Broxton said.

Hazelbaker hit his team-high third home run of the season in the seventh, against Chris Capuano.

Peralta gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings, throwing just 55 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

Matt Carpenter had a two run double in the three-run second and is hitting .471 in 34 plate appearances against Peralta.

DOUBLING DOWN

Yadier Molina’s second-inning double was his 124th at the current Busch Stadium. Molina, who was tied with Albert Pujols at 123, now has more doubles than any other player at the 10-year-old stadium.

STREAK SNAPPED

Scooter Gennett went 0 for 4. It marked the first time in 18 career games at Busch Stadium he failed to reach safely.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: SS Jonathan Villar was out of the lineup for a second straight game after injuring his left ankle sliding during Monday’s game. “Trying to get him back to as close to 100 percent as we can,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s just day to day with it.”

Cardinals: SS Ruben Tejada (strained quadriceps) began a rehab assignment at Double-A Springfield on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson is to make his third start as Milwaukee opens a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Friday. Nelson is 4-2 with a 2.48 ERA in six starts against the Pirates.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez is to make his 2016 home debut on Friday against Cincinnati. Martinez is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 14 appearances versus the Reds.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Domingo Santana hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning, Chase Anderson threw six innings without an earned run and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Wednesday night.

Santana connected off closer Trevor Rosenthal (0-1) with two out to break a 4-4 tie.

Milwaukee had lost five of its previous seven in St. Louis.

Jeremy Jeffress pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

St. Louis’ Brandon Moss tied the game 4-4 with a leadoff, pinch-hit homer in the eighth off reliever Michael Blazek (1-0). It was the Cardinals’ fourth pinch-hit homer this season, matching their total from last season.

Jonathan Lucroy had three hits and drove in two runs for the Brewers, and Chris Carter had a run-scoring double.

Lucroy had all three of his hits off starter Mike Leake and is 15 for 32 in his career against the right-hander. Lucroy doubled in the first to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Randal Grichuk had a two-run double in the first for the Cardinals, who ended a four-game winning streak.

Anderson bounced back after giving up three unearned runs in the first. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four.

Leake gave up four runs and eight hits over six innings.

The Cardinals had scored 10 or more runs in each of their previous three games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: LHP Marco Gonzales will have Tommy John surgery Friday and will be lost for the rest of the season.

Gonzales, selected by St. Louis in the first round of the 2013 draft, had just one major league appearance last season. He was plagued by a left pectoral injury.

“He’s certainly disappointed,” St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said. “He feels he will come back better and stronger.”

Brewers: SS Jonathan Villar was held out of the starting lineup for a day of rest.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (0-0, 6.00) will start the finale of the three-game series on Thursday. Garcia is 10-3 in his career in April starts.

Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (0-1, 9.00) will make his third start of the season. He is 4-8 with a 4.74 ERA in 13 starts against St. Louis

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jeremy Hazelbaker was starting to wonder whether he ever would get a shot in the major leagues.

Suddenly, the 28-year-old rookie is the St. Louis Cardinals’ hottest hitter and a fixture in Mike Matheny’s lineup. Batting .526 has that kind of an effect.

“I like watching him,” the manager said Monday after Hazelbaker went 4 for 4 with a triple, double and sacrifice fly in the Cardinals’ home opener, a 10-1 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers. “So there’s a good chance you’re going to see him in there.”

Hazelbaker made his first opening-day roster after shortstop Ruben Tejada injured a quadriceps in late March. Like fellow rookie Almedys Diaz, who was recalled after Tommy Pham injured his left oblique in the opener and has impressed at shortstop and at the plate, the outfielder has been a difference-maker.

“It was definitely a good day, a good one for my parents to see,” said Hazelbaker, who signed as a minor league free agent last season after being released by the Dodgers. “I knew I could do it, it was just about getting a chance.”

Diaz is batting .533 after becoming the first Cardinals rookie with a two-double performance among his first five games.

Backed by a lineup that had 10 extra-base hits, Michael Wacha had a nine-run cushion in the third and allowed four hits in six scoreless innings.

“I was able to locate the fastball down in the zone on both sides of the plate,” Wacha said. “I made too many mistakes last week and I was trying to stay under control.”

Yadier Molina had three hits, two RBI and an uncontested steal off starter Taylor Jungmann (0-1) in second. Randal Grichuk drove in his first run of the season with a double.

“They hit fastballs, they hit breaking balls, they hit inside fastballs, they hit outside fastballs,” Jungmann said. “It wasn’t just one pitch they were going after.”

Manager Craig Counsell said he didn’t think the opening day ceremonies affected Jungmann, noting, “He didn’t ride a Clydesdale or anything.”

Hall of Famer Lou Brock threw a strike to former teammate Ted Simmons on the ceremonial first pitch from halfway between the mound and the plate. The former base-stealing champ’s left leg was amputated below the knee in October, and he wears a prostheses, but walked without a noticeable limp.

“What a great story that is,” Matheny said.

Matt Carpenter added two hits and two RBI for the Cardinals, who have scored 10 or more runs in three straight games for the first time since 1980 and have won four in a row overall. They set a franchise record with 19 hits in the opener, one more than against the Pirates on April 5, 1974.

Chris Carter hit his third homer and Ryan Braun had two hits for Milwaukee, which has lost two of three.

Wacha (1-0) struck out seven and walked one, and gave up just four singles. In his first start of the year, he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings at Pittsburgh.

BIG APRIL

Wacha is 7-2 with a 2.60 ERA in 12 career April starts, his most victories of any month. He’s 3-0 against the Brewers.

TOUGH MATCHUP

Jungmann faced 15 hitters and gave up eight runs and eight hits, seven for extra bases, in two-plus innings. The right-hander is 0-2 against St. Louis, allowing 14 runs and 14 hits in seven innings.

NICE GLOVE

Hazelbaker made a diving catch in the left-center gap to rob Carter of extra bases in the second.

BIG HOUSE

Attendance of 47,608 in 57-degree weather trails only a crowd of 47,875 for opening day last season at 11-year-old Busch Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) has improved and is wearing a splint instead of a cast, and has been rehabbing in St. Louis. He’s still likely out a few more months.

UP NEXT

Both teams have a day off Tuesday. On Wednesday night, Mike Leake (0-1, 8.31) opposes Chase Anderson (1-0, 0.00). Leake didn’t get out of the fifth his first start with St. Louis and Anderson worked five scoreless innings in his first start with Milwaukee.

— Associated Press —

ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Moss and Matt Carpenter hit three-run homers and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Braves 12-7 on Sunday to keep Atlanta as the only NL team without a win.

The Braves (0-5) also lost right-hander Dan Winkler, who suffered a fractured right elbow while throwing a pitch in the seventh. He left the mound in obvious pain after throwing behind Randal Grichuk.

The Cardinals completed the three-game sweep despite a poor start from Adam Wainwright, who allowed five runs in five innings.

After rallying for a 7-6 lead in the eighth, the Cardinals put the game away with five runs in the ninth to score 12 runs for the second straight day. Aledmys Diaz hit a two-run double off Jose Ramirez in the ninth before Carpenter’s three-run homer.

The Braves’ last 0-5 start came in 1988 when they lost their first 10 games.

Moss’ homer capped the Cardinals’ four-run third inning for a 4-1 lead. Drew Stubbs’ three-run homer off Wainwright in the bottom of the frame tied the game.

Trailing 6-5, the Cardinals had four straight hitters reach base with two outs in the eighth against Jim Johnson (0-1). Jeremy Hazelbaker’s single drove in Matt Holliday, who began the rally with a pinch-hit single. Stephen Piscotty’s single to right drove in Carpenter, who was hit by a pitch, to give the Cardinals the lead.

The Braves loaded the bases against Jonathan Broxton in the eighth. Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal struck out pinch-hitter Jeff Francoeur to end the inning. Rosenthal gave up one run in the ninth for his second save as the Cardinals completed their first sweep of three or more games at Turner Field.

Nick Markakis hit three doubles, including a ground-rule shot in the sixth that gave Atlanta a 6-5 lead.

Winkler struck out Cardinals rookie Jeremy Hazelbaker to end the sixth with the bases loaded. An inning later, Winkley held his right arm to his chest as he left the mound in pain. Walking toward the Braves’ dugout, he fell to his knees after crossing the first-base line. He was assisted to the dugout.

St. Louis right-handed reliever Seung Hwan Oh (1-0) had two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh.

The homer by Stubbs was the first allowed by the Cardinals this season. They were the last team in the majors to allow a homer.

Wainwright matched his career high with five walks, including one intentional.

Williams Perez gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings for Atlanta.

ROSTER MOVES

The Braves placed center fielder Ender Inciarte on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

Atlanta also optioned right-hander John Gant to Gwinnett, recalled right-hander Chris Withrow from Gwinnett and agreed to terms on a minor league deal with utility player Emilio Bonifacio, who was assigned to Gwinnett. Bonifacio was designated for assignment by the Braves on April 2.

Withrow allowed one run while recording one out in the sixth.

Gant, who had a 12.00 ERA in three games, will work as a starter at Gwinnett.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny said LHP Marco Gonzales, who began the season on the disabled list at Triple-A Memphis, is facing possible left elbow surgery. Gonzales has consulted two doctors. The type of surgery Gonzales is contemplating has not been disclosed. Gonzales was a first-round pick in 2013.

Braves: Withrow missed all of 2015 while recovering from elbow and back surgeries. He said it a relief to be back in the majors after “overcoming some obstacles … surgeries and setbacks.” … Winkler missed most of the 2015 season recovering from Tommy John surgery in July 2014.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha will make his second career home-opening start on Monday against Milwaukee. Wacha also started the 2014 home opener. He is 2-0 with a 5.87 ERA in four career games, including three starts, against the Brewers.

Braves: RHP Bud Norris will start in Monday’s opener of a four-game series at Washington. Norris (0-1) allowed three runs in seven innings in a 3-1 home loss to the Nationals on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

ATLANTA (AP) — Pitcher Carlos Martinez drove in two runs, matching the total he allowed in six innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Julio Teheran and the winless Atlanta Braves 12-2 on Saturday night.

At 0-4, Atlanta is the only NL team without a victory this season.

Martinez (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits and three walks.

The Cardinals have scored a combined 19 runs while winning the first two games of the weekend series. They were held to only seven runs in three losses at Pittsburgh to open the season.

Kolten Wong had three hits, scored two runs and also reached on one of Atlanta’s two errors. Aledmys Diaz had two hits, including an RBI off John Gant in the eighth.

Teheran (0-1) gave up four earned runs on six hits and four walks in four innings. He also threw two wild pitches.

Martinez drove in a run with a grounder in the second inning and a single in the fifth.

Teheran loaded the bases with three walks in the first. As a bookend to the collection of shaky pitching, Jason Grilli walked three batters in the ninth.

Atlanta’s Nick Markakis had a run-scoring double and scored on Freddie Freeman’s single in the third.

CHILLS, SPILLS

The temperatures fell from 60 degrees for the first pitch into the 40s. The breezy, chilly conditions may have contributed to the combined six errors, 12 walks and four wild pitches. Five Braves pitchers totaled nine walks and three wild pitches.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Martinez, 24, threw 99 pitches in his 38th career start. … Rookie CF Jeremy Hazelbaker earned the start and hit second following his pinch-hit HR on Friday night. He went 1 for 4 with a walk, scored a run, drove in one and stole a base.

Braves: CF Ender Inciarte did not play after leaving Friday night’s game with a tight left hamstring. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Inciarte was “a lot better” on Saturday. Inciarte may be held out again Sunday, and the prospect of cold, wet weather in Washington early next week could keep him out of the lineup longer if he still has any discomfort.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright will make his second try for his first win of the season when he starts in Sunday’s final game of the series against the Braves. Wainwright is 8-2 with a 2.54 ERA in 15 career games, including 10 starts, against Atlanta.

Braves: RHP Williams Perez, who was 7-6 with a 4.78 ERA in 2015, will make his first start on Sunday. It will be his first appearance against the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Juan Nicasio pitched six dominant innings in his Pittsburgh debut and Francisco Cevelli hit a two-run double as the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday night to sweep an opening three-game series between the teams with the best regular-season records in the major leagues last year.

Nicasio gave up one run and two hits while striking out seven and walking none. Signed to a $3 million, one-year contract as a free agent in the offseason, Nicasio pitched 15 scoreless innings during spring training with 24 strikeouts.

Cervell’s two-run double capped a three-run fourth inning that pushed the Pirates’ lead to 4-0 and ended the Cardinals debut of Mike Leake (0-1), who signed an $80 million, five-year contract. He allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Mark Melancon retired the only batter he faced for his first save, getting Kolten Wong to hit into a forceout with runners on first and second.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordy Mercer singled home Gregory Polanco from second base with one out in the 11th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Polanco, who agreed to a $35 million, five-year contract earlier in the day, drew a walk from Seth Maness (0-1) with one out and made it to second on Josh Harrison’s infield single. Mercer slapped a single to right for his fourth career game-ending hit.

Kyle Lobstein (1-0) pitched two innings of relief for the win. Andrew McCutchen had three hits for Pittsburgh. Mercer, Harrison and David Freese had two hits each.

Jedd Gyorko hit his first home run for St. Louis. Stephen Piscotty went 2 for 4 with two RBI.

Cardinals relievers retired 18 straight batters before Polanco’s walk started the winning rally.

Pittsburgh left-hander Jon Niese, acquired in an offseason trade with the New York Mets for popular second baseman Neil Walker, labored through five innings in his first start in a color other than blue and orange.

Niese gave up five runs, four earned, and five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. The defense behind him didn’t help.

Polanco took a wide route on Piscotty’s shot to the gap in the fifth that turned into a triple, and Piscotty scored as Mercer threw wide to first on a grounder to shortstop by Matt Holliday, putting the Cardinals up 5-3

St. Louis starter Michael Wacha, who won his first seven decisions in 2015 en route to his first All-Star appearance, struggled with his curveball and Pittsburgh pounced. Wacha gave up five runs, four earned, in 4 1/3 innings, leaving after four straight Pirates reached.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: St. Louis placed outfielder Tommy Pham on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain he aggravated in Sunday’s opener. … Backup catcher Brayan Pena underwent surgery to repair loose cartilage in his left knee. Pena is expected to be out a month.

Pirates: Gerrit Cole’s bumpy spring training appears to be behind him. The All-Star will make his first start of 2016 on Saturday in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh brought its ace along slowly after Cole dealt with rib issues in January.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Mike Leake will make his debut with St. Louis on Wednesday when the series wraps up. St. Louis signed Leake to a five-year, $80 million deal last December. The 28-year-old went 11-10 with a 3.70 ERA last season for Cincinnati and San Francisco. Leake is 8-3 with a 3.01 ERA in 24 career starts against the Pirates. He’s won his last seven decisions against Pittsburgh dating to Sept. 11, 2012.

Pirates: Juan Nicasio hopes to build off his impressive spring when he makes his first start for Pittsburgh. Nicasio beat out veteran Ryan Vogelsong for the final spot in Pittsburgh’s starting rotation after pitching 15 shutout innings in Grapefruit League play. The 29-year-old is 21-20 with a 5.12 ERA as a starter. He went 1/3 with a 3.86 ERA while working out of the bullpen in 2015 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

— Associated Press —