ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miles Mikolas marvels when talking about Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

“The guy is a real ballplayer,” Mikolas said. “Flat-out does everything. It’s no surprise.”

The right-hander pitched seven stellar innings and Molina hit one of three home runs that powered St. Louis past the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 on Monday night.

Matt Carpenter and Paul DeJong also went deep as the Cardinals snapped a four-game skid.

Mikolas (4-2) allowed only three hits in his second-longest outing this year. He struck out a season-high five and did not issue a walk.

“This is pretty indicative, for sure,” St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said. “This is Miles and who he is and what we expect. A quality job across the board. He controlled counts. He was just in control.”

Mikolas did not lobby to stay in the game.

“I felt like I had a little left in the tank,” he said. “You don’t want to burn out your tires this early in the season.”

Molina thought location was the key for Mikolas.

“His curveball was good,” Molina explained. “His fastball, his location. He pitched a really good game. We located the fastball really good and when you do that, everything else is going to work.”

John Brebbia and Jordan Hicks finished the five-hitter. It was the second shutout this season for St. Louis.

Molina added two singles for a three-hit game. In his last 16 games at home, he has three homers and 18 RBI. He has hit safely in 14 of those games, batting .349 during that span.

“Good swings every time out,” Molina said. “I just want to put the ball in play hard.”

The Cardinals chased starter Vince Velasquez (1-2) in the fifth when he gave up two homers sandwiched around a single. He allowed five runs on four hits and five walks.

In his last seven games (six starts), Velasquez has received just seven runs of support.

“I think Vince had good stuff,” Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler said. “Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to put hitters away and I think probably the thing that stands out for me is the walks. That was the biggest difference between the two starting pitchers. I don’t think Vince got beat with the home runs; he got beat with the walks.”

Molina got the first St. Louis hit when he belted a 2-2 pitch into the left field seats in the fourth inning. He drove in Jose Martinez, who drew his second walk from Velasquez. Molina’s third home run of the season extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

St. Louis put together a big inning in the fifth, sending nine batters to the plate. Carpenter led off with a homer and, after Paul Goldschmidt singled, DeJong hit his seventh home run of the season.

Phillies reliever Edgar Garcia, making his big league debut, got an out but then gave up singles to Martinez and Molina. A wild pitch advanced both before Kolten Wong’s sacrifice fly accounted for the fourth run of the inning and a 6-0 lead.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Cardinals improved to 13-4 at Busch Stadium, the best home record in the National League and second in the majors. Houston is 10-3 at home.

ARCH NEMESIS

Philadelphia is 3-12 in its last 15 games in St. Louis. Since the start of the 2010 season, the Phillies are 12-24 at Busch Stadium.

TAKING A PASS

Carpenter became the fastest Cardinals player to reach 600 career walks.

ROSTER MOVE

Philadelphia recalled Garcia from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and optioned RHP Enyel De Los Santos to its top farm club. “Got a fairly heavy right-handed-hitting lineup for the Cardinals and I think it’d be valuable to have him for the series,” Kapler said about Garcia.

SPECIAL VISITOR

Dabo Swinney, coach of Clemson’s national champion football team, visited Shildt at Busch Stadium. The two met during spring training when Shildt invited Swinney to speak to the ballclub.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: INF Scott Kingery (right hamstring) took grounders before the game at shortstop. “Ground balls were not full speed, just a little to his left and right,” Kapler said. “Some tag plays at second, but a good step in the right direction.”

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (shoulder) pitched Sunday in the fifth inning for Class A Peoria and retired three batters on six pitches, getting three groundouts. “I’ll take three outs on six pitches every day, regardless,” Shildt said. “It was great for Carlos. We’re happy for him. He’s back here. He’ll play catch and then he’ll go to (Triple-A) Memphis and get an opportunity in the next couple days to throw again and we’ll just continue to evaluate where we are with him.”

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola (2-0, 5.06 ERA) gave up one run and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last start against Detroit but did not figure in the decision. He is 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA in four career starts against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Dakota Hudson (2-2, 4.80) will be making his first regular-season appearance against the Phillies. He had a career-high seven strikeouts and went six innings for the first time in his last start, a 2-1 loss at Washington.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Kris Bryant hit his fourth career grand slam in Chicago’s six-run eighth inning and the Cubs pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 13-5 on Sunday night for their season-high seventh consecutive victory.

Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo and David Bote each drove in two runs, helping the Cubs leapfrog the Cardinals for first place in the NL Central. Ben Zobrist had two hits and made two nice plays in left field as Chicago completed its first three-game sweep of St. Louis since September 2017.

Since opening the season with eight losses in 11 games, the Cubs have been on a roll. They have won 16 of 20 for the first time since they went 16-4 in August 2016.

The crowd of 36,499 chanted “Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!” after Bryant connected with two outs in the eighth, belting a drive to center off Dominic Leone for his fourth homer.

Paul DeJong and Marcell Ozuna homered in the ninth inning for St. Louis, which lost its season-high fourth straight game. Adam Wainwright (3-3) allowed five runs and five hits in five innings, dropping to 11-4 in 26 career games at Wrigley Field.

The Cardinals got at least one hit in seven innings, but left nine runners on base. Jose Quintana (4-1) also received some help from his defense.

Contreras threw out Paul Goldschmidt attempting to steal second in the first. Zobrist cut down Matt Carpenter trying to go from first to third on Goldschmidt’s one-out single in the third, then made a diving grab to rob Yadier Molina of a hit with a runner on first in the fourth.

Contreras’ ninth homer helped Chicago build a 3-0 lead. St. Louis pulled within one on Molina’s two-run double in the sixth, but Kolten Wong left runners on the corners when he bounced out on Quintana’s 103rd and final pitch.

The Cubs poured it on with 10 runs in their last three at-bats. Rizzo doubled in two runs and Contreras added an RBI single in the sixth. Zobrist singled home Albert Almora Jr. in the seventh, and Bote and Almora each doubled in a run before Bryant went deep in the eighth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (shoulder) pitched a perfect inning in his first rehab appearance with Class A Peoria. Martinez is expected to work out of the bullpen when he returns to the majors.

Cubs: 2B Daniel Descalso (sore left ankle) was out of the starting lineup. He was scheduled to see a doctor, and manager Joe Maddon thought Descalso might be available off the bench. Descalso got hurt during Saturday’s 6-5 win. … C Victor Caratini took batting practice on the field for the first time since he had surgery last month to repair a broken bone in his left hand. … LHP Xavier Cedeno (left wrist inflammation) got one out and allowed two hits in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Iowa. He is expected to pitch for Iowa again on Monday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (3-2, 4.73 ERA) gets the ball when St. Louis opens a seven-game homestand with the first of three against Philadelphia on Monday night. Mikolas pitched six crisp innings in a 5-1 win at Washington on Wednesday night. RHP Vince Velasquez (1-1, 2.73 ERA) starts for the Phillies.

Cubs: LHP Cole Hamels (3-0, 3.19 ERA) pitches Monday night in the opener of a four-game series against Miami. Hamels is coming off consecutive no-decisions against the Dodgers and Mariners, issuing nine walks in 10 2/3 innings. RHP Sandy Alcantara (1-3, 4.86) starts for the last-place Marlins.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — Taylor Davis got the comeback started with a grand slam in the fourth inning. Javier Baez finished it with a go-ahead homer in the eighth.

Just like that, the surging Cubs are in position to grab the NL Central lead.

Baez led off the eighth inning with a tiebreaking drive, and Chicago wiped out a four-run deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Saturday.

Baez drove a 2-2 pitch from John Brebbia (1-1) the opposite way to right for his 11th homer , sending the Cubs to their season-high sixth straight win. Fans chanted “Javy! Javy!” as he came out for a curtain call.

Davis hit a tying grand slam in the fourth against Michael Wacha for his first career homer, after Kyle Schwarber was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Brandon Kintzler (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth. Pedro Strop retired all three batters in the ninth for his fourth save in five chances as the Cubs cut St. Louis’ lead in the NL Central to a half-game despite a shaky start by Yu Darvish. They’re also eyeing a potential weekend sweep of their rivals.

“The first 10 games of the season, it was everybody talking about us,” Baez said. “And now, where’s everybody?”

The Cubs sure have turned things around after a 2-7 start. Baez coming through in a big moment is nothing new. But for Davis, this was different.

Recalled from Triple-A Iowa three weeks ago, he became the first Cubs player to hit a grand slam for his first career homer since pitcher Kevin Tapani at Atlanta on July 20, 1998. He came into the game with five hits in 23 at-bats since debuting with Chicago in 2017.

“It was a really, really fun feeling hearing Wrigley Field react like that,” Davis said.

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt had no regrets about walking Schwarber with runners on second and third to get to Davis.

“Schwarber is a guy who can do damage,” he said. “We got a guy who hits the ball on the ground, we got a great chance at a double play to get out of it. We know they’re probably going to hit for Darvish, we take our shot with probably (Jason) Heyward at that point in time. He got a pitch and put a swing on it and it was a big swing.”

DARVISH STRUGGLES

Darvish threw 81 pitches, just as Kyle Hendricks did in Friday’s four-hit shutout, but was nowhere near as effective. He gave up five runs and six hits while walking five in four-plus innings.

Jose Martinez homered leading off the second for the Cardinals. Wacha delivered in a big way at the plate, tying a career high with two hits, but couldn’t protect a 5-1 lead as St. Louis lost its third straight game.

Wacha doubled and scored in the third, and drove in two with a single during a three-run fourth. His only other two-hit game was at Wrigley Field on July 8, 2015.

But he gave up five runs — four earned — and six hits in five innings.

NO TIME

Martinez had a long, heated exchange with plate umpire Larry Vanover batting in the ninth. Martinez held his hand up to call time so he could get his timing down, but the request was not granted. Instead, Strop threw a strike and that led to the argument.

Shildt came out to talk to Vanover, and Yadier Molina got between Martinez and the umpire. Martinez said he had a tough time focusing after that and struck out.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: CF Dexter Fowler was back in the lineup. He pinch hit in the ninth inning Friday after missing the previous three games because of flu-like symptoms.

Cubs: 2B Daniel Descalso is day to day after leaving the game because of a sore left ankle. He was hurt rounding first on a single in the first inning and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth. … LHP Mike Montgomery (mild left lat strain) appears close to rejoining the Cubs after throwing six solid innings for Triple-A Iowa on Friday. “It sounds like he’s checked all the boxes,” manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s always about the next day, making sure everything’s cool, and then we’ll make our moves after that. But yeah, it was very encouraging to hear what he did.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (3-2, 3.73 ERA) looks to win his third straight start. He held Washington to two runs in a season-high 6 1/3 innings on Tuesday.

Cubs: LHP Jose Quintana (3-1, 3.48) tries to continue his strong run, with a 3-0 record and 1.69 ERA in his past four starts.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Strasburg reached 1,500 strikeouts in fewer innings than any pitcher in major league history, and the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 after a long rain delay Thursday to salvage the finale of a four-game series.

Despite the strong performance by Strasburg, the Nationals (13-17) fired pitching coach Derek Lilliquist after the game and replaced him with minor league pitching coordinator Paul Menhart. General manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement moments after the final out.

Strasburg (3-1) lasted 6 2/3 innings, giving up a run on six hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. He got opposing starter Dakota Hudson looking in the fifth for his eighth strikeout of the game and the 1,500th of his career — in 1,272 1/3 innings.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Boston left-hander Chris Sale held the previous mark, reaching 1,500 in 2017 after 1,290 innings.

Sean Doolittle struck out pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt with the bases loaded to end the eighth, then finished for his fourth save.

Hudson (2-2) allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits in six innings. Kolten Wong hit an RBI single and Yairo Munoz had three hits for St. Louis, which had won five straight.

The teams combined for 14 hits, all singles.

The Nationals scored twice in the fourth without an RBI.

Howie Kendrick came home when Munoz committed a throwing error from shortstop on Yan Gomes’ grounder, and Matt Adams scored from third when Brian Dozier grounded into a double play.

The start was delayed by rain for 2 hours, 32 minutes.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Luke Gregerson (shoulder impingement), who threw to seven batters during a pregame batting practice session Wednesday, came out of it fine, according to manager Mike Shildt. … OF Dexter Fowler (illness) was better Thursday and Shildt was hopeful Fowler would be available off the bench after missing two games.

Nationals: RF Juan Soto (back spasms) was a late scratch for the second straight game but was available to pinch hit. . Manager Dave Martinez said SS Trea Turner (broken finger) could begin swinging the bat this week. . INF Carter Kieboom, who was 3 for 22 since his major league debut, was given a day off.

PICKED OFF

St. Louis had runners on first and second with no outs in the third before Gomes picked off Matt Wieters at second base from behind the plate. Hudson then sacrificed Munoz to second and the Cardinals settled for one run on Wong’s single.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty (3-1, 4.06 ERA) pitches when the Cardinals open a three-game series Friday at the Chicago Cubs. Flaherty has not allowed a run in 12 innings this season during day games.

Nationals: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2-0, 5.82) starts when the Nationals open a three-game series in Philadelphia on Friday night. Hellickson pitched six shutout innings against the Phillies on April 10.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Miles Mikolas outpitched Max Scherzer, Marcell Ozuna had three hits and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 Wednesday night for their fifth straight win.

Jose Martinez drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who have won 10 of 11.

Washington has lost the first three games of the series and six of their last seven overall, and fell to 12-17.

The Cardinals touched up Scherzer (1-4) for three runs in the first as Victor Robles — playing right in place of Juan Soto, who was scratched from the lineup with back spasms — misread Ozuna’s flyball and it went for an RBI double. Martinez delivered a two-run single a batter later.

Scherzer pitched seven innings and struck out eight. He yielded eight hits, half of them coming in the first inning.

The Nationals mustered a run in the fourth, but couldn’t solve Mikolas (3-2), who was winless in his first three road starts this year. The right-hander gave up a run and seven hits while striking out four in six innings, and his final pitch resulted in a flyball to left by Michael A. Taylor fly that Ozuna caught while backed up against the door to the visitor’s bullpen.

St. Louis added two runs in the eighth off Joe Ross, ending the Washington bullpen’s scoreless streak at 16 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Luke Gregerson (shoulder impingement) threw to seven batters during a pregame batting practice session. “Stuff looked good. He had some later movement to his ball, had some finish to his pitches,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We’ll see how he recovers and based on that and based on the next couple days we’ll find the right spot to get him activated.” . OF Dexter Fowler (illness) was unavailable for the second game in a row.

Nationals: Soto, who is hitting .248 with six homers and 22 RBI, had played every inning in each of Washington’s first 28 games before he was scratched from the original lineup. He was available but was not used off the bench.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Dakota Hudson (2-1, 5.63 ERA) looks to win his third consecutive start. He is 1-0 with a 7.71 ERA in four lifetime appearances (all in relief) against Washington.

Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (2-1, 3.82) faces the Cardinals for the first time since 2016 as the four-game series concludes.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Harrison Bader homered to spark a six-run fifth inning as the surging St. Louis Cardinals rallied past Patrick Corbin and the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Marcell Ozuna put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 with a two-run single. Jose Martinez had an RBI double and Yadier Molina added a run-scoring single off Corbin, who took a 3-0 lead into the fifth.

Michael Wacha (2-0) went five innings after being activated from the 10-day injured list earlier in the day. The right-hander allowed three runs and four hits while striking out five.

Jordan Hicks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his ninth save.

St. Louis has won three straight and eight of nine, while Washington fell to 1-9 in series openers this year.

After yielding only one hit through the first four innings, Corbin (2-1) let the Cardinals bat around in the fifth. He gave up six runs — five with two outs — in his first loss since joining the Nationals as a $140 million free agent from Arizona.

Following Bader’s solo homer, Corbin got Wacha to ground out but then allowed the next six batters to reach. Matt Carpenter walked and later scored on a wild pitch to Ozuna.

Molina’s single extended his hitting streak to 16 games, tying a career high.

Washington took a 3-0 lead in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Corbin and a two-run single by Adam Eaton.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) was set to arrive in Washington. The 34-year-old reliever began the season on a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield, where he had allowed two runs in 11 innings.

Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon (bruised left elbow) was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game and the seventh time in eight after being hit by a pitch April 20 in Miami. “At this point, he’s almost day to day,” manager Dave Martinez said. … RHP Trevor Rosenthal (viral infection), placed on the 10-day injured list Friday, left for extended spring training in Florida without a timetable for his return.

ROSTER MOVE

Washington recalled infielder Adrian Sanchez from Double-A Harrisburg. Sanchez was with the Nationals in early April but did not appear in a game. In the corresponding move, the team optioned RHP Erick Fedde — who pitched four scoreless innings on Sunday — to Double-A.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (2-2, 3.96 ERA) is 8-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 career games against Washington.

Nationals: RHP Anibal Sanchez (0-3, 6.00) is still looking for his first win with Washington in his sixth start of the season.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis right-hander Jack Flaherty noticed a trend from the beginning of his outing against the Cincinnati Reds.

“My defense came to my rescue every time I needed them to,” Flaherty said. “That was the difference today.”

Flaherty tossed seven scoreless innings, Yadier Molina drove in three runs and the Cardinals beat the Reds 5-2 on Sunday, taking two of three from their NL Central rivals.

Jose Martinez had two hits and drove in a run for the Cardinals, who have won seven of eight overall.

Scott Schebler hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth for the Reds, who have lost three of five.

Molina extended his hitting streak to 15 games, one short of his career best, with a bases-loaded single in the eighth.

Flaherty (3-1) gave up four hits in an 89-pitch outing. He struck out four and walked one. He was helped by three double plays, two of which ended innings.

“I loved his tempo, loved his aggression, loved his game plan,” St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said. “He had a lot of quality pitches in the strike zone.”

Molina said Flaherty was locked in from the outset.

“He was throwing first-pitch strikes,” Molina said. “That slider was obviously the best pitch he had.”

Flaherty said the biggest defensive play of the game was second baseman Kolten Wong’s diving catch of a line drive by Tucker Barnhart that ended the first inning. Flaherty walked Yasiel Puig with two away after getting ahead in the count 0-2.

“That was frustrating,” Flaherty said.

Wong’s play set the tone for the rest of Flaherty’s day.

“We got a lot of momentum after that,” Flaherty said. “Those guys made every single play.”

John Gant picked up his second save in three chances by retiring Derek Dietrich after Schebler’s double.

St. Louis scored twice in the fourth off Sonny Gray (0-4), who gave up three hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Martinez brought in Paul DeJong with a two-strike single to right. Dexter Fowler followed with an infield single, and Molina pushed the lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.

Martinez has worked his way into the starting lineup and went 14-for-32 (.438) during St. Louis’ nine-game homestand.

“Every chance they give you, you have to take advantage,” Martinez said.

Wong started a three-run outburst in the eighth with a double to right that Puig lost in the sun.

John Brebbia, Andrew Miller and Jordan Hicks each recorded an out in the eighth.

Joey Votto reached base twice for the Reds, who are 10-8 since a 1-8 start to the season.

Gray, making his first career appearance against the Cardinals, set down the first six batters and struggled in only one inning.

“I got zero swings on my breaking balls and that’s normally my best pitch,” Gray said. “I didn’t quite have a feel for it today.”

END OF THE LINE

Paul Goldschmidt had a 13-game hitting steak snapped.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Alex Reyes was placed on the 10-day injured list with a broken left pinkie. The 24-year-old punched a wall in frustration after his outing with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday. Reyes gave up three runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings at Omaha. “He made a decision that I’m sure he would choose to do over,” Shildt said. “He cares.”

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Tanner Roark (1-1, 3.42 ERA) will start on Monday against the New York Mets. Zack Wheeler (2-2, 4.85) will pitch for the Mets in the first of a four-game set. Roark is 8-4 with a 3.07 ERA in 22 career starts against New York.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (1-0, 4.64) starts in the opener of a four-game series at Washington on Monday against LHP Patrick Corbin (2-0, 2.48). Wacha will be coming off the 10-day injured list. He missed one start because of left knee patellar tendinitis.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Marcell Ozuna’s right shoulder is healthy and he can focus on hitting, not adjusting to a new team

“I’m just working harder every day, especially if healthy,” Ozuna said after hitting a three-run homer and driving in five runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 on Saturday. “I’m just going to work and work and work every day, and then have success at the plate.”

Ozuna’s 10th home run of the season came after the Reds took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.

Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead in the third, and Ozuna’s homer put the Cardinals ahead in the bottom half.

Ozuna became the third Cardinals player to hit 10 by the end of April after Mark McGwire, who hit 11 in 1998, and Albert Pujols, who had 14 in 2006. Ozuna, fighting his sore shoulder, didn’t hit his 10th home run last season until June 16.

“I hit the ball harder every time,” Ozuna said. “When you hit the ball harder, everything’s going to happen.”

Ozuna gave the Cardinals a 5-2 lead in the fifth when he hit a two-out double off the right-field wall.

Dakota Hudson (2-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, pitching into the sixth for the first time as a major league starter.

“We made adjustments in my last bullpen — moved over on the rubber a little bit,” Hudson said. “I felt like my fastball execution was a little better, and that’s a result of me getting a little bit better sink on it.”

Jordan Hicks pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.

Harrison Bader had a run-scoring single in the sixth, his first RBI since he was activated from the injured list on Wednesday.

Tyler Mahle (0-3) allowed five runs, seven hits and three walks in five innings.

“I just pitched poorly all day,” Mahle said. “I was honestly lucky to only give up five there.”

Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez hit RBI singles in the third. Jesse Winker followed with a single, and center fielder Dexter Fowler made a one-hop throw to the plate to Yadier Molina, who tagged Suarez for the third out.

“Two outs there, you definitely have to take a chance and try to score right there,” Reds manager David Bell said. “If the throw’s off just a little bit it’s a run, and in most cases, it is off a little bit. In this case, Dexter Fowler made a perfect throw, and it was still very close.”

Derek Dietrich hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

HITTING STREAKS

Molina extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the fourth. Teammate Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the third.

MOLINA MILESTONE

Molina made his 1,797th start at catcher, passing Benito Santiago for seventh place.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: LHP Alex Wood (back spasms) suffered a setback and was scratched from his scheduled bullpen session in Goodyear, Arizona.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (right shoulder cuff strain) will throw a 30-pitch batting practice session at the team’s Jupiter, Florida, complex on Monday. Martinez is scheduled to throw another session later in the week, and if he checks out well after that he will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment as he prepares to rejoin the club pitching out of the bullpen.

“Right now, I feel comfortable,” Martinez said. “I think with one inning, it’s OK for my arm right now. I just have focus on the bullpen right now.”

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Sonny Gray (0-3) will be making his first career appearance against the Cardinals on Sunday. St. Louis RHP Jack Flaherty (2-1) is 0-2 with a 4.41 ERA in four starts against Cincinnati.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joey Votto, Yasiel Puig and Eugenio Suarez homered, and the Cincinnati Reds snapped St. Louis’ five-game win streak with a 12-1 victory over the Cardinals on Friday night.

Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker also connected as the Reds matched a season high with five homers in their third win in four games. Anthony DeSclafani tossed six scoreless innings in his first win since Aug. 28.

St. Louis ace Miles Mikolas (2-2) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. He pitched eight effective innings in a 10-2 victory over the New York Mets in his previous start.

Matt Carpenter had two hits and walked twice for St. Louis, which finished with eight hits. Carpenter scored on Paul DeJong’s single in the eighth for the Cardinals’ only run.

DeSclafani (1-1) gave up four hits in a 91-pitch outing. He struck out six and walked three.

Suarez put Cincinnati in front with his sixth homer in the first. Winker hit his team-best seventh homer leading off the fourth, and Votto made it 4-0 with a solo shot in the fifth. Puig drove in Winker with a two-run drive in the eighth, and Peraza homered during the Reds’ six-run ninth.

Curt Casali finished with three hits and four RBI for the Reds, who are 3-0-1 in their last four series against the Cardinals.

St. Louis infielder Jedd Gyorko struck out pinch hitter Phillip Ervin on four pitches to end the ninth.

STREAKING

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the second. Teammate Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the seventh.

ROSTER MOVE

St. Louis activated Tyler O’Neill from the 10-day injured list and optioned fellow outfielder Lane Thomas to Triple-A Memphis. O’Neill had been sidelined by a right elbow injury.

O’Neill grounded into a double play as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

TRAINING ROOM

Reds: LHP Alex Wood (back spasms) threw a bullpen session Wednesday in Arizona and is scheduled to throw another Saturday.

Cardinals: RHP Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts for Double-A Springfield on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

St. Louis right-hander Dakota Hudson (1-1, 5.89 ERA) will start the second game of the three-game series on Saturday against right-hander Tyler Mahle (1-3, 3.52 ERA). Hudson pitched a career-high five innings to earn his first win as a starter on Sunday. Mahle is seeking to stop a two-game skid and is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two career starts against St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright was warm enough on a cool day, allowing one run in six innings for his 150th career victory, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Last year’s MVP, Christian Yelich, had most of the day off but still had a chance to rescue the Brewers. He came up as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but Jordan Hicks struck him out to pick up his seventh save in eight chances.

Wainwright (2-2) matched his season low in runs allowed, and it was his first quality start in a game with a starting temperature of 60 degrees or cooler since May 27, 2017.

Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina homered for the Cardinals as part of a four-run fourth. Ozuna’s three-run homer extended his on-base streak to 14 games, and it was his 17th career homer against the Brewers, the most he’s had against any opponent.

Molina’s blast extended his 12-game hitting streak, tying him with Paul DeJong for the longest by a Cardinal this season. Paul Goldschmidt got the rally started with a single, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

St. Louis’ three-game sweep of Milwaukee was its first against its NL Central rival since July 1-3, 2016. The teams have already played 10 times this season, and Wednesday’s result evened the season series at 5-5. They combined for 45 home runs in the 10 games.

Jhoulys Chacin (2-3) lasted four innings, allowing four runs on five hits. Zach Davies on April 13 was the last Brewers pitcher to turn in a quality start.

Brewers starters have gone 8-7 with a 5.84 ERA this season, and they are the only team in the NL whose starters average less than five innings per game. Help is coming soon, however, in the form of left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who has agreed to a one-year contract with Milwaukee, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the agreement had not been announced.

Eric Thames homered in the first for Milwaukee. The team’s last 23 runs have come via the home run.

BADER’S BACK

Before the game, the Cardinals activated OF Harrison Bader (right hamstring strain) from the 10-day injured list and optioned RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon to Triple-A Memphis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: Yelich (rest) wasn’t in the starting lineup for the first time this season.

Cardinals: OF Tyler O’Neill (right elbow ulnar nerve sublaxion) went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in his first rehab game at Double-A Springfield on Tuesday night.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (2-0, 3.00 ERA) will get the start as Milwaukee continues its trip against the Mets on Friday. Anderson is 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (2-1, 4.97) kicks off a three-game set against the visiting Reds and RHP Anthony DeSclafani (0-1, 5.59) on Friday. Mikolas gave up a pair of runs in eight innings on Saturday, becoming the first St. Louis starter this season to record an out beyond the sixth inning.

— Associated Press —