ST. LOUIS (AP) — When Jorge De La Rosa takes the mound for Colorado against St. Louis, it’s usually a successful formula for the Rockies.

De La Rosa turned in another solid outing against the Cardinals and Nolan Arenado homered in the Rockies’ 6-2 win on Saturday night.

Arenado connected for a two-run shot in the fourth against Lance Lynn (8-6) and Ben Paulsen added a leadoff drive in the sixth. Paulsen finished with two hits and three RBI in Colorado’s first win at Busch Stadium since May 12, 2013, snapping a string of five straight losses at St. Louis.

De La Rosa (7-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He is 7-2 with a 3.41 ERA in nine starts against St. Louis since joining Colorado in 2008.

“We know we’ve got a good lineup,” De La Rosa said. “We just have to keep the game close and wait until the guys start swinging it.”

De La Rosa’s solid outing was a timely one for the Rockies after they used five relievers in Friday night’s 7-0 loss to St. Louis.

“We always feel good when we hand Jorge the ball, especially after a tough loss and the bullpen’s taxed,” manager Walt Weiss said. “He almost always rises to the occasion.”

De La Rosa mixed his cutter and curveball to keep the Cardinals at bay.

“He’s our stopper,” Paulsen said. “He gets it on the mound and he competes and that’s what you want.”

The Cardinals (66-38) failed to get to 30 games over .500 in their third try. St. Louis still has a major league-best 39-16 home record.

The Cardinals continue to have no answer for De La Rosa, who also beat them at Coors Field on June 9.

“He pitches backwards,” said St. Louis first baseman Brandon Moss, who was acquired in a trade with Cleveland on Thursday. “He doesn’t throw his fastball a lot so you get yourself anxious waiting for the off-speed stuff. He doesn’t give you much.”

Carlos Gonzalez reached on a leadoff walk before Arenado’s 26th homer gave the Rockies a 3-0 lead. Arenado had just one homer in July.

“It’s always tough to come in here and score runs against this staff and in this park,” Weiss said. “I think we played well offensively this series.”

Paulsen added a 436-foot home run to center in the sixth and smashed a two-run double in the seventh.

“Our lineup is strong,” Paulsen said. “Everybody should know that and I think opposing teams know that. It’s one of those things, if we put runs up our pitching is good enough to win.”

Lynn was charged with four runs and seven hits in five-plus innings in his first loss since July 10. The right-hander was 5-1 with a 2.04 ERA in his previous 10 starts.

Lynn was disappointed with the pitch to Arenado.

“It was a fastball out over the plate,” Lynn said. “The guy’s got 26 homers, he did what he was supposed to do with it.”

St. Louis shortstop Jhonny Peralta hit his team-leading 16th home run in the fourth. Stephen Piscotty had a pair of hits and an RBI to run his hitting streak to seven games.

SO FAR, SO GOOD

Right-hander Jonathan Broxton made his Cardinals debut, pitching a perfect eighth. Broxton was acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Friday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: RHP Kyle Kendrick (shoulder inflammation) and OF Corey Dickerson (broken ribs) were placed on the 15-day disabled list. RHP Scott Oberg and OF Kyle Parker were recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque, and RHP Christian Bergman (right shoulder fatigue) was activated from the DL. LHP Aaron Laffey was designated for assignment.

Cardinals: RHP Jordan Walden gave up an unearned run in one inning of work during a rehab outing in Triple-A Memphis on Friday. Walden (right bicep) threw 21 pitches, struck out two and walked one.

UP NEXT

Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (3-4, 2.00 ERA) will face LHP Yohan Flande (1-1, 3.68 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. The Cardinals have been shut out in all four of Garcia’s losses. Flande made his first start of the season and got his first major league win in a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter homered for the third time in two games, Michael Wacha pitched seven crisp innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 7-0 on Friday night.

Jhonny Peralta added a two-run homer for the Cardinals (66-37), who have won eight of 11 to move a season-high 29 games over .500 for the third time this season. Stephen Piscotty had a two-run double to help St. Louis run its major league-best home record to 39-15.

The six-hitter for Wacha (12-4) and two relievers came after St. Louis bolstered its bullpen by acquiring Jonathan Broxton before the non-waiver trade deadline on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals sent minor league outfielder Malik Collymore to Milwaukee for Broxton, who will help set up for All-Star closer Trevor Rosenthal.

Colorado has lost seven of 10.

Carpenter, who hit two homers and drove in four runs in a 9-8 win over Colorado on Thursday, also had a double and reached three times.

Wacha gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked one — his only free pass came to Carlos Gonzalez in the sixth, the result of an 11-pitch battle. Wacha did not allow more than one baserunner in any inning.

Randy Choate and Seth Maness each pitched an inning after Wacha departed.

Carpenter slammed a first-inning leadoff home run off right-hander Kyle Kendrick (4-12), who left after one inning with shoulder inflammation. It was Carpenter’s seventh career leadoff homer and third this season.

Kendrick has surrendered a major league-high 26 home runs.

Wacha, who had given up 10 runs over 11 innings in his previous two starts, retired seven in a row at one point.

St. Louis scored twice in first. Kolten Wong and Peralta followed with singles as four of the first six hitters reached safely. Jason Heyward added a sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals broke the game open with five runs in the sixth. Peralta hit his 15th homer off Christian Friedrich.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: OF Corey Dickerson was not in the lineup after suffering a right rib contusion in the fifth inning of Thursday’s loss. Dickerson, who had two stints on the DL earlier this season with plantar fasciitis, is listed as day to day.

Cardinals: Matt Holliday is on the 15-day DL after he strained his right quad on Wednesday. It is the same muscle strain that forced him to miss 31 games earlier in the season. “To kind of take a step back like this is frustrating,” Holliday said.

UP NEXT

St. Louis RHP Lance Lynn (8-5, 2.71 ERA) will face LHP Jorge De La Rosa (6-4, 5.03 ERA) on Saturday. Lynn is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four career starts against Colorado. De La Rosa has a 3-3 career mark in St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter hit a pair of home runs and Greg Garcia’s bases-loaded walk capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Thursday night.

Carpenter went 4 for 5 with four RBI after moving back to the leadoff spot. It was his first career multihomer game and he has a career-high 12 home runs this season.

Jhonny Peralta’s two-run single off Rockies closer John Axford tied the game at 8-all and Garcia’s walk scored Kolten Wong as the Cardinals recorded their seventh walk-off win of the season.

Axford (3-5) took his third loss in his last four outings.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings. Carlos Villanueva (4-3) earned the win.

The Cardinals snapped a two-game skid and improved to a major league-best 38-15 at home.

The Rockies are 3-15 at Busch Stadium since 2010 and haven’t won in St. Louis since May 12, 2013.

The Cardinals ended a 22-inning scoreless streak when Wong’s groundout scored Carpenter in the first.

Carpenter’s 423-foot homer to dead center in the second gave the Cardinals a 4-1 lead and his solo shot in the fifth tied it at 5.

Nick Hundley’s 442-foot home run to left in the sixth tied the game at 6. The Rockies capitalized on a pair of throwing errors by Kevin Siegrist to snap that tie with two runs in the eighth.

Nolan Arenado drove in his major league-leading 78th run in the first.

Rockies starter Chris Rusin erased one of his mistakes to Carpenter by hitting his first major league home run to tie the game in the fourth. Rusin, who gave up six runs in five innings, became the third opposing pitcher to go deep against Cardinals pitching this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: Left fielder Corey Dickerson left the game with a right rib contusion after diving while trying to catch Jason Heyward’s triple in the fifth. His status is day-to-day.

Cardinals: Matt Holliday was placed on the 15-day disabled list after suffering a Grade 2 strain of his right quad during Wednesday’s game against the Reds. It is the same injury that sidelined Holliday for 31 games earlier this season.

TEMPERS FLARE

Things got heated after Martinez hit DJ LeMahieu with a pitch to load the bases in the fifth. LeMahieu had words for Martinez while being escorted to first by Yadier Molina.

After being stranded at third when the inning ended, Arenado then exchanged words with Molina.

UP NEXT

Rockies: RHP Kyle Kendrick (4-11, 6.33 ERA) is making his 11th start on the road, where he is 2-6 with a 5.52 ERA.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (11-4, 3.27 ERA) is making a career-high 20th start and has gotten the most run support in the National League (6.16 runs a start).

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Brandon Moss was sorry to see close friend David Murphy traded earlier this week by the Indians.

Now he’s gone, too.

Moss was dealt Thursday to the St. Louis Cardinals, who were in the market for an outfielder after seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday re-injured his right quadriceps on Wednesday.

In exchange for Moss, who was in his first season with the Indians, the Indians received minor league pitcher Rob Kaminsky, a first-round pick in 2013.

The Cardinals lead the NL Central by 4 1/2 games over Pittsburgh. However, St. Louis is in an offensive funk and hasn’t scored a run in 22 consecutive innings after being blanked 1-0 on Wednesday by the Cincinnati Reds.

And Holliday is out again with the same injury that sidelined him for 31 games earlier this season. The Cardinals will hope to get some pop from Moss, who signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland during the offseason. While he did produce — 15 homers, 50 RBIs in 94 games — the Indians have fallen back in the AL wild-card race and figure they would try to get something for the 31-year-old.

Following Cleveland’s sixth straight loss on Monday night to Kansas City, Moss, who played four seasons in the NL with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, expressed disappointment at seeing Murphy traded to the Los Angeles Angels and a season that hasn’t gone well for the Indians.

“Nobody’s happy. Nobody’s enjoyed this season,” Moss said. “It’s just one of those things where, the more you try, the more adjustments you try to make, we’re just not making them. Whether we try to make them, whether we go up there with a different approach, everything seems to fall apart.”

Kaminsky is another strong arm for Cleveland’s future.

The 20-year-old was selected with the No. 28 overall pick two years ago and was considered one of the top prospects in the Cardinals system.

Kaminsky has spent the entire season at Single-A Palm Beach, going 6-5 with a 2.09 ERA in 17 starts. He is currently leading the Florida State League in ERA and has 79 strikeouts in 94 2/3 innings.

In parts of three minor league seasons, Kaminsky is 14-10 with a 2.15 ERA.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jay Bruce homered in the second to back Anthony DeSclafani’s seven innings of three-hit ball, and the Cincinnati Reds shut out the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight night, 1-0 on Wednesday.

The Reds ended a nine-series losing streak in St. Louis and have won consecutive games at Busch Stadium for the first time since July 6 and Sept. 2, 2011. It was the first time Cincinnati won consecutive games in the same series since June 2006.

Bruce’s 17th home run moved him ahead of Barry Larkin into ninth in franchise history with 199 homers.

DeSclafani (6-7) did the rest, walking three and striking out three. Aroldis Chapman collected his 21st save in 22 opportunities.

The Cardinals squandered another strong outing from John Lackey (9-6), who gave up two hits in eight innings and has posted a 1.67 ERA during his last nine outings.

The Cardinals have been shut out for 22 straight innings and have scored in just one of the past 30 innings.

Adding to their problems, outfielder Matt Holliday left the game with a right quad strain after pulling up lame running to first on a double play that ended the first inning. It is the same injury that sidelined Holliday for 31 games earlier this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Jordan Walden (right bicep) began a rehab stint at Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, pitching two-thirds of an inning in his first work since going on the disabled list on April 30. Walden threw 15 pitches, gave up a hit and a walk and struck out one in a scoreless outing.

UP NEXT

Reds: LHP David Holmberg (NR) will make his major league debut Thursday to kick off a four-game series at home against Pittsburgh. Holmberg’s presence means four of the five starters in the rotation are rookies.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (11-4, 2.34 ERA) is seeking his 11th straight quality start as the Cardinals cap an 11-game homestand with a four-game series against the Rockies starting Thursday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joey Votto hit a three-run home run in support of Mike Leake, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 on Tuesday night.

Votto is the hottest hitter in the majors since the All-Star break, batting .561. He also walked, singled and doubled, giving him an NL-leading 37 multihit games.

Leake (9-5) allowed four hits in eight innings to win his fourth straight start. He allowed just two earned runs in his last 30 innings for a 0.60 ERA.

Jaime Garcia (3-4), activated from the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day, made his first start since June 2 and gave up three runs and four hits in six innings. He is 10-3 against the Reds, including 7-1 at home.

Garcia held the Reds to one hit before the sixth, when Leake reached on a leadoff single, Brandon Phillips walked with one out and Votto hit his 19th homer, a drive to straightaway center estimated at 418 feet.

Votto’s one-out single in the fourth ended a string of 8 1/3 hitless innings for Garcia counting a rehab start with Triple-A Memphis. Stephen Piscotty singled for St. Louis’ first hit with two outs in the fifth.

Jay Bruce added an RBI single in the ninth off Miguel Socolovich and Aroldis Chapman finished.

Cardinals cleanup man Jhonny Peralta is 2 for 20 against Leake after going 0 for 3 against the right-hander.

FEW AND FAR BETWEEN

A win Wednesday would give the Reds just their fourth series win out of 35 played since the 2003 season against the Cardinals. They’ve dropped nine straight series in St. Louis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Randal Grichuk (groin) sat a second straight day but could be in the lineup Wednesday. RHP Jordan Walden (bicep) was set to begin a rehab with Triple-A Memphis. C Yadier Molina went the distance a day after being replaced in the fifth due to illness.

UP NEXT

Rookie Anthony DeSclafani allowed three runs in seven innings and got no decision in a loss at Colorado his last time out. The Reds will recall lefty Mike Holmberg from Triple-A Indianapolis as the replacement starter for Johnny Cueto against the Pirates. St. Louis’ John Lackey is 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA his last eight starts.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kolten Wong hit a grand slam that backed Lance Lynn and led the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 Monday night.

Wong connected on a 3-2 fastball from rookie Raisel Iglesias (1-3) with two outs in the fourth, putting St. Louis ahead 4-1. Wong’s second career grand slam easily cleared the right- field wall, landing in the home bullpen.

The Cardinals have won six of seven, are a big league-best 64-35 record and lead the NL Central by 6 1/2 games.

Lynn (8-5) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, improving to 7-3 against the Reds. He has won five of his last six decisions overall.

Trevor Rosenthal earned his 31st save in 33 chances after getting two days off.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — More than four years after Adonis Garcia defected from Cuba, he hit his first major league home run.

His timing could not have been much better for the Atlanta Braves.

Garcia broke a 2-2 tie when he led off the sixth inning by homering on a 1-0 fastball from Michael Wacha that carried the Braves to a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday.

“I accomplished my dream by getting to the big leagues,” Garcia said through an interpreter. “I’m twice as happy now that I hit my home run and was able to help the team win.”

“The ball was up in the zone and he put a good swing on it,” Wacha said.

A 30-year-old who was released this spring after three years in the New York Yankees’ organization, Garcia was promoted Friday when Atlanta traded Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to the New York Mets. He went 1 for 3 Saturday and added his biggest hit yet to help the Braves avoid a three-game sweep.

“I like the at-bats he’s given us,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s made some nice plays at third base so that’s a nice addition. We’ve just got to find a way to keep him in the lineup somehow.”

Another Braves rookie, right-hander Matt Wisler (5-1), allowed seven hits and walked three in seven innings, his longest outing since beating the Mets in his debut last month. Wisler struck out only two but was able to take advantage of a Cardinals’ lineup that rested regulars Yadier Molina, Jhonny Peralta and Mark Reynolds.

“I was a little nervous,” Wisler said. “I mean it’s the best team in baseball. They’ve got a very good lineup, very talented. I had good command of my fastball and my slider was a good pitch as well.”

The Braves took advantage of Wacha’s wildness to take a 2-0 lead in the second. Ryan Lavarnway grounded a double into the left-field corner to score Eury Perez, who had worked a one-out walk after falling behind 0-2 in the count. Following a two-out walk to Jace Peterson, Cameron Maybin singled on an 0-2 changeup to drive in Lavarnway. Wacha needed 51 pitches to get through the first two innings.

The Cardinals evened the score with runs in the fourth and fifth. Rookie Stephen Piscotty, in his first start at home, drove in the first St. Louis run with a single that scored Jason Heyward. Heyward, scoring for the first time against his former team, initially was ruled out but the call was overturned following a 5-minute-8-second review that showed he slid in ahead of Lavarnway’s tag.

Matt Holliday’s double into the right-field corner scored Kolten Wong, who also had doubled, to tie the game in the fifth and set the stage for Garcia’s heroics.

FREEMAN’S BACK

Braves cleanup hitter Freddie Freeman went 1 for 3 and walked in his return to the lineup. Out since June 17 with a right wrist injury, Freeman pinch-hit Saturday after he arrived during the game following a one-game rehab stint in Florida. Freeman said after got to the visitors’ clubhouse, he hopped in a hot tub, then warmed up on a stationary bicycle before making his way to the dugout.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: CF Randal Grichuk left after the sixth inning with what manager Mike Matheny called a minor groin injury. Grichuk suffered the injury when he was running the bases after singling in the fourth inning.

UP NEXT

Braves: LHP Alex Wood (7-6, 3.78 ERA) will face RHP Kevin Gausman (1-2, 5.18) in the opener of a three-game series as Atlanta continues a three-stop trip. The Braves are not scheduled off until Aug. 10.

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (7-5, 2.80) will make his first start this season against Cincinnati when he opposes rookie RHP Raisel Iglesias (1-2, 5.45). The division rivals have not met since April 19.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez contended Shelby Miller had a better night than Carlos Martinez and the numbers almost backed up that case.

“He outpitched Martinez,” Gonzalez said. “He really did.”

The Cardinals made the most of two hits and beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win. They lead the majors with a 63-34 record.

Pinch-hitter Stephen Piscotty got his first career RBI with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and Martinez worked eight innings of six-hit ball against his former team.

Manager Mike Matheny said Martinez had perhaps the best sinker “we’ve ever seen from him,” and it led to three of St. Louis’ four double plays. Through an interpreter, Martinez said his sinker was “nasty.”

“Tonight was big, a fun night to compete against (Miller),” Martinez said. “The defense was outstanding.”

Martinez (11-4) made his first post-All-Star break start and had six strikeouts and one walk, which was intentional. He worked the last four innings and took the loss in an 18-inning setback to the Mets on Sunday.

Randy Choate got the last two outs for his first save. Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal has gotten two games off after working three straight.

Miller (5-7) got a standing ovation from a sellout crowd before his first at-bat and allowed a run and two hits in 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander is 0-6 in his last 12 games, the longest winless slump by a Braves starter since Kenshin Kawakami went 14 games between victories in 2010.

“It was everything you expected it to be, it was a lot of fun,” Miller said.

Miller shrugged off the winless slump, saying “That’s not a big deal. I’m going to come back every five days and try to do my job.”

The Braves have not scored a run in nine of his starts this season.

“How much more can he do other than drive in a couple of runs himself?” Gonzalez said.

Kolten Wong had a leadoff double in the first and St. Louis didn’t get another hit until Yadier Molina opened the eighth with a single.

Randal Grichuk then walked, and Pete Kozma pinch-ran for Molina and advanced on a fly out. Kozma beat the throw home from Nick Markakis on Piscotty’s flyball to medium right field.

“It was just a cool moment and I’m just really glad it came through,” Piscotty said.

Miller retired 12 straight ending the seventh. The former first-round draft pick of the Cardinals spent his first three seasons with St. Louis before getting dealt to Atlanta in the offseason for outfielder Jason Heyward.

The trade came after the death of promising Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras. Martinez inherited Miller’s spot in the rotation, dedicating the season to Taveras.

The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the second before Martinez struck out Miller.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: Freddie Freeman, activated from the 15-day DL from a wrist injury, flied out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and finished the game at first base. He had been scheduled to play a second rehab game in Double-A Orlando but that was rained out, so he flew to St. Louis and arrived in the second inning.

“Hand doesn’t hurt at all,” Freeman said. “I was on the phone all morning pleading my case. Happy they obliged.”

Cardinals: One sterling rehab start, five innings of no-hit ball, was enough for LHP Jaime Garcia to show he’s ready to rejoin the rotation early next week. He’s been out with a strained left groin since July 4 and will start either Tuesday or Wednesday against Cincinnati.

UP NEXT

Braves: Just like Miller, rookie Matt Wisler (4-1, 3.60) will be facing the Cardinals for the first time. Michael Wacha (11-3, 3.20) has 93 strikeouts and needs one more to set a career best.

NOTABLE

The Cardinals won with just two hits for the first time since Sept. 4, 2004, against the Dodgers in a 5-1 win. They won 1-0 on a sacrifice fly for the first time since July 21, 2004, by Edgar Renteria against the Brewers. … The Braves have been shut out nine times.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — On a 90-degree night, the shower St. Louis rookie left-hander Tim Cooney received in the locker room after recording his first major league win was almost as enjoyable as his performance on the hill.

“It was ice cold, just what I needed,” Cooney after throwing seven solid innings, leading the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer, his second in as many nights, and Mark Reynolds and Jhonny Peralta added run-scoring hits to help the Cardinals improve to 6-1 since the All-Star break. They are an MLB-best 35-12 at home.

Meanwhile, the Braves have lost their last six road games.

Cooney (1-0) gave up five hits and two earned runs in an efficient 74-pitch stint. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. He faced four batters over the minimum.

“I think my command has been getting a little bit better each start,” Cooney said. “This was the best for my fastball command. When you are able to locate the ball, good things are going to happen.”

Cooney said the importance of the moment did not sink in until he looked up at the scoreboard right after the final out.

“When it ended and I saw my name in win column, it was pretty cool,” he said.

Cooney had a successive scoreless string stopped at 12 innings when the Braves scored twice in the sixth.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny has been impressed with Cooney’s composure in all six of his starts. The last five were no-decisions.

“He was very unpredictable with what he was going to throw tonight,” Matheny said. “He made the pitches in tough counts. He had a feel for everything.”

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina did a solid job of guiding the rookie through the little trouble he encountered.

“It’s always good to see someone get their first win, or first homer, or RBI,” Molina said. “I’m happy for him.”

Grichuk’s homer came in the second inning. He also hit a two-run homer in the second on Thursday in a 4-3 win over Kansas City. His 11th of the season came off rookie Manny Banuelos (1-2), who gave up six hits and four earned runs in five-plus innings. He had allowed one earned run or less in all three of his previous starts.

“I just went up there trying to be aggressive in the strike zone,” Grichuk said. “I got some pitches I thought I could handle and I swung at them.”

Kevin Siegrist retired the Braves in the ninth for his fifth save in eight opportunities. He struck out Jonny Gomes with two on to end the game. St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal was given the night off after appearing in the previous three games.

Peralta brought in Matt Carpenter with a run-scoring single in the third for a 3-0 lead. Reynolds drove in Grichuk in the fourth.

The Braves parlayed a double by Cameron Maybin and a single by Andrelton Simmons into two runs.

Atlanta was able to stay close, but could not come up with a big hit down the stretch.

“I thought our bullpen did a terrific job coming in, keeping it right there,” manager Fredi Gonzalez. “With Jonny Gomes at the plate, who historically wears out left-handed pitching, you feel pretty good in that situation.”

Banuelos struggled to the worst outing of his short career.

“It was a tough game,” Banuelos said. “I (made) a couple of mistakes in tough situations.”

The Braves, who were opening a 10-game road trip, have lost nine of their last 12 overall.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Braves: 1B Freddie Freeman began a rehabilitation assignment with the Rookie League Gulf Coast team in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Friday. Freeman, who has missed 29 games, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 23 with a bruised right wrist.

Cardinals: Rookie OF/INF Stephen Piscotty did not start on Friday after being a late scratch on Thursday due to a stiff neck. He reached on an error as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

UP NEXT:

Former Cardinals RHP Shelby Miller (5-6, 2.33) will face RHP Carlos Martinez (10-4, 2.51) in the second game of the three-game series on Saturday. Miller was acquired from the Cardinals on Nov. 17, 2014, along with RHP Tyrell Jenkins in exchange for OF Jason Heyward and RHP Jordan Walden. Martinez had recorded 10 successive quality starts.

— Associated Press —