PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Randal Grichuk homered and had three hits, and Kolten Wong and Yadier Molina also went deep as the St. Louis Cardinals set season highs for runs and hits in a 12-4 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

The Cardinals avoided their second three-game losing streak of the season while breaking out of the offensive funk that followed Tuesday’s news of a federal investigation into whether club officials illegally hacked into the Houston Astros’ player database.

The Cardinals batted .211 with five runs in the first three games after the story broke. If the investigation had any bearing on the lackluster offense, they certainly put it out of their minds against the Phillies.

St. Louis pounded out 16 hits, including six for extra bases. Jhonny Peralta doubled and had three RBI, Mark Reynolds had a two-run double and 10 Cardinals got hits.

Ryan Howard homered for Philadelphia, which snapped a nine-game losing streak on Thursday. The last-place Phillies sank 23 games under .500.

Tyler Lyons (2-0) won his second straight game after going 13 consecutive starts without a win dating back to 2013. He earned a victory Saturday over the Royals and cruised to his latest one behind double-digit run support.

Lyons allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings with five strikeouts and one walk. He also helped himself with the bat, singling twice with an RBI and scoring three runs.

Phillippe Aumont (0-1) struggled in a spot start for injured Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels, allowing six runs and five hits in four innings.

It was the first career start for Aumont, who entered 1-5 with a 6.13 ERA in 45 big league relief appearances. He switched to a starting role this spring in an attempt to improve his command and had some success in the minors, going 3-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 14 outings (10 starts). But against the Cardinals, Aumont walked seven and threw a wild pitch. Forty-eight of his 104 pitches were balls.

Two-run homers by Wong and Molina highlighted a four-run second inning that gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. In the fourth, Peralta drove in Matt Carpenter and Lyons — both of whom walked — to put St. Louis up by six. And the Cardinals scored five runs on six hits against Justin De Fratus in the fifth.

Aumont and De Fratus combined to throw 162 pitches in six innings, 67 of which were balls.

Howard homered for the second straight game, putting the Phillies on the board with a three-run shot in the fifth. A Missouri native whose favorite team growing up was the Cardinals, Howard homered for the 21st time in 62 career games against St. Louis.

Phillies starters have gone 24 straight games without a victory, dating to May 23. They are 0-15 with a 5.97 ERA during that stretch.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny said there’s no timetable for the return of RHP Lance Lynn (forearm), who has been on the DL since June 8.

Phillies: Hamels indicated he will make his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Yankees. Hamels missed Friday’s turn with a strained right hamstring.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (5-4, 3.59 ERA) looks for his first road win of the season Saturday night in the middle game of the series. Lackey is 0-3 with a 6.49 ERA in 11 starts away from home.

Phillies: RHP Aaron Harang (4-8, 3.24) will try to halt a five-game losing streak. Harang, whose last win came on May 15, has a 6.07 ERA during his skid. He is 7-16 with a 4.39 ERA in 28 starts against St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have been struggling to score this month, with Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas at the top of the slump list.

Well, guess who hit the home runs to tie and win the game in the last two innings?

Vargas hit a solo shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Thursday, lifting the Twins to a 2-1 victory and a two-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

“It’s always fun to get out there and jump around,” said Mauer, who went deep in the eighth to answer Jason Heyward’s solo shot for the Cardinals in the seventh.

Arriving at home on the first game-ending hit of his career at any level, Vargas was showered with water and a bucket of bubble gum in celebration. He grounded into two double plays, ruining a bases-loaded rally on one of those with one out in the seventh inning, and he’s only 5 for 27 since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Before the game, Twins manager Paul Molitor pulled Vargas aside by the batting cage and encouraged him to refocus on having fun.

“You hope it takes some of the weight off that he’s been carrying,” Molitor said.

It sailed into the right-field seats on a slow 1-1 curveball from Carlos Villanueva (3-2).

“It’s, for me, something special that I’m going to remember all my life,” Vargas said.

Villanueva said he tried to throw the pitch on the outside of the plate so Vargas would chase it.

“The ball came back over the middle,” Villanueva said.

St. Louis lost for the first time in 35 games this year when leading after seven innings.

“It was just challenge time at that point, and their guy came out on top,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Minnesota won for the first time in 25 games this season when trailing after seven innings. For Mauer, this was his third home run of the season, all of which have tied the game or given the Twins the lead. The three-time batting champion’s once-sparkling average had fallen to .250 before he took Kevin Siegrist deep.

“I try to make `em count when I do hit `em,” Mauer said.

The six-time All-Star said his swing hasn’t “felt that bad” the last couple of weeks. Hitting one into the left-field seats was one way to beat those shifts.

“Nobody can catch a ball out there,” Mauer said.

Blaine Boyer (2-2) pitched the ninth for the victory, after eight dominant innings by Mike Pelfrey in an old-fashioned duel with Jaime Garcia.

St. Louis still has baseball’s best record by a comfortable margin, but the lineup has slumped lately with only 11 runs in the last five games. The Cardinals were shut out in three of Garcia’s first five starts since returning from surgery last summer to alleviate numbness and tingling in his left arm and hand.

Garcia pitched into the seventh, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out four and lowering his ERA to 1.76. Seth Maness bailed him out in the seventh after a walk and a single to start the inning, getting Vargas to ground weakly to shortstop for the double play.

PELFREY’S REBOUND

Pelfrey bounced back authoritatively from his worst start of the season, when he allowed 11 hits and eight runs over 3 2/3 innings at Texas. He gave up four hits and one walk while striking out three, the home run by Heyward the only blemish.

“For it to be 0-0 before that, it made it a little bit frustrating, but overall I thought it was a lot better,” Pelfrey said.

Pelfrey got Heyward to ground into a double play earlier on the same count and pitch as the home run, matching teammate Kyle Gibson for the major league lead in groundball double plays induced with 16. Pelfrey lowered his ERA to 2.97.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (strained forearm) has been playing catch, but Matheny hasn’t reached the point of seeking daily updates, a sign that Lynn still has a ways to go. “He’s just progressing nicely,” Matheny said.

Twins: RHP Ervin Santana, serving an 80-game suspension for a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance, will make three rehabilitation starts for Triple-A Rochester beginning on Saturday. “If all goes well, we’ll have a decision to make,” general manager Terry Ryan said.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: The Cardinals continue their road trip in Philadelphia on Friday, with Tyler Lyons starting opposite Cole Hamels of the Phillies.

Twins: The Twins host the Chicago Cubs on Friday, with Phil Hughes taking the mound against Kyle Hendricks.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tommy Milone gave up one run in seven innings and the Minnesota Twins squeaked out a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

Milone (3-1) gave up five hits and struck out five and Eduardo Nunez had two hits and two RBI to help the reeling Twins, who had lost seven of their previous eight games.

Carlos Martinez (7-3) gave up two runs — one earned — on five hits and struck out six in 6 2/3 innings for the Cardinals, who are embroiled in a federal investigation into allegations that members of the team’s baseball operations hacked into the Houston Astros’ personnel database.

The Cardinals had two runners on with no outs in the ninth, but Glen Perkins struck out Mark Reynolds and Randal Grichuk and got Yadier Molina to ground out to improve to 23 for 23 in save tries.

The Cardinals have spent the last two days swimming in deep water after news broke that the FBI was conducting an investigation into the hacking allegations involving a database compiled by former Cardinals executive Jeff Luhnow, now the Astros’ GM.

Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt and GM John Mozeliak responded forcefully on Wednesday, saying that they had no knowledge of any such actions and were conducting an internal review of their own to get to determine if there was any truth to the allegations.

Until then, Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny vowed not to let the headline-grabbing allegations, which have called into question the integrity of one of baseball’s model franchises, distract the team from the torrid pace it has set to start this season. The Cardinals entered the game with the best record in the big leagues, having beaten the Twins at home on Tuesday on the day the investigation was revealed by the New York Times.

They jumped on Milone in the second inning, getting an RBI single from Jason Heyward for a 1-0 lead.

But Mark Reynolds was charged with an error for being unable to scoop a low pickoff attempt from Martinez at first base, which allowed Trevor Plouffe to score from third and put Eddie Rosario in position to score on a sacrifice fly from Eduardo Nunez to give the Twins a 2-1 lead in the fourth.

A combination of the Cardinals’ enthusiastic fan base and the home debut of highly touted Twins prospect Byron Buxton led to an announced crowd of 34,381, the third-largest of the season at Target Field.

Buxton went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, but did make a nice running catch at the warning track in the third inning.

Struggling star Joe Mauer was moved from third in the order to second. He had a double in the first inning, but struck out twice, including with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: GM Terry Ryan said RHP Ricky Nolasco, on the disabled list with an ankle injury, was being fitted for orthotics. The club was hopeful that the orthotics would help relieve what has been a recurring for issue for him.

UP NEXT

The Twins send RHP Mike Pelfrey (5-3, 3.18) to the mound to finish the four-game split series against LHP Jaime Garcia (2-3, 2.06). Pelfrey had been a pleasant surprise for the Twins through 11 starts, but was tagged for eight runs on 11 hits in a loss to the Rangers his last time out. Garcia missed the first 40 games while recovering from thoracic outlet surgery. He has not walked a batter in his last four starts.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Before the first pitch, manager Mike Matheny noted there are distractions every day for the St. Louis Cardinals. This, he maintained, was just another one.

A federal investigation into possible computer hacking by the team becoming news Monday failed to slow down the team with the major leagues’ best record.

The Cardinals extended their winning streak to five by beating the Minnesota Twins 3-2 behind Michael Wacha’s pitching and Mark Reynolds’ two-run single.

“We’re cooperating and I think they understand it really has nothing to do with us inside the clubhouse right now,” Matheny said. “Our job is to stay focused on what we can do each day, and let that process take care of itself.”

Before the game, Matheny said he was in the weight room when he first learned of the investigation into whether the Cardinals had hacked Houston’s computer database. The Cardinals then completed a soggy homestand in which three games were delayed and another against Kansas City was postponed until July 23.

St. Louis is 43-22 overall and 26-7 at home, both tops in the majors, and matched a franchise best by reaching 43 wins in 64 games.

Minnesota has lost seven of eight and was 1-4 on a trip that featured the debut of Byron Buxton, the second overall pick in 2012.

“He is just one player and he’s played really well and it’s been awesome to see him up here, that’s for sure,” Twins starter Kyle Gibson said. “We’re definitely excited for how he’s going to help the team, and he’s going to.”

Wacha (9-2) halted warmups before the first pitch was delayed 45 minutes and didn’t return after a 47-minute rain delay with one out in the seventh and the Cardinals leading 3-1. He allowed two runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Wacha endured six weather delays totaling more than six hours last season, so the rain Tuesday was nothing new.

“You just kind of have a sense of what to expect,” Wacha said. “I just stayed mentally ready as well as physically.

“You know, it’s not the first time I went through it.”

Kevin Siegrist stood in for Trevor Rosenthal, who is sidelined by a knot in his biceps, and pitched the ninth for his third save in four chances.

Matheny thought Rosenthal looked better but needed another day, and didn’t think the injury would require a stint on the 15-day disabled list.

“They’ve ruled out anything structural, it’s just one of those times during the season and it just so happened on two nights when he typically would be needed,” Matheny said. “It’s great to see Kevin Siegrist step up once again.”

Yadier Molina doubled for his fourth hit in two games and scored on Randal Grichuk’s sacrifice fly in the second, and Reynolds’ single gave St. Louis a 3-1 lead in the third.

Trevor Plouffe had an RBI double in the first and Kurt Suzuki doubled in a run in the seventh after Seth Maness relieved. Gibson (4-5) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.

Buxton was easily thrown out stealing by Yadier Molina after reaching on an infield hit leading off the eighth. Matheny said reliever Matt Belisle made it difficult for the rookie to get a good jump.

“The guy was really quick to home,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “It didn’t work out.”

UP NEXT

The teams play at Minnesota on Wednesday and Thursday. Tommy Milone worked seven innings his last time out, allowing only a two-run homer to Elvis Andrus. In his only prior appearance against the Cardinals, he matched a career high surrendering three homers on June 30, 2013, in Oakland. With Carlos Martinez pitching, the Cardinals are 10-2. He’s 7-2 with a 2.93 ERA in his first year in the rotation.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Rosenthal has been unavailable the last three games. Lance Lynn, on the DL with a forearm strain, played catch Tuesday and remained on track to return in late June.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina homered for the first time this season and John Lackey worked eight strong innings for the St. Louis Cardinals, who won their fourth in a row with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Mark Reynolds connected three pitches ahead of Molina in the fourth, giving the Cardinals back-to-back homers.

Randal Grichuk tripled, singled and scored for St. Louis, which is 42-21 overall and 25-7 at home — both major league bests. The Cardinals have won 15 of 20.

Twins rookie Byron Buxton tripled for his first career hit with one out in the eighth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brian Dozier that cut the gap to a run. Buxton also slammed into the wall, but didn’t stay down long, after just missing a running catch on Grichuk’s triple leading off the third.

Molina dropped about 20 pounds in the offseason, reporting at 220 pounds, and his power profile has suffered. Manager Mike Matheny said before the game the lack of a long ball likely bothered Molina more than fans or teammates.

He averaged 16 homers over a three-year period from 2011-13 before dropping off to seven last season.

Lackey (5-4) bounced back smartly on six days’ rest after getting torched for 10 earned runs in four innings at Colorado. Lackey, whose start was postponed a day by a rainout Sunday, allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

Kevin Siegrist finished for his second save in three chances. Closer Trevor Rosenthal, who leads the NL with 21 saves, did not warm up.

Twins rookie starter Trevor May (4-5) gave up a total of four homers his first 11 starts. He allowed three runs in five innings, ending a run of five consecutive starts of six or more.

UP NEXT

Kyle Gibson is 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA his last three starts, all at home. The Cardinals are averaging 6.3 runs for Michael Wacha, among the best in the league.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (forearm strain) remains on track to return from the 15-day DL on time June 23.

Twins: Torii Hunter returned from a two-game suspension.

— Associated Press —

DENVER (AP) — Next to his fastball in the mid-90s, Carlos Martinez’s best attribute on the mound is his ability to listen.

Whatever catcher Yadier Molina tells him to throw, he obeys. Simple as that. No head shaking or second guessing.

Martinez pitched efficiently into the seventh inning for a fifth straight start and Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Wednesday to avoid a series sweep.

“I was listening to Yadier,” Martinez said through a translator. “I believed in what Yadier was calling.”

Martinez (7-2) had a shutout until Ben Paulsen’s two-run homer in the seventh. That’s about the only mistake he made. But even that 88 mph changeup wasn’t really a mistake. He thought he made a good pitch — just not at Coors Field.

“I didn’t expect the ball to fly that far,” Martinez said.

The right-handed Martinez gave up eight hits in 6 1/3 innings and tied a career-high with two singles at the plate, including one in which he beat out a throw and signaled safe to let everyone know. Martinez also scored a run.

“Carlos was terrific,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “You can tell he’s pitching with a lot of confidence.”

His performance helped the Cardinals salvage the final game of what’s been a rough series. St. Louis was outscored 15-6 in the opening two games and had slugger Matt Holliday go on the disabled list with a strained right quadriceps.

Chad Bettis (2-1) felt “out of whack” all day, never really settling into a comfortable rhythm. He allowed three runs in five innings as the Rockies finished a 5-5 homestand.

“Just felt a little rushed through my delivery throughout the whole game,” Bettis explained. “Other than that, just got to keep the ball down.”

Paulsen entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh for left fielder Brandon Barnes, who appeared to hurt a leg on a slide into second. Paulsen knew a changeup was coming — he had seen a steady diet of them — and hit it into the left-center seats to make it a 3-2 game.

Grichuk gave the Cardinals a little more cushion with a solo shot in the eighth.

Kevin Siegrist pitched 1 2/3 innings and struck out four, including the side in the eighth. Trevor Rosenthal threw a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 20th save in 21 chances.

Colorado was trying for its first sweep of the Cardinals since July 2010 but couldn’t solve Martinez as he pitched his way out of jams. Colorado hit into inning-ending double plays in the fifth and sixth innings.

Martinez received some nifty glove work from second baseman Kolten Wong in the first with two outs and DJ LeMahieu on third. Wong made a diving snare in the outfield grass, got up and threw out Carlos Gonzalez by a step.

Martinez tapped gloves with his second baseman on the way into the dugout.

“That’s a big play,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “A lot of game left, but it’s a big play.”

TAKEN OUT

Daniel Descalso ran over Wong, his former teammate in St. Louis, while trying to break up a double play in the seventh.

“I thought I taught him better than that — to get out of the way,” Descalso said, smiling. “Guess not.”

SLUMP OVER

Matt Carpenter was 0 for 14 before an RBI single in the third. He finished with two hits.

“You have to have a short memory,” Carpenter said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Matheny said the team will monitor the progress of Holliday’s strained right quadriceps over the next few weeks. “He’s impressive how he’s able to bounce back, how his body handles certain injuries,” Matheny said. … RHP Lance Lynn went back to St. Louis for more tests after experience forearm tightness after his last start. Matheny said the team is still waiting to hear back. Lynn is slated to pitch Saturday.

Rockies: OF Corey Dickerson (plantar fasciitis) is to accompany the team to Miami and could come off the disabled list sometime during the series. Dickerson said his left foot “feels a lot better.” … Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was given the day off to rest.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: The team has a day off after finishing up their road swing 4-3. LHP Jaime Garcia (1-3, 2.67) will take the mound Friday as the Cardinals host the Kansas City Royals.

Rockies: LHP Chris Rusin (2-0, 1.45) throws Thursday to start a four-game series in Miami.

— Associated Press —