ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miguel Cabrera’s bat gave the Detroit Tigers a smashing start. His under-rated defense helped save them late.

Cabrera hit his 400th career home run and turned a nifty double play with a catch near the first base stands followed by an on-target throw in a 4-3, 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

“He’s definitely the best hitter in baseball and he’s hands down the smartest player in baseball as well,” starter David Price said. “He’s pretty special.”

Cabrera’s milestone shot gave him the most homers by a Venezuelan-born player, passing Andres Galarraga. The solo shot came in the first inning just before a rain delay of 1 hour, 20 minutes.

“That means a lot to me,” Cabrera said about the milestone. “But I just want to win and play games.”

Nearly five hours later, Jose Iglesias had an RBI single for the go-ahead hit.

Cabrera has hit four homers in three games, 10 overall and 262 with Detroit, tying him with Willie Horton for fourth on the franchise list. Cabrera said he wasn’t sure if he got the 400th home run ball back.

Adrian Beltre of Texas hit his 400th homer Friday. Cabrera tied Beltre for 52nd place on the career list, with Duke Snider next at 407.

The Cardinals had a man on second with none out in the eighth when Cabrera caught a foul popup near the stands. He wheeled and threw out pinch runner Pete Kozma, who was trying to tag up and advance to third.

“It was a crazy play,” Cabrera said. “We know the Cardinals play aggressive and we’ve got to be ready for anything.”

“Now,” Kozma said, “I know he can make it.”

Price threw only a couple of pitches before the rain delay. He surrendered three homers, matching the total he’d allowed his first seven starts, but all were with the bases empty on changeups.

“It was some good swings on some pitches down the middle of the plate, and that’s what good hitters do,” Price said. “It’s a tough game.”

Matt Carpenter, Peter Bourjos and Jhonny Peralta connected, but the Cardinals made three costly base-running goofs in the final three innings.

Blaine Hardy (1-0) struck out two with a walk in the ninth and Joakim Soria finished for his 12th save in 12 chances. Detroit, which pasted St. Louis 10-4 in the opener, will go for a three-game interleague sweep on Sunday.

Iglesias, the eighth-place hitter, flied out with the bases loaded to end the third and popped out with two on to finish the fifth. He came through with two outs in the 10th against Matt Belisle (1-1).

J.D. Martinez drew a leadoff walk and Yoenis Cespedes followed with a single. Two outs later, Iglesias singled.

The Cardinals blew a chance to take the lead in the seventh. Jason Heyward stayed near second base, waiting to tag up, and could only reach third when Randal Grichuk’s flyball hit the wall for a double.

Heyward said “apparently on second base, it was the worst seat in the house for that one.”

“I looked at the ball, checked the outfielder and I was thinking to myself `This is so high I think it’s either going to be gone or caught at the wall,” Heyward added. “Obviously, the ball didn’t get caught.”

With the Cardinals down a run, Matt Holliday was out trying to stretch a single to two bases leading off the 10th.

Carpenter’s seventh homer tied it in the bottom of the first, on just the second at-bat after play resumed following the delay. Bourjos had been 1 for 11 against Price before putting the Cardinals ahead in the second with his first homer.

UP NEXT

Tigers: Alfredo Simon (4-1, 3.05) was 2-0 in three starts against St. Louis last year while with Cincinnati.

Cardinals: Lance Lynn (2-3, 3.27) is 28-13 with a 2.83 ERA at home.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Pitcher Shane Greene underwent an MRI exam and Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said “concern is way down.” On Saturday, he was removed due to numbness in his pitching hand. Cespedes bent his glove thumb attempting a diving catch in the 10th.

Cardinals: Pitcher Jaime Garcia (shoulder) was back in St. Louis a day after throwing six innings in his second rehab start and could be close to rejoining the rotation.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miguel Cabrera ended a season-long slump in night games with a two-run homer and two singles and the Detroit Tigers also got homers from Yoenis Cespedes and J.D. Martinez in a 10-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

Cabrera entered batting just .158 with no homers and one RBI at night — he’s hit .471 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in day games. Manager Brad Ausmus called those numbers an “anomaly” before the game.

Cabrera hit his 399th career homer and third in two games in the seventh inning off Mitch Harris, tying Andres Galarraga for most by a Venezuelan-born player, and Martinez followed with his eighth homer to make it 5-0.

Shane Greene (4-2) allowed five hits in five scoreless innings before being removed due to numbness in his pitching arm.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Matt Carpenter’s first three at-bats were miserable, forgettable and completely unproductive.

He more than made up for them with one swing.

Carpenter hit a two-run homer off reliever Marc Rzepczynski in the eighth inning after Cleveland replaced starter Trevor Bauer, rallying the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Indians on Thursday.

Bauer struck out Carpenter three times and blanked St. Louis on four hits over 7 1/3 innings before giving up a one-out walk to Peter Bourjos. Indians manager Terry Francona brought in the left-handed Rzepczynski (1-1) to face Carpenter, a lefty, who drove a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right-center — just above outfielder Michael Bourn’s glove — to help the Cardinals win the series after being overpowered by Corey Kluber on Wednesday night.

“Obviously, I wasn’t happy with the way the day was going,” Carpenter said. “What turned it around for me was the Bourjos at-bat. That kind of rejuvenated me. I knew I needed to follow up with another good at-bat and we had a chance to maybe do something. I was able to lay off a couple of tough sinkers and get one up in the zone.”

It’s the first homer Rzepczysnki has given up to a left-handed hitter since June 12, 2012, when he was with the Cardinals.

“My job is to get that guy out,” Rzepczynski. “I fell behind with a couple good sinkers that he laid off. And then I tried to go again and it’s probably the straightest ball I’ve thrown in a long time.”

Kevin Siegrist (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings, and Trevor Rosenthal put the tying run on with one out in the ninth before striking out pinch-hitter Zach Walters and Jason Kipnis for his 12th save.

Michael Brantley homered for the Indians, who haven’t won consecutive games since April 8-9.

Following Kluber’s 18-strikeout performance, Bauer fanned 10, allowed just four hits and deserved a better fate. He kicked the dirt on the mound in frustration after walking Peter Bourjos on his 110th pitch, knowing Francona was coming to get him. Carpenter made things worse with his sixth homer, a shot that helped ease the sting for the Cardinals, who struck out 30 times in two games.

Carpenter recently sat out a three-game series in Pittsburgh with what the Cardinals described as “extreme fatigue.” Carpenter had been dizzy and light-headed in the days leading up to staying behind when the team traveled.

“It feels great,” Carpenter said. “I hate not being out here every day, missing time. Any chance you can come out here play and not only help us win a game but win a series, it’s a big deal. I’m pretty happy with the way it played out.”

Brantley snapped a scoreless tie with his fourth homer to open the sixth against Michael Wacha, who settled in after two shaky innings and gave up five hits in five-plus innings.

The Indians had other scoring chances, but had three runners thrown out, including two on rundowns between third and home.

Cleveland’s hitters made Wacha work, forcing him to throw 59 pitches in the first two innings. However, the Indians wasted a one-out triple by Michael Bourn in the second with a poorly executed bunt by Jose Ramirez. Bourn broke late on the apparent squeeze and got tagged out in a rundown.

St. Louis didn’t fare any better against Bauer, who followed Kluber’s gem with his best since holding Houston without a hit for six innings in his season debut.

“We faced some really tough pitching,” Carpenter said. “They were nasty. Somehow we found a way to win two.”

SERIES DOMINATION

The Cardinals are 9-1-1 in series and improved to 5-0 in games on Thursday.

NO HOLLIDAY OFF

Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday talked himself into the lineup as DH after getting hit on the left elbow by Kluber. Holliday has reached base safely in 32 straight games, the longest streak in the majors this season and the third longest to start a season in club history. Albert Pujols had a 42-game streak in 2008 and 33-gamer in 2005.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Jon Jay went on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left wrist. Jay had surgery on the wrist in October, and he’s hoping some rest will alleviate soreness.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (3-1), who has posted a 14.00 ERA in his past two starts, opens a three-game series in Detroit. He has never faced the Tigers.

Indians: LHP Bruce Chen (0-1) tries to bounce back from a rocky debut with Cleveland, the veteran’s 11th team, in the opener of a three-game series at Texas.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber shrugged his shoulders at making history.

He was just as dismissive with the Cardinals.

Kluber struck out 18 — the most by an AL pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1998 — and allowed just one hit in eight innings to get his first win this season in style, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 2-0 win over St. Louis on Wednesday night.

The reigning AL Cy Young winner, Kluber (1-5) didn’t yield a hit until Jhonny Peralta grounded a clean single to center with two outs in the seventh. A small crowd of 12,313 on a crisp night at Progressive Field gave Kluber a warm ovation and he finished the inning by striking out Jason Heyward.

Kluber’s 18 strikeouts tied the club record for a nine-inning game held by Bob Feller (1938), the late Indians legend who had a new exhibit opened at the ballpark in his honor before the game. As usual, the stoic Kluber wasn’t impressed by his own performance, taking it in stride.

“Any time that you throw your name in there with Bob Feller, that’s obviously very humbling and a great accomplishment,” he said. “Moreso important is obviously getting the win.”

Kluber, who didn’t walk a batter, had a chance to break the major league mark of 20 strikeouts shared by Clemens and Kerry Wood, but he was pulled before the ninth after 113 pitches for closer Cody Allen, who struck out one in getting his fifth save.

Third-base coach Brad Mills, filling in for ejected manager Terry Francona, was the one who made the move with Kluber.

“Millsy knows what he’s doing,” said Francona. “You can’t manage with your heart.”

According to information provided by the Indians, it’s just the second time since 1900 that a team has recorded 19 or more strikeouts while allowing one or fewer hits in a game.

The Indians haven’t had a no-hitter since Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, and Cleveland hasn’t had much to celebrate so far in 2015.

But Kluber, who came in 0-5 with a 5.04 ERA, finally had the kind of start the team came to expect from him when he went 18-9 last season.

Relying heavily on a fastball in the mid-90s, the right-hander, who recently shaved off his beard as a Mother’s Day gift to his wife, Amanda, struck out the side in three innings and set down 18 straight batters after hitting Matt Holliday with a pitch in the first.

“Everything,” Francona said when asked what Kluber had working. “He elevated. He cut it. He spun it. He two-seamed it. He had everything going.”

The Cardinals, who came in with the majors’ best record, were no match.

“I think we got a taste of why he won the Cy Young last year,” said third baseman Matt Carpenter, who went 0-for-3 and struck out twice against Kluber. “His numbers this season don’t reflect how good of a pitcher he is. He was as good, if not better, than anybody I’ve ever faced in the big leagues.”

Kluber nailed Holliday on the left elbow with a 94 mph fastball, dropping the outfielder to one knee and knocking him from the game. Holliday’s plunking touched off a back-and-forth of tight pitches between the teams.

When Cardinals starter John Lackey (2-2) retaliated for Holliday and hit Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis in the fourth, plate umpire Mike Everitt issued warnings to both dugouts, prompting Francona to come out and argue.

Francona was quickly ejected, but Kipnis was hit again in the sixth by reliever Randy Choate to load the bases. Kipnis singled in the eighth and made sure the Cardinals saw him flip his bat as he headed toward first.

Brandon Moss and David Murphy had RBI singles in the first off Lackey, who allowed two runs in 5⅓ innings.

Kluber was locked in from the outset. He struck out two in the first and one in the second before setting the side down in order in the third and fourth. Before Peralta’s single on a 2-0 pitch, the Cardinals didn’t even put good wood on the ball against Kluber.

LEADOFF MAN

Kipnis is now batting .385 (25-of-65) with three homers, 11 RBIs and 13 runs since moving to the top of the order on April 26. He’s reached base safely in 14 of 16 games batting first.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina (upper back stiffness) started after leaving Tuesday’s game in the ninth inning. OF Jon Jay (sore thumb) didn’t start for the third straight game.

Indians: LHP T.J. House (sore shoulder) will make a minor league rehab start at Class A Lake County on Friday. C Yan Gomes (sprained right knee) could see action at designated hitter for Lake County this weekend. Gomes has been out since April 11, injured in a home-plate collision in the second home game.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (5-0) will start Thursday’s series finale and look to remain unbeaten in his seventh start. His five-game winning streak is second best in the majors, trailing only Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, who has won six straight.

Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer (2-1) lost his first decision of the season in his last start against Minnesota. He hasn’t won since April 15 against the White Sox, his second start of the season.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Lance Lynn pitched six scoreless innings and Matt Holliday had four RBIs, including a three-run homer, to lead the St. Louis Cardinals past the Cleveland Indians 8-3 on Tuesday night.

Lynn (2-3) held Cleveland to four hits and struck out nine. He received plenty of help from his offense, which scored all of its runs with two outs.

Holliday, who has reached base safely in each of his 30 games, had an RBI single in the fifth inning and put the game away in the eighth with his three-run blast off Scott Atchison.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter, returning after missing three games because of fatigue, was 2 for 5, including an RBI single

Carlos Carrasco (4-3) allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings as the Indians failed again to win consecutive games. Cleveland has won two straight once, the second and third games of the season.

The Indians, trailing 4-0, scored three times in the seventh. Run-scoring doubles by Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn got Cleveland back in the game, but St. Louis scored four runs in the eighth.

The Cardinals, who dropped the last two of a weekend series in Pittsburgh, avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Mark Reynolds, who had three hits, put the Cardinals on top with a two-run single in the second.

Lynn was struck on the right hand by David Murphy’s hard grounder to the mound in the second, but he remained in the game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Jon Jay (sore thumb) didn’t start for the second straight game, but was available to pinch-hit.

Indians: C Yan Gomes (sprained right knee) did work out of the crouch, threw and ran the bases Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey is coming off his best start of the season against the Cubs on May 7. He struck out a season-high 10 and allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings.

Indians: RHP Corey Kluber is 0-5 with a 5.04 ERA in seven starts after winning the AL Cy Young Award last season. He has allowed 38 hits in 23 innings and has a 7.43 ERA in his last four starts.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jung Ho Kang has gotten off to a fast start for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Kang went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs to help the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Sunday.

With the game tied 3-3, Kang hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning that helped the Pirates take two of three from St. Louis. The Cardinals lost their first series of the season.

“It’s very meaningful that we won against the Cardinals,” Kang said. “I hope that we carry this on and all the players are on the same page moving forward.”

Kang hit his second home run of the season in the first inning, a shot to left field off a 0-2 fastball left over the middle of the plate from St. Louis left-hander Tyler Lyons. Kang’s home run gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. Kang, who played in South Korea last season, is batting .333 in his rookie season in the majors.

“It was supposed to be in,” Lyons said. “It started middle-in and ran to the middle so altogether from the beginning it wasn’t the pitch I wanted to make.”

The Pirates added a run in the fourth when Starling Marte reached on an infield single and advanced to third when Lyons’ throw went wide of first base. Jordy Mercer hit a line drive that Matt Reynolds couldn’t handle at third, allowing Marte to score for a 2-0 Pirates lead.

Jeff Locke was dominant through five shutout innings before Peter Bourjos singled and Kolten Wong hit a two-out, two-run home run to tie it at 2-2 in the sixth.

Pittsburgh retook the lead in the sixth when Andrew McCutchen led off with a double to right-center and scored on Gregory Polanco’s sacrifice fly.

Lyons lasted five innings and gave up three runs and five hits. He walked one and struck out five.

The Cardinals tied the game in the seventh when Reynolds doubled with two outs and scored on Jason Heyward’s RBI single.

But the Pirates responded again with Kang’s single.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny’s team didn’t have quite enough to get over the hump and win.

“Just one of those days we had to try and get what we could,” Matheny said. “Gave up a few, got `em back, then just couldn’t hold them in the end.”

Locke left after 6 2/3 innings and gave up three runs and five hits. He walked two and struck out one as manager Clint Hurdle thought his starter had good command of his fastball.

“I moved the fastball well on both sides of the plate,” Locke said. “But the changeup was probably the pitch to get guys out in front in fastball counts with guys looking to hit something hard and kind of getting fooled a little bit.”

Jared Hughes (1-1) got the final out of the seventh for the victory.

Mitch Harris (1-1) gave up a run on a hit and walked two in the seventh.

Mark Melancon earned his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

STRONG START:

Kang is batting .333 with two home runs and nine RBIs and has a .429 average in his past 35 at-bats. Against a left-hander, manager Clint Hurdle moved Kang to second in the batting order and had faith in setting him up to drive in the go-ahead run.

“He’s swinging the bat well,” Hurdle said. “He’s giving us good at-bats, he’s shown the ability to drive in a run.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

St. Louis: OF Jon Jay was out of the starting lineup with a jammed thumb suffered in Saturday night’s game.

Pittsburgh: OF Starling Marte started after he was removed with dizziness Saturday. … RHP Charlie Morton (hip) will throw a side session at Double-A Altoona on Monday before making his second rehab start Thursday for Triple-A Indianapolis.

UP NEXT:

St. Louis: The Cardinals are off Monday before they continue their six-game road trip in Cleveland. RHP Lance Lynn (1-3, 3.82 ERA) starts for St. Louis against Indians RHP Carlos Carrasco (4-2, 4.71 ERA).

Pittsburgh: The Pirates begin a seven-game road trip as they head across the state for four games in Philadelphia. RHP Gerrit Cole (4-1, 2.27 ERA) faces RHP Jerome Williams (2-2, 5.18 ERA) as the Pirates look to continue their winning ways against the Phillies. Pittsburgh is 14-7 against its interstate rival over the past three seasons.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordy Mercer broke out of a deep slump with a go-ahead two-run double and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 on Saturday night.

Mercer, who began the day hitting .186, sent a fastball from St. Louis reliever Seth Maness off the wall in center field with one out in the sixth to give the Pirates the lead. Mercer finished with three RBIs, nearly doubling his season total.

Neil Walker added his second homer and the Pirates ended a seven-game losing streak to the Cardinals. Rob Scahill (1-2) earned the win in relief. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Matt Holliday went 3 for 4 for the Cardinals. Jhonny Peralta and Jason Heyward added two hits each. Both were on base in the second inning when Yadier Molina hit into the franchise’s first triple play in nearly 12 years. Carlos Martinez (3-1) picked up his first loss after 5 1/3 erratic innings.

Pittsburgh has slogged through the first month of the season and started the night trailing the Cardinals by nine games. The offense that has sputtered for long stretches, however, is starting to come to life. Pittsburgh has 19 runs over its last three games after managing just 15 total during a 1-7 slide that ended on Thursday.

The Pirates took an early 3-0 lead in the second but St. Louis pushed around Pittsburgh starter Vance Worley in the fourth. Four singles, two doubles — including one by Heyward that plated two runs — gave the Cardinals a 5-3 lead.

Martinez and the normally reliable bullpen couldn’t make it hold up. Walker pulled Pittsburgh within 5-4 with a solo shot in the fifth and Martinez’s control abandoned him in the sixth. A single and two walks loaded the bases for Mercer with one out. Maness came on but Mercer drilled an offering to center. Mercer clapped his hands as reached second with his biggest hit of the season.

Corey Hart added a sacrifice fly and Pittsburgh’s bullpen took care of the rest.

TRIPLE TROUBLE

The Pirates turned the first 4-5-4 triple play in the top of the second with a little help from the Cardinals. St. Louis had runners on second and third when Yadier Molina lined to second baseman Walker. Walker threw to third to double off Peralta. Heyward, who was on second, started walking off the field thinking the inning was over. Pittsburgh third baseman Jung Ho Kang pirouetted with the ball in his hand, briefly confused, before throwing back to Walker on second for the final out.

It was second triple play by the Pirates in as many years. St. Louis last hit into a triple play when Atlanta shortstop Rafael Furcal made an unassisted triple play on Aug. 10, 2003.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 3B Matt Carpenter remained in St. Louis dealing with extreme fatigue. Manager Mike Matheny said he did not talk to Carpenter on Saturday. Carpenter is expected to rejoin the team on Tuesday in Cleveland. … LHP Marco Gonzalez lasted just 2 1/3 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Memphis on Saturday. Gonzalez, out since April 22 with a pectoral injury, gave up four runs before being pulled after throwing 56 pitches.

Pirates: LF Starling Marte left the game after the third inning with what the team called “extreme dizziness.” Marte struck out twice in two plate appearances and was replaced by Sean Rodriguez … RHP Charlie Morton felt good a day after seven scoreless innings during a rehab start for Double-A Altoona. It’s still uncertain when Morton, who is recovering from hip surgery, will return.

UP NEXT

The series concludes on Sunday when Pittsburgh’s Jeff Locke (2-2, 4.85) faces St. Louis’ Tyler Lyons (0-0, 6.23 ERA). Locke is 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA in five starts against St. Louis. Holliday is 5 for 12 against Locke with a homer and four RBI. Lyons will make his second start for the Cardinals. He gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Cubs last week.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Holliday and Kolten Wong hit three-run homers and Michael Wacha remained unbeaten as the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 on Friday night.

Holliday sent a towering shot to left-center off Francisco Liriano (1-2) in the third inning and Wong put it away with a drive over the Clemente Wall in right off Arquimedes Caminero in the seventh. Jhonny Peralta also homered for the Cardinals, who have won 10 of 11.

Wong finished with three hits. Trevor Rosenthal worked the ninth for his 11th save as the Cardinals improved to a major-league best 22-7. Wacha (5-0) produced six workmanlike innings, giving up three runs and six hits with one strikeout.

Starling Marte had three hits for Pittsburgh and Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and Francisco Cervelli added two each.

The Pirates have dropped six of seven and eight of 10. Liriano struck out a season-high 10 but also gave up two homers as his ERA rose from 1.93 to 2.79.

The Cardinals swept Pittsburgh in three taut games in St. Louis last weekend, winning all three on extra-inning walk-off hits despite managing just seven runs the entire weekend. They topped that number the first seven innings on Friday.

Seven of St. Louis’ 11 hits went for extra bases, including two doubles by Peter Bourjos and doubles by Holliday and Wong.

Pittsburgh’s sputtering offense gave Liriano an early boost when Gregory Polanco scored on an error by St. Louis third baseman Pete Kozma in the first. Peralta’s fourth homer of the season clanged off the batter’s eye in center field about 440 feet from home to tie it in the second. Holliday put the Cardinals up 4-1 in the fourth after Wacha reached on an error and Bourjos doubled with a blast to the deepest part of PNC Park.

The Pirates climbed within 4-3 in the sixth when McCutchen scored on a fielders’ choice but the Cardinals broke it open in the seventh. Jon Jay hit a pinch-hit RBI-single to score Yadier Molina and chase Liriano. Caminero immediately gave up a double to Bourjos and Wong’s third homer of the year made it 8-3.

It was more than enough as the Cardinals moved nine games clear of the Pirates, who began the season expecting to challenge St. Louis’ dominant run in the NL Central after two straight wild-card finishes.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 3B Matt Carpenter did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh due to what manager Mike Matheny called “extreme fatigue.” Carpenter had a scheduled day off on Thursday — the first game he did not start all season — but could return Tuesday when St. Louis begins a series in Cleveland. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we are in a stretch of playing 20 straight games,” Matheny said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’ve had a lot of tough games recently and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s as hard of a worker as there is on this team.”

Pirates: RHP Charlie Morton was dominant during a rehab start with Double-A Altoona on Friday. Morton allowed two hits in seven shutout innings, walking two and striking out five. Morton is recovering from hip surgery. His last major league start was on Sept. 16, 2014.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Carlos Martinez (3-0) will try to stay unbeaten when he makes his seventh start of the season for St. Louis. The 23-year-old Martinez has a 1.29 ERA on the road, the fourth-best mark in the National League.

Pirates: Vance Worley starts for the Pirates. Worley gave up one run in six innings of a no-decision against the Cardinals in his previous start last Sunday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — John Lackey gave the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen a much needed break. He made his own breaks, too.

Lackey drove in a run for the third time in his big league career and struck out 10 in 7 2/3 innings, helping the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 Thursday for their ninth win in 10 games.

“I’d like to finish them all,” Lackey said. “There might be a little bit more importance on it because of the last few days, I guess.”

St. Louis relievers worked 35 innings the previous seven days. Three pitchers failed to make it through the fifth during that stretch.

“All the way around, just exactly what our staff needed,” manager Mike Matheny said. “Today was one of his best.”

Jason Heyward singled three times with an RBI, and Peter Bourjos hit a run-scoring triple for the NL Central leaders, who took three of four from the second-place Cubs and improved their record to a major league-best 21-7.

Lackey had been 6 for 67 at the plate in 13 major league seasons before a two-out, opposite-field RBI double to right in the fourth. He wasn’t exactly bragging about getting the best of Jake Arrieta.

“That guy’s got great stuff,” Lackey said. “I was late and got lucky and went down the line.”

Bourjos, who had been on first base, scored for a 4-0 lead on an error by Jorge Soler who, with his back to the plate, missed the ball as he tried to glove it between his legs near the foul line.

The double was the third extra-base hit for the 36-year-old Lackey, who has played most of his entire career in the American League.

Lackey (2-1) allowed one run and five hits, reaching double digits for the 18th time. After the Cubs put two on against in the ninth, Trevor Rosenthal relieved and got three straight outs — two on strikeouts — for his 10th save in 11 chances.

Arrieta (3-3) gave up five runs — four earned — and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Starlin Castro drove in a run for the Cubs, who have lost five of their last six games.

They won their lone game of the series by a run and lost by one, three and four runs. Manager Joe Maddon was in a pretty good mood.

“We’ve just celebrated Cinco de Mayo and that’s an indicator of what’s going on with your team,” Maddon said. “I’m pretty happy and I wasn’t drinking. It had nothing to do with Coronas with limes.”

St. Louis built on a 2-0 lead in the second when Heyward hit an RBI single and scored on Bourjos’ triple.

Kris Bryant fanned three times and Matt Szczur twice for the Cubs, who struck out 12 times and raised their total to 263, passing Houston for the major league lead.

“I have zero concerns,” Maddon said. “The hitters will start figuring some of this stuff out as they get more ABs. I could not be happier with them as a group.”

St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter 1 for 12 in the series with a three-run homer on Tuesday, was given a day off, as was Matt Holliday, who was 6 for 12 in the series.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Jason Hammel (2-1, 3.73) starts Friday at Milwaukee. He is 5-0 with a 2.20 ERA in seven starts against the Brewers.

Cardinals: Michael Wacha (4-0, 1.93) starts Friday at Pittsburgh. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Pirates on Sunday in the Cardinals’ 14-inning victory.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: Justin Grimm made his season debut, a day after being activated from the DL following a forearm injury. Dexter Fowler, in a 2 for 23 slump, grounded as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

Cardinals: Lefty Marco Gonzales (shoulder) will make a rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Iowa.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Anthony Rizzo homered with three RBIs and Jon Lester had a strong outing for the Chicago Cubs, who ended the St. Louis Cardinals’ eight-game winning streak and their own four-game skid with a 6-4 victory on Wednesday night.

Jhonny Peralta hit a 447-foot homer and Yadier Molina had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who erased deficits of five and three runs the first two games of the four-game series but couldn’t quite make up a three-run, fifth-inning deficit. Lance Lynn (1-3) allowed five runs in six innings.

St. Louis put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth before Hector Rondon escaped for his sixth save in seven chances.

The Cardinals entered a major league-best 20-6, the best start for the franchise since 1900, with a 6 1-2-game lead in the NL Central. They’re 13-3 at home.

Lester (2-2) left leading 5-4 after seven innings but only one of the runs was earned against the team he dominated in St. Louis in Game 5 of the 2013 World Series. The pitcher’s fielding error covering first led to a run in the second and second baseman Addison Russell missed a liner for a fielding error that led to two more runs in the sixth.

Rizzo hit his fifth homer, and third in five games, in the third and added a two-run double in the fifth. He also homered in the series opener Monday and had three hits and a walk on Tuesday.

Two-out RBI singles by Molina and Pete Kozma cut the deficit to 5-4 in the sixth and pinch-hitter Kolten Wong’s RBI single off Pedro Strop in the eighth again shaved it to 6-5.

Molina has 82 RBIs against the Cubs, most against any opponent.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Jake Arrieta (3-2, 2.84) makes his sixth start of the year, all vs. NL Central opponents, and is 3-0 with an 0.74 ERA in six career starts against St. Louis. He gave up a season-high four runs in his last start.

Cardinals: John Lackey (1-1, 3.69) makes his second straight start in a day game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: Manager Joe Maddon said Junior Lake was demoted to Triple-A Iowa to get regular playing time. He believes call-up Matt Szczur was better equipped to play off the bench.

Cardinals: Two potential rotation replacements for Adam Wainwright, lefties Marco Gonzales and Jaime Garcia, begin rehab assignments from shoulder injuries this weekend with Triple-A Memphis.

— Associated Press —