WASHINGTON (AP) — One of these days, Michael Wacha might be the guy who forces the other team’s starting pitcher to excel.

For now, the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander is having a delightful time trying to outdo the opposing team’s ace.

Wacha got the best of Max Scherzer, Matt Adams singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning and the Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 4-1 Thursday for their fourth straight series win.

In his previous two starts, Wacha outpitched Cincinnati star Johnny Cueto. This time, he was better than Scherzer — the 2013 Cy Young winner who came in with a sparkling 0.83 ERA.

“You know you’re going to have to go out there and try to match zeros against those guys,” Wacha said.

He did better than that.

Wacha (3-0) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings while lowering his ERA to 1.33. He walked two and struck out six, including Jose Lobaton three times.

“He was great,” manager Mike Matheny said. “I think he’s doing a nice job of not being distracted by who he’s facing.”

Scherzer (1-2) also went seven innings, giving up two runs and six hits. It was the first time in his four starts with Washington that he surrendered more than one earned run.

Scherzer hurt his wrist in the fifth inning while at the plate, but he dismissed the injury as a minor inconvenience.

“I haven’t batted too much and I jammed it a little bit,” the right-hander said. “I look forward to going out there and pitching my next start.”

Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was slow on the bases, a shortcoming that manager Matt Williams suspected was a minor case of plantar fasciitis.

“He has a little pain in the bottom of his foot,” Williams said. “Been bothering him for a while. Pretty soon we’re going to have to give him a break and sit him down.”

Matt Carpenter had two hits and scored a run for the Cardinals, who have won seven of eight. St. Louis took two of three from the Nationals in a matchup of 2014 division champions and remained unbeaten in series play this year (4-0-1).

Scherzer allowed the first two batters to reach base, then retired 16 of 17 before Jason Heyward singled with two outs in the sixth. The right-hander hit Matt Holliday with a pitch before Adams delivered a single to left for a 2-1 lead.

St. Louis added two runs in the eighth.

Jordan Walden got three outs in the bottom of the inning for the Cardinals and Trevor Rosenthal pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Facing the Cardinals for the first time since 2009, Scherzer, a St. Louis native, got off to a wobbly start. Carpenter lined the first pitch of the game into center field for a double, moved up on a single by Heyward and scored on a wild pitch.

In the Nationals fifth, Danny Espinosa led off with a double and Scherzer reached when a replay determined that Adams took his foot off first base before taking a throw. Denard Span followed with an RBI single.

With runners on the corners, Wacha retired Ian Desmond on a popup, struck out Bryce Harper and got Zimmerman to ground into a fielder’s choice.

HAVE A SEAT

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina was out of the starting lineup for the first time this season, despite a seven-game stretch in which he had 12 hits and six RBIs. “We had (the non-start) on the calendar a while back,” Matheny said.

Nationals: OF Jayson Werth didn’t play after going 4 for 19 in his previous five games. The slugger is batting .167 with no homers and two RBIs.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Peter Bourjos is expected to return from paternity leave on Friday in Milwaukee.

Nationals: OF Anthony Rendon (left knee sprain) worked out the squad before the game and will start a rehabilitation assignment Friday with Double-A Harrisburg.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (1-0, 2.08 ERA) gets his third start of the season Friday night in the opener of a three-game set against the Brewers.

Nationals: Washington sends Jordan Zimmermann and his 6.14 ERA to the mound vs. the Marlins to launch a 10-game road trip that goes through Miami, Atlanta and New York.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kolten Wong homered and drove in the tiebreaking run with a double in the eighth inning to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-5 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

Wong finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs. He had a two-run homer in the second inning and a single in the fourth.

Jon Jay drew a one-out walk off Blake Treinen (0-2) in the eighth and moved to third on Yadier Molina’s single. Wong then sliced a double down the left-field line, scoring Jay to break a 5-5 tie.

Matt Adams added a solo homer in the ninth off Rafael Martin to close the scoring.

Kevin Siegrist (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Trevor Rosenthal got the last three outs for his fifth save.

St. Louis won for the sixth time in seven games.

Wong also made two spectacular defensive plays at second base, ranging into short center field to grab grounders and throw out Yunel Escobar to end the fifth and Wilson Ramos starting the sixth.

The Cardinals appeared headed for an easy night after taking a 5-0 lead in the third inning.

Matt Carpenter led off the game with a homer off Washington starter Doug Fister, and Wong added his two-run shot in the second. The Cardinals added two more in the third before Washington rallied to tie it.

The Nationals bounced back with five runs in the third, tying the game on Escobar’s three-run double with two outs off St. Louis starter John Lackey.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Randal Grichuk is making progress toward a return. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Wednesday that Grichuk is moving around well but have yet to talk about a rehab assignment. Grichuk went on the disabled list with a lower back strain last Friday.

Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon (sprained left knee) played five innings in extended spring training on Wednesday and is coming back to Washington for a workout with the Nationals on Thursday. He’ll then head to Double-A Harrisburg to begin a rehab assignment on Friday. Manager Matt Williams said he wasn’t sure of a timeline for Rendon returning to the Nationals but they wanted to get him up to playing nine innings and a bunch of at-bats.

WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES

Nationals left-hander Matt Grace made his major league debut in this game. Called up earlier in the day when LHP Felipe Rivero (intestinal bleed) went on the 15-day disabled list, Grace threw a scoreless seventh inning, walking one without giving up a hit while the teams were locked in a 5-5 tie.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Lackey made two errors on one play in the bottom of the fourth inning. Denard Span hit a grounder back to the box that Lackey fielded, then dropped and then threw wildly past first. However, the Nationals stranded Span at second.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha (2-0, 1.35) has beaten the Reds in his first two starts, giving up a total of two runs while winning both times.

Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (1-1, 0.83), a St. Louis native, is coming off a stellar eight-inning effort in a victory over the Phillies last Friday. He has already struck out 25 in 21 2/3 innings this season.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heading toward a throng of excited Washington Nationals teammates after his first game-ending homer in four years, Yunel Escobar jumped head-first toward the plate.

“He’s got life to him. Teammates love him here,” Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez said afterward. “He’s just a different ballplayer.”

Returning to the lineup after sitting out two games with a groin injury, Escobar drove an 89 mph fastball from former teammate Carlos Villanueva to left with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

It was the second homer of 2015 for Escobar, acquired this offseason in the deal that sent setup man Tyler Clippard to Oakland. Escobar was supposed to be Washington’s starting second baseman but has been filling in at third while Anthony Rendon is on the disabled list.

“He would play anywhere we ask him to,” manager Matt Williams said.

Escobar went to the plate looking for a fastball from Villanueva (1-1), the seventh pitcher for the Cardinals — and that’s just what he got.

“He ambushed me,” said Villanueva, who was on the Toronto Blue Jays with Escobar in 2011-12.

Villanueva hadn’t pitched since April 12 against Cincinnati.

“I don’t see that being a factor,” he said.

The Nationals have won five of six games to get back to .500 after starting the year 2-6. They ended the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak.

After Gonzalez managed to keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard despite giving up eight hits and four walks in six innings, Aaron Barrett (2-0) earned the win by pitching the 10th. He worked around a leadoff single and stolen base by Pete Kozma — forever associated around these parts with the Cardinals’ 2012 NL Division Series Game 5 comeback.

Thanks to Bryce Harper’s RBI single in the third — when he also wound up getting doubled off base on an appeal — the Nationals led 1-0 heading into the ninth inning, when closer Drew Storen blew the save. Matt Holliday tied the game with an RBI single, making him 4 for 4, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.

In the clubhouse later, Escobar used his phone to snap a photo of a baseball inscribed with “Walk off HR” — the third of his career but first since April 2011.

The Cuban said he never before had employed his unusual head-first celebration, explaining through a translator: “I’m just trying to have fun.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (DL, left shoulder) is scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday.

Nationals: 3B Rendon (sprained left knee) played three innings at extended spring training and could be headed out on a minor league rehab assignment as soon as Friday.

STATCAST

The MLB Network’s broadcast of Cardinals-Nationals represented the in-game debut of Statcast tracking technology, which uses stereoscopic cameras and radar sensors to monitor elements such as a batter’s exit velocity, a pitcher’s spin rate and perceived velocity, an infielder’s reaction time, and an outfielder’s route efficiency. One example: When CF Jon Jay tracked down Zimmerman’s fly in the third, Statcast showed he ran 27.3 feet, with a top speed of 17 mph. It was one of several outstanding catches by Jay.

NAVAL GRAD

The Cardinals brought up reliever Mitch Harris, a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, from Triple-A Memphis. The Hall of Fame said it believes the only Naval Academy graduate to appear in a major league game was pitcher Nemo Gaines, who made four relief appearances in 1921 with the Washington Senators. Harris did not get into Tuesday’s game.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP John Lackey (1-0, 2.77 ERA) is one strikeout shy of 1,800 for his career heading into Wednesday’s game, his first start against the Nationals since 2008, when he was a member of the Angels. He’ll face Nationals RHP Doug Fister (1-0, 0.69). In 2013, they were opponents in the AL Championship Series, although never pitched against each other, as Lackey’s Red Sox beat Fister’s Tigers in six games.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — After Oakland and Kansas City cleared the benches for the third straight game and five more Royals got ejected, Lorenzo Cain tried to put a positive spin on the day.

“We didn’t get into a fight, so that’s always good,” he said.

Hit by a pitch early, Cain came back to deliver a key blow, a tying double during a three-run rally in the eighth inning that sent the Royals over Oakland 4-2 on a tense Sunday.

Cain stole third after his hit and later scored on Kendrys Morales’ go-ahead double.

The trouble started right away when Kansas City manager Ned Yost and pitching coach Dave Eiland were ejected in the first inning after Cain was hit by a pitch from Scott Kazmir. That prompted plate umpire Greg Gibson to warn both teams.

“I’m not really sure if it was intentional,” Cain said. “I felt like it was intentionally. He (Kazmir) did ask if I was OK.”

“No one likes getting hit. It doesn’t feel good. It was definitely an intense series. A lot of guys got hit by pitches. A lot of bench clearings,” he said.

Cain said that at least the sides avoided a brawl.

“Fighting is not the most important thing. Winning the ballgame, beating those guys is what hurts. The way we beat them tonight is huge,” he said.

In the eighth, Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera was tossed after throwing a 100 mph fastball behind Brett Lawrie. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu, the acting manager after Yost’s ejection, got tossed during an ensuing argument, as did injured Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar.

“I don’t mean to hurt anybody,” Herrera said. “I was just trying to throw inside, but just a bad grip on that fastball. It started raining pretty good. And they just tossed me out of the game.”

Herrera pointed to his head as he went into the dugout, which irritated Lawrie.

“That’s what got me hot. That’s what got me mad. You can’t throw at my head and then say, `Next time I face you, it’s in the head,” Lawrie said. “He needs to play for that. He doesn’t throw 85. He throws 100.”

Lawrie was in the middle of the problems all weekend. His late slide forced Escobar to leave early Friday night — the shortstop called it a “dirty slide” and didn’t play the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday, Royals ace Yordano Ventura was ejected when he Lawrie with a pitch after Josh Reddick homered.

Herrera said he pointed to his head to say “think about it.”

“Do whatever you want to do, I’m out of the game already,” he said.

Said A’s manager Bob Melvin: “What are you going to do?”

“Brett got put in a tough situation. The umpires got it right. The umpires did the right things. It’s hard when they’re throwing at your head. It makes you uncomfortable.”

With Kansas City trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Kazmir walked Paulo Orlando and Cain hit a one-out RBI double off Eric O’Flaherty (0-1). Cain stole third, Eric Hosmer walked and Morales doubled to deep center.

Franklin Morales (1-0) threw two pitches, retiring Lawrie on a popout.

With Greg Holland on the disabled list because of a pectoral strain, Wade Davis struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.

Ben Zobrist hit a pair of run-scoring singles against Royals starter Danny Duffy.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: Zobrist exited in the fifth inning with left knee soreness. “I jammed it pretty hard,” he said. “I didn’t feel I had the range to stay in the game. It didn’t feel right. I iced it. But it’s not swelling up. I’ll have to see how I wake up tomorrow.”

Royals: 2B Omar Infante left with a strained left groin in the fifth. Orlando Calixte ran for Infante, making his major league debut.

YOU SNOOZE, YOU WIN

After being tossed in the first inning, Yost joked he fell asleep on the new comfortable couch in the manager’s office. “By the time I woke up everybody was screaming and yelling in the locker room,” he said.

BUTLER’S STREAK ENDS

A’s DH Billy Butler went 0 for 2 and walked twice, snapping his 12-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT

Athletics: Rookie RHP Kendall Graveman starts Monday at Anaheim in the first game of a four-game series that continues a three-city trip.

Royals: C Salvador Perez has one single in 12 at-bats against Minnesota RHP Kyle Gibson, who is slated to start Monday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two on and two out in the eighth inning with the heart of the Cincinnati Reds lineup due in a tie game, Adam Wainwright was at a crossroads.

In a brief mound meeting that matched the brisk pace of the game in a 2-1 victory Sunday night, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny showed faith in his ace.

“He just said, `You feel good?” Wainwright recalled. “I said `Yes sir.’ He said `All right, this is your game, let’s go.”

Wainwright walked cleanup man Jay Bruce on a full count, giving him nothing to hit, before escaping. Kolten Wong then hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly off Mike Leake in the bottom half to help the Cardinals finish a three-game sweep.

“At that point he’s the guy we want in the game,” Matheny said. “It’s hard taking him out of the game in that situation.”

Matt Carpenter hit his fifth career leadoff homer and singled for his eighth multihit effort this season as the Cardinals won their fifth straight. Jordan Walden worked around a leadoff hit by Brennan Boesch in the ninth to earn his first save on a night off for closer Trevor Rosenthal.

The game lasted just 2 hours, 2 minutes.

“You blink and it’s the next inning,” Walden said. “We’re sitting down there like `It’s already the fifth? Like `Wow, we’d better start stretching.’

“It’s good, though. We don’t have to sit down there and just look at each other.”

Wainwright (2-1) gave up one run and seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks, improving to 3-0 against the Reds the last two seasons. Leake was more economical, throwing 86 pitches with 66 for strikes.

“Coming into the game against Wainwright you know you’ve got to go out and put up low numbers,” Leake said. “It’s fun facing guys like that.”

Leake (0-1) gave up both runs and four hits in eight innings for the Reds, who have totaled four runs during a four-game losing streak. Brandon Phillips had two hits and an RBI and Joey Votto singled in his first two trips.

“I know we’ve got a much better offense than we’ve shown to this point,” manager Bryan Price said. “I don’t think we’re reaching to think that the lineup that we have out there is capable of not just scoring runs, but scoring a lot of runs.”

Zack Cozart grounded into a forceout to end the eighth and is 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Leake got through seven innings on just 76 pitches before Jon Jay doubled to open the eighth, advanced on a fly out and scored without a play on Wong’s sacrifice fly to left.

Leake and Wainwright combined for 25 consecutive outs before Carpenter ended Leake’s run of 15 in a row with a one out-single in the sixth that hiked his average to .400. Carpenter has six consecutive multihit games and nine in the first 11.

Tucker Barnhart’s two-out single in the seventh halted an 0-for-12 stretch against Wainwright with two strikeouts and two balls hit out of the infield.

Carpenter’s fifth career leadoff homer to straightaway center, tied for third-most in franchise history, gave the Cardinals the early lead. It was his first leadoff homer since July 22, 2014 against Tampa Bay.

Three straight Reds reached with two outs in the third and Phillips’ bloop single tied it, ending Wainwright’s run of 19 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings against Cincinnati.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: C Devin Mesoraco may be close to returning to the lineup. He missed his sixth straight start with a left hip injury but was available Sunday to pinch hit. … OF Billy Hamilton was much improved from a groin injury beating out an infield hit Saturday and though he didn’t start also was available.

Cardinals: Matt Holliday started in LF a day after coming out with back tightness after scoring in the first inning. He has an 11-game hitting streak after singling in the first.

RUN TO GLORY

Before the game, Go! St. Louis Marathon women’s winner Andrea Karl ran through finishing tape on the warning track in honor of the victory first granted to an imposter recently.

UP NEXT

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings his last time out at Chicago and faces the Brewers for the second time.

Cardinals: The Cardinals are off Monday before starting a six-game trip. Lance Lynn (1-1, 1.64) gets the call Tuesday at Washington.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jason Heyward wasn’t sure how to react after hitting his first home run as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

The curtain call concept was new to him.

“A couple guys in the dugout said, `They want you to go back out there,”` Heyward said. “So I did. It was a good feeling.”

Heyward’s homer backed a strong six-inning pitching performance by Carlos Martinez as the Cardinals won their fourth in a row.

Matt Carpenter drove in a pair of runs for the NL Central champions.

Zack Cozart homered for the Reds, who have lost three in a row and six of seven.

Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton left in the eighth inning after beating out an infield single. He is day-to-day with irritation in his right groin, manager Bryan Price said.

Heyward was acquired from Atlanta in November to replace outfielder Oscar Taveras, who was killed in an automobile accident.

Heyward homered in his 42nd at-bat of the season, connecting in the third inning.

“He’s a big boy with a big swing,” said Carpenter, who had two hits. “Hopefully he’s got a lot more homers left in there for us.”

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny has final approval on all curtain calls.

“They usually look down towards my end of the dugout to see if it is appropriate or not,” Matheny said.

Matheny gave the thumbs-up and the celebration was on.

Martinez (1-0) allowed one run and three hits, striking out four and walking two.

Trevor Rosenthal picked up his fourth save in as many opportunities. He struck out Joey Votto with two on to end the game.

Homer Bailey (0-1) surrendered five runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. He made his first start after beginning the season on the disabled list while recovering from surgery on a torn flexor tendon.

“Early on, I felt I made some pretty good pitches that got hit,” Bailey said. “They put some pretty good swings on them. But it does feel good to get back out there.”

Martinez picked up his first win of the season and need just 86 pitches. He retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.

“I tried to limit my pitches so I could last longer,” Martinez said. “It worked.”

Carpenter, who has six successive multihit games, improved to 17 for 29 (.586) lifetime against Bailey. His two-run double in the sixth pushed the lead to 5-1 and chased Bailey.

Matt Adams put St. Louis in front with an RBI single in the first. He drove in Matt Holliday, who doubled with two out.

Holliday left the game after scoring with stiffness in his back. Holliday, who has hit safely in all 10 games this season, is day-to-day.

Yadier Molina made it 3-0 with a run-scoring double in the fourth. Molina has eight hits in his last 15 at-bats.

Cozart, who had three hits, pushed his hitting streak to seven games.

“We kept coming at them, we hit some balls hard,” Price said. “But we weren’t able to string together the big inning that we needed.”

Jhonny Peralta of the Cardinals had a nine-game hitting streak snapped.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Bailey came off the disabled list for the start. RHP Pedro Villarreal was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.

Cardinals: Announced after the game that OF Randal Grichuck will be put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a back strain. They will recall Dean Anna from Triple-A Memphis, who is expected to be ready for the game. … LHP Jaime Garcia threw to hitters on Friday at extended spring training. General manager John Mozeliak indicated that Garcia is still about six weeks away from returning to the roster.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Mike Leake (0-0, 4.97) will make his 150th career appearance in the final game of the three-game series Sunday night. He has four career home runs and led NL pitchers in batting average in 2010 (.356) and 2012 (.305).

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (1-1, 2.08) will make his third start of the season. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 17 innings against the Reds.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Michael Wacha pitched seven strong innings and Yadier Molina delivered a bases-clearing double to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

With the score 1-1, Matt Holliday led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to right field. He went to third on a one-out double by Jhonny Peralta that landed just in front of left fielder Marlon Byrd and bounced past him.

After Jon Jay was intentionally walked, Molina lined the first pitch from starter Johnny Cueto down the left-field line that scored three.

Joey Votto gave Cincinnati a first-inning lead with his fourth homer, his third against St. Louis.

Matt Carpenter tied the game in the bottom of the inning after doubling, going to third on a groundout and scoring when he somersaulted over catcher Brayan Pena on Holliday’s fly to short center.

After that inning, neither team advanced a runner past first base until the seventh.

The Reds also threatened in the seventh when Zack Cozart hit a slow roller toward third for an infield single and advanced to second when Wacha’s throw sailed past first base. Cozart went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cueto but was stranded when Holliday caught Billy Hamilton’s foul pop.

Wacha (2-0) scattered five hits to beat Cueto (0-2) and the Reds for the second time in the past week. Cueto gave up four runs on six hits over seven innings.

RED’S NIGHT

To mark the 70th anniversary of his major league debut, Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst was honored before the game. He batted third, tripled and scored in a 3-2 loss at Wrigley Field and went on to hit .289 in a 19-year career. Schoendienst, 92, remains a special assistant with St. Louis. “With Mr. (Stan) Musial no longer with us, Red’s taken that banner for what a Cardinal looks like,” manager Mike Matheny said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: C Devin Mesoraco (left hip) returned to the club after missing the team’s series in Chicago but was not in the starting lineup. Mesoraco, 2 for 21 for the season, has not played since Sunday and is not likely to return behind the plate this weekend. C Tucker Barnhart was called up Friday and could back up Pena.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia, trying to come back from last year’s left shoulder surgery, faced minor-league hitters at extended spring training in Jupiter, Florida. He remains weeks away from a possible return, general manager John Mozeliak said.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Homer Bailey is scheduled to make his 2015 debut when he opposes RHP Carlos Martinez Saturday afternoon. Bailey underwent surgery last September to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis starter John Lackey had little trouble with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

He threw seven scoreless innings and benefited from two Matt Carpenter doubles in helping the Cardinals to a 4-0 victory over the Brewers.

Lackey (1-0) gave up five hits, struck out eight and walked one. He has a 12 2/3 inning scoreless streak at Busch Stadium.

“I think I’ve just gotten better at locating stuff,” Lackey said. “I definitely moved the ball a little bit better than I did earlier on when I was younger. I trust myself throwing strikes and being able to throw strikes with multiple pitches.”

Lackey, who allowed a pair of two-run homers in six innings in his most recent start, faced the Brewers for just the fourth time in his career and shut down their lineup.

“His stuff just keeps getting better to me,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “So far, this season I really like the way he’s throwing the ball.”

So does catcher Yadier Molina.

“He’s a pitcher; he’s not a thrower,” Molina said. “When you’ve got a guy like that, it’s fun.”

Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke was impressed with Lackey.

“Lackey, when he’s on, he’s good,” Roenicke said. “His slider was outstanding. We chased it a lot today.”

St. Louis took a 2-0 lead on two doubles and two singles in the sixth inning.

Carpenter, who has four consecutive games with multiple hits, doubled to right to begin the sixth inning off Brewers starter Mike Fiers. With one out, Matt Holliday hit a 3-2 pitch up the middle for a run-scoring single.

“I hate when he comes up,” Roenicke said about Holiday. “He’s gotten a lot of big hits off us over the years. Behind him, (Jhonny) Peralta is swinging a great bat. There’s several guys who are swinging real well over there.”

Holiday stole second and went to third on Peralta’s single. Mark Reynolds hit an RBI double to center, but Peralta was thrown out trying to score.

It was Reynolds’ first RBI as a Cardinal and his first multi-hit game in St. Louis.

“I just try to put good at-bats together,” said Reynolds, who signed as free agent in the offseason.

Neal Cotts relieved and retired pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk.

Fiers (0-2) allowed seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

St. Louis added a run in the seventh with two outs. Carpenter doubled home Kolten Wong, who had doubled with one out.

The Cardinals made it 4-0 in the eighth when Molina hit an RBI single to score Grichuk, who doubled with two outs. Molina has five hits in his past two games with two RBIs. He is hitting .421 in his past five games.

“When you play every day, you’re going to get that timing back,” said Molina, who raised his average to .278. “Right now, I’m in that process.”

ON A ROLL

Cardinals: Peralta has hit safely in all eight games this season and 11 straight dating back to 2014. … Holiday extended his hitting streak to eight games. … Carpenter has reached base by a hit or walk in all eight games.

Brewers: Second baseman Scooter Gennett has hit safely in all 13 of his games he has started at Busch Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: Centerfielder Carlos Gomez was not in the starting lineup. Gomez strained his hamstring while beating out a play at first base in the ninth inning Wednesday. Gomez was 0 for 5 in the loss but was hitting .320 with a home run and six RBIs before that.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder) is expected to throw batting practice to hitters Friday in extended spring training in Jupiter, Florida.

ERROR PRONE

Cardinals: Second baseman Wong committed his third error of the series when he bobbled a routine grounder in the second by Adam Lind. Wong made two errors in the first game of the series Monday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (1-0, 1.42) will make his second start of the season and again it will be against Cincinnati. He earned the decision in a 4-1 win in his first start opposing Johnny Cueto, whom he will be facing again.

Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson (1-0, 0.00) will make his second start of the season. In his first start, Nelson had a career-high nine strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against Pittsburgh.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn extended his April success with five solid innings and Matt Holliday had a two-run single in the first inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

Lynn (1-1) allowed one run and six hits. He pushed his April record to 13-2 since 2012, the best record in the majors over that period.

Wily Peralta (0-1) gave up four runs on 10 hits over five innings for Milwaukee.

Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez was removed from the game in the ninth inning. He was limping after beating out a play at first base.

Yadier Molina had three hits for St. Louis, which won 12 of 19 against Brewers last season.

Kevin Siegrist, Seth Maness, Matt Belisle, Randy Choate, Jordan Walden and Trevor Rosenthal followed Lynn. Rosenthal picked up his third save despite giving up a two-out run-scoring hit to Ryan Braun in the ninth.

Lynn worked out of trouble in four of his five innings and threw 99 pitches. He rebounded to set the side down in order on 16 pitches in the fifth.

The Cardinals needed just six pitches to take a 2-0 lead. Matt Carpenter singled and Jason Heyward doubled before Holliday ripped the first pitch to right field. Holliday has a hit in all seven games this season.

Milwaukee cut it to 2-1 on a run-scoring single by Aramis Ramirez in the third.

St. Louis pushed the lead to 4-1 in the fourth on successive singles by Jhonny Peralta, Jon Jay and Molina. Matt Carpenter doubled in Molina with two outs.

The Cardinals had 10 hits and went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position after stranding an NL-high 50 runners over their first six games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: Braun started for the sixth time this season despite a sore rib cage that caused him to miss two starts last week. … RHP Jim Henderson remains on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia threw another side session at extended spring training on Wednesday. He is expected to throw batting practice on Friday.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Mike Fiers (0-1, 9.00) will make his second start of the year in the series finale Thursday at 12:45 p.m. He is 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA in six career starts against the Cardinals.

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (0-0, 6.00) will make his second start of the season on Thursday. He is nine strikeouts shy of 1,800 for his career.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Garza struggled with control woes, issuing five walks. Shortstop Jean Segura had trouble getting his throws to first and Ryan Braun couldn’t quite pull off a shoestring catch.

Warts and all, the Milwaukee Brewers did just enough to spoil the St. Louis Cardinals’ home opener.

“It was kind of an ugly win,” manager Ron Roenicke said after a 5-4 victory on Monday. “Right now, it’s a win.”

Carlos Gomez had two hits and an RBI for the Brewers, coming off a 1-5 opening home stand but far from desperate.

“It’s only seven games,” Gomez said. “You see the Red Sox in 2013, they lost 11 games straight and they won the World Series.”

Adam Wainwright (1-1) started his fourth opener at 10-year-old Busch Stadium and gave up five runs — three earned — in seven innings. Jhonny Peralta had two hits, including a two-run double off Jeremy Jeffress that cut the deficit to a run in the seventh.

“I would say that I was kind of a mixed bag,” Wainwright said. “I wouldn’t say those were a lot of bad pitches, they were just predictable pitches in counts when they were guessing inside or outside.”

Francisco Rodriguez earned his first save, helping himself with the defensive play of the game when he reached behind his head and snared Peralta’s liner leading off the ninth. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he was “looking in the outfield” for a line-drive hit.

“I just threw my glove up there and I find one, that’s all,” Rodriguez said. “To tell you I see the ball coming off the bat, I didn’t. I don’t know if it was going to hit my face or not but I think it was real close.”

Play was sloppy with Segura and Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong committing two errors apiece.

Jeffress’ wild pitch put both runners in scoring position ahead of Peralta’s double, which scooted past Braun’s attempt at a running catch.

Segura doubled off the outstretched glove of new Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward, who might have taken an indirect route to the ball, to set up Scooter Gennett’s run-scoring groundout for a 2-0 lead in the second.

A double by Gomez that made it 4-2 in the seventh was the first RBI hit for the either team. Gomez made it a three-run cushion when he scored from second on Jonathan Lucroy’s infield hit combined with Wong’s wild throw to first.

Garza allowed two runs — one earned — in 5 2/3 innings to win for the first time in six career starts in St. Louis. He entered 0-2 with a 6.95 ERA.

Wainwright beat the Cubs in the season opener and had won six consecutive regular-season decisions since losing to Pittsburgh on Aug. 27.

The highlight of the pregame ceremony was a video memorial to Oscar Taveras, the promising outfielder killed along with his girlfriend in an automobile accident last fall. St. Louis uniforms include a patch on the left sleeve with the initials of the 22-year-old Taveras.

“That was as choked-up as I’ve ever been on a baseball field,” Wainwright said.

Cardinals favorites clad in red jackets rode atop convertibles during the traditional pregame procession around the warning track. Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith led the parade that also included former managers Tony La Russa and Whitey Herzog.

“I’ve never seen that many trucks on the field,” Gomez said.

Standing room attendance of 49,875 was the largest at Busch Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Backup catcher Tony Cruz was activated from the paternity leave list prior to the game and catcher Ed Easley was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

UP NEXT

Brewers: Wily Peralta (0-0, 2.57) allowed two earned runs in seven innings his first time out in a 10-inning loss to Colorado. He was 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts against St. Louis last year.

Cardinals: Lance Lynn (0-1, 1.50) makes his 99th career start and will be seeking his 50th win. He was 2-0 with a 1.80 in four starts against Milwaukee last year.

OFF TARGET

Garza’s five walks in 5 2/3 innings were one off his career worst. Brewers pitchers totaled seven walks, fewest in the majors, their first six games.

Wong scored from first to tie it at 2 in the fourth when Segura overthrew first base going for a double play on a bunt by Wainwright.

STREAKING

Adam Lind has reached safely in all seven games. Matt Carpenter was 1 for 12 against Garza before doubling to start the third.

— Associated Press —