CINCINNATI (AP) — St. Louis’s drive toward a Central Division championship hit a Cincinnati speed bump.

Johnny Cueto pitched eight scoreless innings to beat Lance Lynn and send the Cardinals to their third consecutive loss, 1-0, Thursday.

Cueto (18-8) allowed just three hits and hit a batter to help the Reds win their second series in the last 13 against Central Division-leading St. Louis. The Cardinals have lost three straight for the first time since a four-game losing streak Aug. 26-30 and finished their eight-game road trip 4-4 after winning three out of four in Milwaukee.

“We’re heading home,” said center fielder John Jay, who came up short of making the crucial play. “We just have to keep playing.”

Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 33rd save and third in the last three games.

“We created an environment where we play the spoiler,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “There is no secret we’ve struggled with the Cardinals the last several years.”

Lynn (15-9) retired 15 straight before Brandon Phillips led off the eighth inning with the Reds’ first walk of the game. He went to third on Jay Bruce’s single to center field and scored on Ramon Santiago’s sinking liner to short center that Jay got a glove on but couldn’t hold. Bruce had to hold up to see if the ball was caught and was forced at second.

“I just missed it,” Jay said. “I knew I couldn’t leave my feet. If I slide, he’s tagging. I tried to be aggressive.”

“He’s made great plays all year,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s one he makes all the time. That one just got away.”

The Reds have won three straight games for the first time since August 5-7 against Cleveland. They finished their home stand 4-3 after losing two out of three against the Mets.

Lynn went into the game 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA in three starts against the Reds this season. Cueto was 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts against St. Louis.

“Today, he just outpitched me,” Lynn said. “That’s part of it.”

Cueto retired the last 14 batters he faced after Matt Adams led off the fourth inning with a single and was eliminated in a double play. Cueto finished with seven strikeouts.

Lynn allowed three hits and a walk with six strikeouts in eight innings.

Bruce kept the game scoreless with a leaping catch at the right-field fence to rob Adams of a home run leading off the seventh inning. Adams appeared to doff his batting helmet to salute Bruce’s play.

`K’ MAN: Cueto’s seven strikeouts give him 220 this season, the most since Jose Rijo led the National League with 227 in 1993.

HIT MAN: Jay was hit by a pitch for the 19th time this season, the most in the majors. He was plunked for the third consecutive game.

TRAINER’S ROOM: Cardinals: Catcher Yadier Molina got Thursday’s game off after playing all of Wednesday’s night game. Molina’s surgically repaired right thumb still is an issue, manager Mike Matheny said. “You can see the splint,” Matheny said. “He’s still protecting it and doing things to strengthen it.”

Reds: Catcher Brayan Pena was scratched from the original starting lineup with an illness. Devin Mesoraco started in Pena’s place.

UP NEXT: Cardinals: Adam Wainwright starts as St. Louis opens a 10-day, nine-game home stand with the first of three against Colorado.

Reds: Mat Latos strives for his first career win at Miller Park as the Reds open a 10-day, nine-game road trip with the first of three at Milwaukee. Latos is 0-4 in six starts at Miller.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Alfredo Simon usually takes a strike before taking a swing. The Cincinnati right-hander was more aggressive, and it paid off against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds starter doubled on the first pitch of his first at bat and then swung at the first pitch of his second plate appearance before slashing another two-bagger that drove in the go-ahead run of a 4-2 Reds win on Wednesday night.

“Sometimes, (manager Bryan Price) tells me to take a strike, but sometimes, the fastball I get on the first pitch is the only chance I have to get a hit,” said Simon, who was hitting .098 going into the game.

Simon shook off a rough start but lasted seven innings, and Ryan Ludwick hit a solo home run to help the Reds win back-to-back games for the first time since Aug. 27-28 against the Chicago Cubs. The Central Division-leading Cardinals hadn’t sustained consecutive defeats since a four-game losing streak from Aug. 26-30.

“He was a little erratic early, but he rallied,” Price said of Simon.

Simon (14-10) allowed five hits and two runs with three walks and five strikeouts for his second win in eight decisions over 11 starts since the All-Star break.

“I gave up the two runs in the first inning, but I kept fighting,” Simon said. “Everything was working.”

Sam LeCure and Ryan Dennick pitched the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save.

Terry Lyons (0-4) took the loss after Cardinals starter John Lackey was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes.

Plate umpire Tom Hallion ejected Lackey four pitches into the third inning.

“Lackey was warned to quit arguing balls and strikes, and he continued to argue,” Hallion said.

The ejection caught Lackey by surprise.

“I didn’t say any cuss words toward him,” Lackey said. “He saw my mouth moving and threw me out. It was unexpected, for sure. I’ve been thrown out a few times throwing balls at people, but never for something like this”

With the game tied 2-2, Jay Bruce led off the Reds’ fourth inning with a bloop single. Simon, who entered with one career double, went the opposite way to drive in Bruce with the go-ahead run.

Brandon Phillips added a bases-loaded, run-scoring single in the fifth to make it 4-2.

Simon retired the first two batters of the game before the Cardinals scored two runs. Matt Holliday walked and scored from first on Matt Adams’ double. Oscar Taveras followed with a run-scoring single.

Todd Frazier drove in Chris Heisey with a single in the first, and Ludwick tied it for the Reds in the second with his ninth homer and first since Aug. 17 — a 374-foot shot into the left-field seats.

QUICK PITCH

Lackey was ejected for the fourth time in his career and first since 2009 when he was with the Angels and was ejected two pitches into a game for throwing at Texas’ Ian Kinsler.

DONE DEAL

The Reds acquired from Milwaukee minor-league RHP Kevin Shackelford and RHP Barrett Astin on Wednesday as the two players to be named in the Aug. 31 trade that sent RHP Jonathan Broxton to the Brewers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny got no argument from SS Jhonny Peralta when the veteran was given Wednesday off. Peralta missed just three of St. Louis’ first 145 games. “He wants to finish strong,” Matheny said. “He’s answered the bell.”

Reds: RHP Pedro Villareal’s status remained day-to-day after he was hit in the right forearm by Holliday’s sharp one-hopper in the ninth inning of Monday’s 5-0 loss.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Lance Lynn tries to improve to 4-0 in four 2014 starts against Cincinnati in Thursday’s series finale.

Reds: Johnny Cueto will look to avoid dropping to 0-3 in three starts this season against St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Even the lopsided ones come with last-inning frights for the Cincinnati Reds.

Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in three runs, and Mike Leake pitched into the seventh inning and doubled home a run, leading the Reds to a 9-5 victory on Tuesday night that ended their six-game losing streak against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds held on in the ninth, needing their closer to finish off only their third win in the last 11 games. They are 17-33 since the All-Star break, sliding out of contention.

“The good thing was we stayed resilient,” manager Bryan Price said.

The Cardinals lost for only the second time in 11 games but maintained their 4 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh in the NL Central. St. Louis is 10-4 against the Reds and 40-25 overall in the division.

Leake (11-11) was coming off his worst start of the season, giving up a season-high seven runs and three homers during a 9-7 loss in Baltimore last Thursday. Against the Cardinals, Leake allowed three runs and eight hits.

He also doubled home a run in the fourth off Michael Wacha (5-6) for a 3-1 lead. His fifth double of the season was his 68th career hit, the most by any pitcher in the majors since his debut in 2010.

Aroldis Chapman relieved with two on and two outs in the ninth and fanned Mark Ellis on a 101 mph fastball to end it, getting his 31st save in 33 chances.

Mesoraco hit his 23rd homer in the first inning, a two-run shot. He also doubled home a run in the fifth as Cincinnati scored four times, knocking Wacha out of the game.

“That’s the first time I’ve faced Wacha, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect,” Mesoraco said. “On 3-2 he threw me a curveball in the middle of the plate. I wasn’t sure it was going to be a home run, but the ball was carrying tonight.”

Wacha made his second start since returning from a shoulder problem that had sidelined him since mid-June and gave up six hits, six runs and three walks.

Down 7-1, the Cardinals sent nine batters to the plate in the seventh inning. Tony Cruz and Jon Jay had RBI singles, and Jumbo Diaz walked Jhonny Peralta with the bases loaded, cutting it to 7-4. First baseman Brayan Pena made a diving stop of A.J. Pierzynski’s line drive to end the rally.

“We had some diving plays,” Leake said. “This was one of the best games we’ve played so far.”

Chris Heisey’s two-run single in the eighth let Cincinnati pull away.

STAR PLAY

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong saved a run in the fourth when he sprinted into right field and made an over-the-shoulder catch of Billy Hamilton’s fly, holding onto the ball as he tumbled on the ground.

MESORACO AND BENCH

Mesoraco has hit 22 of his 23 homers while catching, the most by a Reds catcher since Johnny Bench hit 23 in 1980. His other homer came as a designated hitter.

STATS

Wong extended his hitting streak to six games. … Wacha allowed five earned runs for the first time this season. … RHP Sam Tuivailala made his big league debut and gave up two runs and retired two batters. … Xavier Scruggs got his first career hit. … Reds SS Zack Cozart snapped an 0 for 16 slump. … It was the first time this season that the Reds won a game when they allowed 14 hits.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny is gradually increasing Wacha’s pitch counts. Matheny says getting him back is “like getting a new player” for down the stretch. He threw 70 pitches on Tuesday, 44 for strikes.

Reds: Starter Dylan Axelrod is likely done for the season with a strained right oblique, sustained on his seventh pitch Monday night. … 1B Joey Votto took ground balls for a second straight day on Tuesday. The Reds are trying to get him ready to play the final week of the season. He has been on the disabled list since July 8 with strained muscles above his left knee.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: St. Louis is 10-4 against the Reds this season. John Lackey (13-9) starts the third of their four-game series on Wednesday.

Reds: Alfredo Simon (13-10) is 1-7 with a 5.27 ERA in 10 starts since his first All-Star game.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Everything has fallen into place, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to pull away.

Matt Carpenter broke a scoreless tie with his two-run single in the seventh inning, Matt Adams added a three-run homer, and the Cardinals extended their surge in the NL Central by beating the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 on Monday night.

St. Louis has won nine of 10, going from two games out to a season-high 4 1/2 games up in the division. The Cardinals are 10-3 against the Reds this season and 40-24 against the NL Central overall.

“Everything is clicking right now,” Adams said. “Our starting pitching is just unbelievable right now, and our offense is doing what it’s capable of doing.”

Shelby Miller (9-9) gave up three hits while pitching into the eighth in his first victory in three starts against Cincinnati this season. Two relievers finished the three-hitter.

Miller faced the minimum 12 batters over the first four innings — Brandon Phillips singled but was taken out in a double play. Devin Mesoraco led off the fifth with a double but was stranded at second, the only Red to reach scoring position.

The Cardinals didn’t walk a batter and turned a pair of double plays. As a result, their pitchers faced only 28 batters, one over the minimum.

Miller is putting together his best stretch of the season by turning to his curveball, a pitch he used less frequently early in the season. He allowed only three hits in seven innings of a 1-0 win over the Pirates his last time out.

“It’s just building confidence in that pitch,” Miller said. “I feel it’s the second-best pitch I have.

“The biggest thing is just using it. The more you use it, the more you get a feel for it and you can throw it where you want to.”

Carpenter’s single off Manny Parra (0-3) left Cincinnati’s bullpen 0-14 since the All-Star break, part of Cincinnati’s 16-33 slide over that time. The Reds have dropped eight of their last 10 and fallen 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2009.

The Reds had two pitchers leave the game because of injury.

Reds starter Dylan Axelrod threw only seven pitches before pulling his right oblique. Left-hander David Holmberg relieved and went a career-high 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits while throwing 81 pitches.

Right-hander Pedro Villarreal took a grounder off his forearm in the ninth and left the game. Ondrusek replaced him and gave up Adams’ three-run homer on his second pitch.

“That was a beautiful swing by Matt Adams,” manager Mike Matheny said. “That was one of the loudest ones I’ve ever heard.”

The Reds went through seven pitchers overall, including four in the decisive seventh. Parra gave up Randal Grichuk’s pinch-hit double and Kolten Wong’s infield single. After Miller’s sacrifice, Carpenter singled to right for a 2-0 lead.

SLUMP BUSTER

Slumping Cardinals OF Matt Holliday got Sunday off. He was back in the lineup on Monday and singled to end the slide at 0 for 10. He later added another single.

STATS

Carpenter has driven in a pair of runs in each of the last two games. He has three straight multihit games. … Wong extended his hitting streak to five games. … The Reds are 10 games below .500 for the first time since Sept. 23, 2009. They’re a season-high 13 games out of first place. … Holmberg’s outing was the longest by a Reds reliever since Carlos Fisher threw 5 2/3 innings during a 19-inning game on May 25, 2011, at Philadelphia.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: INF Greg Garcia, OF Tommy Pham and RHP Sam Tuivailala were promoted from Triple-A Memphis. C Audry Perez and OF Rafael Ortega were designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster.

Reds: SS Zack Cozart was in the lineup for the third straight game after missing time because of a sore right wrist. He is in an 0-for-16 slump.

UP NEXT:

Cardinals: Michael Wacha (5-5) makes his third start of the season against Cincinnati. The Cardinals are 5-2 at Great American Ball Park this season and have won six straight against Cincinnati overall.

Reds: Mike Leake (10-11) is coming off his worst start of the season. He gave up a season-high seven runs and three homers in only four innings of a 9-7 loss at Baltimore on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Brewers had finally gotten to Adam Wainwright in the ninth when St. Louis manager Mike Matheny came to the mound to check if his ace right-hander was tiring.

Matheny didn’t expect an honest answer. Wainwright stayed in the game anyway.

Wainwright got Gerardo Parra to bounce into a double play for his fourth complete game of the season, and the Cardinals beat sliding Milwaukee 9-1 on Sunday.

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“I told him he had a short leash. I’m still waiting for that day when I go out there and he’s actually honest if he doesn’t feel good,” Matheny said.

The Cardinals won three of four at Miller Park and lead the NL Central by 4½ games over Pittsburgh, which beat Chicago 10-4 at Wrigley Field on Sunday.

“Now’s the time we’ve got to keep the throttle down,” Matheny said. “This game can reach up and grab you.”

The Brewers are well aware of how quickly fortunes can change. Losers of 11 of 12, their freefall continued after spending nearly five months atop the NL Central before dropping into second on Sept. 1.

They fell into third after Sunday’s loss, leapfrogged by Pittsburgh. The Pirates also moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee for the second NL wild card.

“There’s no excuse … it’s tough,” outfielder Carlos Gomez said. “We know we’re not playing like a team. Just put it in the past and come tomorrow and win the … game.”

St. Louis grabbed a 4-0 lead with four in the fourth against rookie Jimmy Nelson (2-7). Peter Bourjos had the big blow, a triple to left-center that drove in Yadier Molina and Oscar Taveras.

It was more than enough support for Wainwright (17-9), who is tied for the major league lead in victories. The right-hander allowed seven hits in his 20th career complete game.

Wainwright had allowed at least three runs in each of his previous three starts, failing to get out of the sixth each time.

But feast-or-famine Milwaukee managed just an RBI single by Gomez.

“Today was obviously a big win for our team, but you know just a realization of all the little steps I’ve been taking over the last few weeks — I knew it was a matter of time,” Wainwright said.

And on cue, the Cardinals are in the middle of another September surge.

They held the Brewers scoreless until Gomez’s pinch-hit single in the ninth drove home Scooter Gennett from second. It was Gomez’s first at-bat in a week after being sidelined with a left wrist injury.

BAD GLOVES

The Brewers helped out Wainwright by grounding into three double plays and committing three errors.

“We do this once in a while, and I sure don’t like to see it. They don’t like it. They work hard, they give a good effort and then we play this sloppy,” manager Ron Roenicke said.

BIG BOURJOS

Milwaukee’s first miscue came at the start of St. Louis’ four-run fourth, when Nelson’s pickoff attempt of Jon Jay squirted past Jonathan Lucroy at first. Jay then scored on Matt Adams’ sacrifice fly.

Later, Bourjos’ liner landed in the gap in left-center and bounced to the wall. The speedy outfielder had more than enough time to sail into third after driving home two runs for a 4-0 lead.

“I don’t think we’ve always been clicking on the right cylinders,” Bourjos said. “Everybody’s clicking right now.”

MILESTONE

Cardinals SS Jhonny Peralta got the 1,500th career hit with a fourth-inning single. He added his 20th homer of the year with a two-run shot in the ninth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: LF Matt Holliday got a day off. Holliday has gone hitless in four of his last five games, with the exception being a three-hit outing on Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Brewers: Gomez had been used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in recent days before his pinch-hitting appearance Sunday. Roenicke said Gomez was due to see the team doctor Sunday to determine if his star outfielder was ready to return to the starting lineup Monday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Shelby Miller (8-9) gets the ball for the start of a four-game series Monday against Cincinnati. Matheny said he expected another wave of minor-league reinforcements to join the team then.

Brewers: Yovani Gallardo (8-8) opens a four-game series at home against Miami. He is 5-0 against the Marlins in seven career starts.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE — Matt Adams and Oscar Taveras homered, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 on Saturday night to open a four-game lead in the NL Central.

Lance Lynn pitched six effective innings as St. Louis won for the seventh time in its last eight games. Trevor Rosenthal got three outs for his 43rd save in 48 chances.

The Brewers have lost 10 of 11. Ryan Braun had an RBI single in the first, and Lyle Overbay doubled home a run in the sixth.

Milwaukee right-hander Kyle Lohse (12-9) lasted just four innings. He allowed five runs and four hits with two walks.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE (AP) — In less than a month, Mike Fiers has jumped from minor league starter to playoff-race stopper.

Scooter Gennett drove in three runs and Fiers pitched into the seventh inning to lead Milwaukee past St. Louis 6-2 Friday night, snapping the Brewers’ nine-game losing streak and trimming the Cardinals’ lead in the NL Central to three games.

Fiers (5-2) gave up two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, improving to 5-1 in six starts since being called up from Triple-A Nashville on Aug. 9 and giving him half of the Brewers’ 10 wins in 28 games since then. He struck out five and walked one.

“It’s big. We needed a win here pretty soon,” said Fiers, who also helped himself with a pair of key sacrifice bunts. “I just wanted to give them a quality start, keep the runs as low as possible and give our team a chance to win. It’s a big relief, but we have more work to do tomorrow.

Jonathan Broxton, acquired Aug. 31 from Cincinnati, pitched a perfect eighth and Francisco Rodriguez got the last three outs after allowing consecutive singles to start the ninth.

Milwaukee moved one game ahead of Atlanta for the NL’s second wild-card spot. The Braves lost 11-3 at Miami.

Cardinals starter John Lackey (2-2) gave up all six runs and nine hits in six innings as St. Louis snapped a six-game winning streak.

“Kind of a weird one tonight,” Lackey said. “Felt like I threw a lot better than the line score. I felt like I had good stuff. They got a couple big hits and then kind of had a little bad luck to start a couple of those innings. It happens.”

The Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the third on Gennett’s two-run single. Milwaukee doubled the lead in the fifth on Gennett’s RBI double and Jonathan Lucroy’s run-scoring single.

“We haven’t really had that early lead in a while,” Gennett said. “Especially against a team like this, you want to get ahead early. It was just nice to keep it and keep adding to it.”

The early runs marked the Brewers first two-run lead since Aug. 27 at San Diego when they blew a 2-0 lead in the ninth en route to a 3-2 loss in 10 innings. During the nine-game losing streak, Milwaukee scored two runs or fewer in eight of them.

Jhonny Peralta snapped an 0-for-10 streak and cut the lead to 4-1 in the sixth with his 19th home run, but Khris Davis answered in the bottom of the inning with his team-best 22nd homer to make it 6-1.

“You look at the two run homer, didn’t see the pitch again but it looked like it caught a lot of the plate,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “But, if that doesn’t happen we are in a 4-2 game and it would be a typical John Lackey start. The home run really kind of put it out of reach for him.”

St. Louis added a run in the seventh on a double by Peter Bourjos and a two-out pinch-hit infield single by Oscar Tavares that deflected off the glove of first baseman Lyle Overbay.

Fiers has gone at least six innings in each of his six starts, returning to the form he showed in the first half of 2012 with Milwaukee. That season, he was 8-6 with a 2.89 ERA in his first 16 starts, but 1-4 with a 7.09 ERA in his final six starts.

His struggles continued into 2013 where he was 1-4 with a 7.25 ERA in 11 games with the Brewers and was sent down twice. Fiers’ season ended in mid-June at Triple-A when he suffered a broken right forearm when he was hit by a line drive.

Now, he is keeping the Brewers playoff hopes alive.

“All those losses in a row, we didn’t play well, but I think we’ve turned it around and are playing some good baseball right now,” Fiers said. “We’re hitting the ball, we’re pitching. It’s only a matter of time before it turns around for us.”

REALLY SMALL BALL

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura had three hits — all infield singles.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Scooter Gennett stole second with one out in the third, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny challenged the call, which was overturned after a review that lasted an estimated 52 seconds.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: CF Carlos Gomez, expected to miss a week a more with a sprained left wrist, is progressing faster than anticipated. Gomez has not started the last five games since injuring his wrist on a swing against San Francisco on Sunday. He took light batting practice in the cage before Friday’s game, although he did not swing all-out. Gomez, who pinch ran Thursday, went into center field in the ninth inning on Friday as a defensive replacement.

Gennett, who missed several games in August with a right quad muscle injury, left the game in the seventh inning with what Roenicke called a little tightness. “It’s good. I haven’t been on base in a while, so I think a lot of was just a little tired,” Gennett said. “Five runs at the time for a lead, it was just keep it safe.”

PROUD PAPA RETURNS

Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun returned from paternity leave after missing two games for the birth of his daughter, Celine Elysse. Braun went 1 for 4 with a single in the seventh inning.

ON DECK

Cardinals: Lance Lynn (14-8, 2.85 ERA) is 3-1 with a 1.85 ERA in six games at Miller Park, including five starts. With a win, he will join Max Scherzer as the only two pitchers with 15 victories in each of the last three seasons.

Brewers: Kyle Lohse (12-8, 3.68 ERA) gave up seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings in his last start, a 15-5 loss to San Francisco. In two starts this season against St. Louis, Lohse is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA, allowing 10 earned runs in 10 innings.

— Associated Press —

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Inning after inning, the St. Louis bullpen got into tough jams in a one-run game.

Marco Gonzales and five fellow relievers staved off every advance, getting a huge boost from a game-saving catch in center field by Peter Bourjos.

The bullpen combined for six innings of one-run ball and the Cardinals held off the slumping Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 Thursday night for their sixth straight win.

“We had guys picking each other up all night,” manager Mike Matheny said.

The Cardinals moved to a season-high 14 games above .500 and extended their lead to four games in the NL Central over the Brewers, who lost their ninth straight

St. Louis used the bullpen early after Michael Wacha was limited to three innings in his first start off the disabled list. Gonzales (2-2) went 2 1/3 innings for the win.

“The bullpen came in there and shut the door for those last six innings,” Wacha said. “That was fun to watch.”

The Brewers stranded potential tying runs in scoring position from the sixth through the ninth, the latest frustrating loss for a team that was in first place just 10 days earlier.

Manager Ron Roenicke at least he liked the fight he saw in his club.

“We hit a lot of balls hard. Either they made a really good play on it or we hit it right at `em,” Roenicke said.

St. Louis never trailed after Yadier Molina’s two-run single in the first off Wily Peralta (15-10). Still, the Brewers had numerous chances to snap out of their two-week funk.

Seth Maness got the Cardinals out of the sixth by inducing Logan Schafer to fly out in foul territory with a runner on third. Carlos Martinez got third-place hitter Jonathan Lucroy to pop out to end the seventh with another runner on third.

In the eighth, the Brewers put runners on first and second with nobody out against Pat Neshek. The side-arming right-hander bounced back by getting Martin Maldonado to pop up a bunt attempt before Schafer hit a hard-hit fly that was tracked down by Bourjos at the center-field wall for the second out.

“I thought that ball was gone. I did. I thought it was out. Just an incredible catch. He’s not just fast — he’s got good instincts and great jumps,” Matheny said.

Jean Segura sent a flare to left fielder Matt Holliday, ending the threat in the eighth.

NEARLY THERE

Schafer thought the ball would get over Bourjos’ head. He was surprised when Bourjos tracked it down, though Schafer knows Bourjos is an excellent fielder.

The eighth inning exemplified the recent difficult stretch for the Brewers.

“We were in it the whole time,” Schafer said. “Again, we’re just waiting for that big hit.”

FINISHING IT OFF

The Cardinals used six relievers in all, with closer Trevor Rosenthal issuing two walks to put runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth. Rosenthal got pinch-hitter Jason Rogers to fly out to the edge of the warning track in right for his 42nd save.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Wacha threw 50 pitches and struck out three. He allowed three hits, including Lucroy’s RBI single in the first. The right-hander had been on the disabled list since June 18 with a right shoulder injury.

Brewers: Carlos Gomez pinch ran but remained out of the starting lineup with a left wrist injury. Roenicke said his leadoff hitter was feeling good, and the team doctor would re-evaluate Gomez in the hope that he might be able to return soon. Gomez has been sidelined since Monday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: John Lackey (2-1) gets the start Friday, when he hopes for a repeat performance of his first start with the Cardinals after being traded from Boston. He gave up two runs in seven innings in a 3-2 victory.

Brewers: Mike Fiers (4-2) is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals, both coming in 2012.

BABY BRAUN

Ryan Braun missed a second straight game following the birth of his daughter Wednesday night. The right fielder appears likely to return for Friday’s game.

“I’d like (him) and Gomey in the lineup,” Roenicke said. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. This is obviously the most important thing in his life.”

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Peter Bourjos had no trouble calling the 310th hit in his big league career the biggest.

Hitting in the eighth spot, Bourjos singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 Wednesday to stretch their winning streak to five.

“I had a walkoff hit in Anaheim, but I think at this point, we’re leading the division and it’s a big game in September and the one in Anaheim was in August,” Bourjos said. “So this is the biggest hit.”

Yadier Molina walked with two outs in the ninth on a 3-2 pitch from Mark Melancon (2-4), who had entered an inning earlier. It was the first time Melancon’s pitched more than one inning since Oct. 2, 2012.

Molina advanced to second on John Jay’s single and scored on the hit by Bourjos, easily beating the throw home from center fielder Andrew McCutchen.

“I was just hoping that Yadi was able to score,” Bourjos said. “I wasn’t too sure with McCutchen playing out there. I didn’t know if he was playing shallow or deep, and I watched the play develop, and luckily Yadi was able to beat the play.”

Molina saw third base coach Jose Qquendo waving an arm to send him.

“I was thinking home plate all the way,” Molina said. “No one was going to stop me there.”

Despite having A.J. Pierzynski on the bench, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he did not consider pinch-running for Molina, a slow-footed All-Star catcher.

“Two outs in that situation and we’re in a tight game, his value to me being behind the plate outweighs what we’re going to get on the bases from someone,” Matheny said. “If he gets thrown out, it’s a different conversation right now. He’s done such a great job in big games, we need him out there.”

St. Louis moved into sole possession of the NL Central lead for the first time Monday and extended its lead to 2 1/2 games with a three-game sweep that dropped the Pirates five games back. Pittsburgh has lost 10 of its last 12 road games, falling to a major league-worst 17-29 away from home in day games.

“They were just a little bit better than us every game,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “I mean, we’re playing competitive baseball. We’ve got to find a way to score a run every now and then when we’re out there and have some shutdown innings. We’re not going to back down. We’ll take the day off. We’re going to catch our breath and try and set some stakes down in Chicago.”

Trevor Rosenthal (2-6) pitched a one-hit ninth, aided by the eighth double play he’s induced this season. Both of his wins have come against the Pirates on ninth-inning walkoffs.

Pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco drew an 11-pitch walk leading off the eighth against Carlos Martinez, who retired the next three batters.

St. Louis starter Shelby Miller allowed three hits and three walks in seven innings. The Pirates’ Edinson Volquez gave up three hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.

Plate home umpire Ron Kulpa issued a warning to both benches in the fifth inning after Miller threw a high fastball that sailed behind McCutchen. In the fourth, Volquez had hit Matt Holliday and Matt Adams back to back.

Hurdle was not pleased.

“This guy has been hitting it in a teacup all day and he’s not near anybody all day,” Hurdle said of Miller. “Then you fire that pitch. If he hits him, maybe you toss him. He (Kupla) was there in Arizona when McCutchen got hit.

“He (Volquez) hits him (Adams) in the foot when it’s 0-2. He’s not trying to hit him. He’s not trying to hit Holliday when it was 0-2 and runs it to 2-2. From my perspective, it was an ambush. It was a cheap shot. Ron’s got to make the call he makes and that’s what he chose to make.”

NOT RUNNING WILD

Pittsburgh catcher Russell Martin threw out Jay attempting to steal third in the eighth. Martin has thrown out runners attempting to steal in four straight games and leads the NL with 25 runners caught stealing — four short of his league-high total last year.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: Infielder Pedro Alverez (left foot) sat out for the seventh consecutive game. Alverez left the Aug. 26 game against St. Louis in the seventh inning when he hurt the foot diving for a grounder down the first-base line.

Cardinals: Kolten Wong was back in the starting lineup at second base after a two-day absence.

UP NEXT:

Pirates: RHP Vance Worley (6-4, 3.01) starts Friday at the Chicago Cubs. He had lost three straight starts before beating Cincinnati 3-2 last Saturday.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (5-3, 2.79) starts Thursday at Milwaukee in his first big league appearance since June 17. Wacha missed 67 games because of a stress reaction in his right shoulder. He allowed one hit during two scoreless innings Sunday in an injury rehabilitation outing at Tulsa of the Double-A Texas League.

— Associated Press —