ST. LOUIS (AP) — To earn his 16th win, Adam Wainwright really needed his bat.

Wainwright matched his career best with three RBIs, an unexpected boost that helped carry the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

“There’s usually two or three games a year that you swing the outcome if you can provide something offensively,” Wainwright said. “I just made a couple of good swings.”

The bottom of the order was the difference in the fourth win in a row for the NL Central leaders. Eighth-place hitter Peter Bourjos singled twice with an RBI, and seventh-place hitter Daniel Descalso walked twice and scored twice.

Randal Grichuk added three hits and made a nice diving catch in right field to rob Starling Marte of a go-ahead extra-base hit.

“I feel like we’re really ready to take off,” Bourjos said. “We’re getting contributions from everybody.”

Wainwright (16-9) prevailed despite allowing three home runs to match his career worst. He left after Starling Marte’s two-run shot shaved the lead to 5-4 with none out in the seventh. It was the first time he had allowed more than one homer all season.

He has been getting by with less than his best stuff for a while, and like most of his recent starts, he believes he is close.

“You can look at the three balls in the middle of the plate that got hit out, but I think most of the time I was much better than I have been,” Wainwright said.

“That’s what we see too,” manager Mike Matheny said. “I think he’s off just a hair sometimes.”

Russell Martin and Jordy Mercer homered with the bases empty for the Pirates, who have lost three in a row and were frustrated to get beaten by Wainwright’s bat. He doubled his season RBI total and is batting .203 overall.

“We treat him like a hitter,” Martin said. “He gave some up but he took some back and that’s just the type of competitor he is.

“He was one of the toughest outs.”

Despite the damage, Wainwright didn’t face any batters with runners in scoring position. He lost his previous two outings, the last at Pittsburgh when he allowed three runs in six innings.

Wainwright had thrown 28 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings at home against Pittsburgh before Martin homered in the second.

The first four Cardinals reached base in a three-run fourth that snapped a 2-all tie. Wainwright’s two-run single chased Jeff Locke (6-4), who walked five and was charged with five runs — four earned. Wainwright also had a run-scoring groundout in the second and matched a three-RBI game he had against the Brewers on July 4, 2010, in which he also threw a complete game in a 7-1 win.

Locke allowed a run in 7 1/3 innings with two walks against the Cardinals his last time out. He worked around a season-worst six walks to win at Milwaukee on Aug. 22 and was 4-0 with a 2.90 ERA in five August starts.

“I just didn’t have any command, fell behind everybody,” Locke said. “They were really in the driver’s seat the whole time.”

Jhonny Peralta doubled to start the seventh and scored on a wild pitch by John Axford that put St. Louis up 6-4. Trevor Rosenthal got a day off, and Pat Neshek finished for his fifth save in eight chances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: Pedro Alvarez missed his sixth straight game with left foot discomfort. Charlie Morton (hip) threw 76 pitches in a four-inning simulated game earlier Tuesday and could join the bullpen soon.

Cardinals: Kolten Wong didn’t start for the second straight game after banging his head making a catch. He pinch hit in both games, and his homer tied it on Monday.

UP NEXT

Pirates: Edinson Volquez (11-7, 3.45) has won seven of his last eight decisions. He is 4-6 with a 5.06 ERA in 14 career starts against the Cardinals.

Cardinals: St. Louis seeks a sweep behind Shelby Miller (8-9, 4.19). The right-hander is 2-6 with a 4.98 ERA against Pittsburgh, including 2-2 this year.

TEMPER, TEMPER

Cardinals 3B coach Jose Oquendo was ejected at the end of the third inning, apparently for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire James Hoye.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday is keeping quiet about his recent hitting surge.

However, his St. Louis teammates are more than happy to praise him after Holliday hit the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning Monday to rally the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

St. Louis moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the first time this season with its third straight win. The Cardinals are one game ahead of Milwaukee, which lost to the Chicago Cubs. Pittsburgh dropped three games back.

Kolten Wong started the three-run rally in the seventh with a two-run, pinch-hit homer to tie the game 4-all.

Holliday, who is 7 for 11 with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last three games, then followed with a single to left to bring in Jon Jay with the winning run.

“I’m OK with him going off all month long,” St. Louis starting pitcher Lance Lynn said. “This (three) game stretch, I’d like for it to be like to a 28- to 45-game stretch. If he can keep doing what he’s doing, that’s a big boost.”

Holliday has driven in three runs or more in each of his last three games, the first St. Louis player to do so since Scott Rolen from Aug. 11-13, 2002.

“He loves to come up with the big hit and he got it again,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.

Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole (7-5), who gave up a two-run double to Holliday in third, was also impressed.

“The guy is just unbelievable,” Cole said. “He’s probably the strongest human being in the world. He just continues to get it done when he needs to get it done.”

Holliday drove in the game-winning run with a two-run single in the eighth inning of a 9-6 win over the Cubs on Sunday. He also had two homers in the second game of a day-night doubleheader on Saturday.

“He’s been a good player for a long time,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “That’s just what he does.”

Jay followed Wong’s homer with a triple to set up Holliday’s team-leading 81st RBI of the season.

Seth Maness (6-3) picked up the win in relief. Trevor Rosenthal got the last three outs for his 41st save in 46 opportunities.

Lynn gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings.

Cole allowed all five runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Andrew McCutchen homered for the Pirates off Kevin Siegrist in the seventh to push the lead to 4-2. The 454-foot shot was the second-longest by a visiting player in the history of the current Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006.

Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the first and one in the second. Neil Walker hit a two-run double on the 10th pitch of the game to bring in Josh Harrison and McCutchen.

Andrew Lambo added an RBI double in the second.

“It’s a game we should have won, that’s how I look at it,” McCutchen said. “We can’t let ones like this get away.”

The Cardinals, who were three games back on Aug. 17, have finally reached the top spot.

“No parades,” Matheny said. “But we’re going to keep the throttle down.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: INF Pedro Alvarez missed his fifth successive game with a left foot sprain suffered Aug. 26. He is listed as day to day.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha threw two scoreless innings in a rehab appearance for Double-A Springfield on Sunday. He allowed one hit and threw strikes on 24 of 34 pitches. He is hoping to re-join the starting rotation in by mid-September.

UP NEXT

Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke (6-3, 3.51) will start the second game of the three-game series on Tuesday. He has gone 4-0 in his last five starts.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (15-9, 2.59) will be making his fifth start against the Pirates this season. He is 1-2 with a 1.61 ERA in his four previous starts.

KINGS OF SEPTEMBER

The Cardinals are a major-league best 53-28 in September since 2011. They went 19-8 last September.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday homered twice and drove in five as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 13-2 Saturday night to earn a split of a doubleheader.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for St. Louis, which won for just the third time in its past nine games. It’s the most runs this season for the Cardinals and the first time in seven games they scored at least three runs. Their previous high was 10, which they did twice.

Chicago is 2/3 in its past five, but has won nine of 14.

Marco Gonzales (1-2) gave up one run on three hits over a season-high six innings. His previous long outing was in his debut on June 25 when he pitched five innings against Colorado but didn’t figure in the decision in a 9-6 win for St. Louis.

Tsuyoshi Wada (4-2) gave up four runs in six innings.

Holliday hit his 14th home run in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. His three-run, two-out blast to center scored Daniel Descalso and Matt Carpenter.

He got No. 15 leading off a nine-run eighth. It marked his 19th career multi-homer and his first since getting two on August 10, 2013 against the Cubs. Holliday now has an 11-game hitting streak during which he has gone 14 for 43.

The first 10 batters reached to start the eighth for St. Louis. Holliday’s homer was followed by five singles and three walks before he was hit by a pitch to drive in the seventh run of the frame. Matt Adams hit a sacrifice fly and Yadier Molina got his third hit of the night to drive in the ninth run before second baseman Javier Baez made a nice play on an Oscar Taveras grounder to start an inning-ending double play.

Felix Doubront pitched seven strong innings in his National League debut and Starlin Castro hit one of Chicago’s three solo homers, sending the Cubs to a 5-1 victory in the opener of the day-night doubleheader.

Doubront (1-0) scattered seven hits in his return from the disabled list. He had been out with a strained right calf since Aug. 1, two days after Chicago acquired him from Boston. Logan Watkins and Chris Valaika also connected for Chicago in the makeup of a May 14 rainout.

Justin Masterson (2-3) gave up all three homers and five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings for St. Louis. Masterson has allowed four or more runs in five of his six starts for the Cardinals and pitched five innings or fewer in four of his starts.

WELCOME BACK:

Molina went 3 for 5 with three singles in his second game since returning to the lineup following a seven-week absence. Molina, who had surgery on his thumb in July, went 0 for 3 in his return Friday and sat out the first game of the doubleheader. He also threw out Alcantara trying to steal second in the fifth, the first attempt against Molina since his return.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: 1B Anthony Rizzo, who was second in the NL with 30 homers, sat out again. Rizzo’s lower back tightened during a rain delay Tuesday in Cincinnati. He has not played since and is expected to sit out Sunday as well. … RHP Edwin Jackson (strained right strain) threw in the bullpen before the game. He has been on the disabled list since Aug. 21.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder strain) will pitch Sunday in Tulsa for Double-A Springfield. Wacha went on the DL after his June 17 start.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Travis Wood (8-11, 4.72) will start Sunday afternoon. He is 2-5 with a 5.83 ERA against St. Louis in his career, with both victories coming this year. In his last outing against the Cardinals, he got a no-decision after giving up five runs (two earned) in five innings July 25 in a game Chicago won 7-6.

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (2-1, 4.50) gets his second career start against Chicago. He earned his second win with St. Louis in his last start, giving up one run in seven innings in a 3-2 win Aug. 25 at Pittsburgh.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Chicago Cubs’ kids roughed up an All-Star reliever who has been close to untouchable.

Rookies Javier Baez and Jorge Soler had two RBIs apiece against Pat Neshek in a go-ahead eighth inning, leading the last-place Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

“That’s baseball,” Neshek said. “This game’s not for the weak. You can’t beat yourself up too much.”

Soler, 22, homered twice and was 3-for-3 with three RBIs. He homered in his first career at-bat Wednesday and has seven hits in 11 at-bats over his first three games since being called up from Triple-A Iowa.

“I can’t expect that we’ll expect that every single day,” manager Rick Renteria said. “That would be impossible.”

Soler signed a nine-year contract in 2012 out of Cuba and began the year at Double-A Tennessee.

“I feel so happy,” Soler said through an interpreter. “I don’t know how to explain it. Everything is going so good right now.”

Baez had a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth. He is batting .192 in 99 at-bats but has seven homers and 15 RBIs.

“I was just trying to make contact,” Baez said. “I think that’s my greatest at-bat since I came up.”

The Cardinals lost in the return of Yadier Molina. The All-Star catcher, who had been sidelined by a torn ligament in his right thumb, went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch in his first major league game since July 9.

The crowd at Busch Stadium gave Molina a standing ovation when he walked in from the bullpen after pregame warm-ups and another cheer before he batted in the first inning.

Neshek (6-1) led National League relievers with a sparkling 0.81 ERA entering the game. It was 2-all when he came in to begin the eighth, and he gave up hits to the first three batters.

“Everybody that’s watched this team all season long realizes that just hasn’t happened,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He’s been incredible.”

Chicago’s Neil Ramirez (2-1) allowed two hits in a scoreless seventh.

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks worked six solid innings after a rough beginning in his bid to become the franchise’s first rookie to win five games in August.

“That first inning, I wasn’t throwing any pitches with conviction,” Hendricks said. “My stuff wasn’t like it was the rest of the game because I wasn’t throwing it.

“Luckily I was able to roll from there.”

Soler hit his second homer of the season on Shelby Miller’s first pitch of the seventh, tying it at 2. He then hit a two-run shot with two out in the eighth.

Luis Valbuena and Arismendy Alcantara also homered for the Cubs. They entered with 30 homers this month, tied for most in the NL.

Cubs reliever Justin Grimm struck out four in the ninth. One of the batters reached on Grimm’s wild pitch.

Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta had RBI singles in the St. Louis first. After Peralta’s hit, Hendricks retired 11 in a row.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ike Davis wasn’t able to play meaningful late-season games during his time with the New York Mets. He’s making the most of his chance with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It’s the first time he’s been involved in games that have this kind of significance this late in the season,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Wednesday after Davis’ long home run keyed a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. “He’s showing up to the ballpark ready contribute any way he can.”

Davis hit a two-run drive off a speaker above the seats in right-center field in the second inning. A day earlier, Davis had a pinch-hit, tiebreaking, three-run homer in the eighth inning of Pittsburgh’s 5-2 win.

Davis arrived in the major leagues with the New York Mets in 2010 and was traded to Pittsburgh in April. The Mets finished with losing records in all of his seasons in New York.

“It’s hard when you’re mathematically eliminated,’ Davis said. “You hit a home run and it’s a great feeling still, but it’s kind of like it didn’t really matter. If you’re still in it, it definitely feels a little sweeter.”

Davis hit his 10th homer after Adam Wainwright (15-9) plunked Russell Martin on the left elbow with a pitch that Martin barely tried to avoid. Davis sent an 88 mph cutter clanking off a speaker raised on a pole, about 15 feet above the seats, a drive estimated at about 433 feet.

“I just got the barrel on it,” Davis said. “It just carried out today.”

Wainwright knew he made a mistake when he saw where his pitch was headed.

“I threw it right into Ike’s swing path, and he made a good swing on it,” Wainwright said. “I wanted to get the pitch higher, but I got it and down and in, and that’s a left-handed hitter’s honey spot right there.”

Davis also had an inning-ending lineout that left the bases loaded in the fifth.

Pittsburgh took two of three from the defending NL champions and has won five of seven overall. St. Louis (71-61) leads the NL wild-card race, with San Francisco (69-62) trailing by 1 1/2 games and the Pirates (69-64) one game back of the Giants for the second wild-card berth.

Jeff Locke (6-3) allowed one run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings, giving up Matt Holliday’s third-inning homer. Locke also singled in the third and scored on Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly, just the 11th hit for the pitcher in 98 career at-bats.

Mark Melancon pitched a one-hit ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances.

Locke escaped trouble in the third, stranding Daniel Descalso on third when Josh Harrison made a diving stop on Randal Grichuk’s two-out grounder down the line and threw to first

Wainwright allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. He gave up five runs to Philadelphia on Aug. 22 and has gone winless in consecutive starts for just the second time this season.

“Yo’ure not going to be at your best all time,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “Right now, he’s not at his best, but he showed some good signs today.”

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ike Davis didn’t complain when the Pittsburgh Pirates told him they were going to eat into his playing time by experimenting with Pedro Alvarez at first base. Call it the byproduct of spending four-plus seasons with the New York Mets.

“You kind of get immune to stuff after a while,” Davis said. “Kind of my career has been starting, not starting, so I’m used to it.”

Davis is simply happy to be in a pennant race at the moment. He provided a needed jolt in a pinch-hit appearance Tuesday night, connecting for a tiebreaking three-run homer off St. Louis reliever Seth Maness in the eighth inning of a potentially costly 5-2 victory.

Pirates star Andrew McCutchen left in the fifth inning because of discomfort in his left ribs. Recently on the disabled list because of a rib problem, the center fielder ran into the wall earlier in the game.

“Today caught up to him in a couple of different ways,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of the reigning National League MVP. “Tonight got to be a point where we didn’t think we needed to push any farther than he did.”

It’s uncertain whether McCutchen will be available Wednesday, but Pittsburgh survived for a few innings without the four-time All-Star thanks in large part to Davis. The Pirates squandered six brilliant innings by Gerrit Cole when Tony Watson (9-1) couldn’t get out of a two-on, no-out jam in the seventh that allowed the Cardinals to tie the game.

No matter. Watson recovered to get out of the jam and retired the side in the eighth, and the Pirates wasted little time getting to Maness in the bottom of the inning. Gaby Sanchez singled with one out, and Starling Marte followed with his second hit of the night.

The Cardinals decided to stick with Maness (5-3) after a brief conference. It didn’t work.

Davis shook off a called strike that appeared to be below his knees and delivered a towering shot to right-center that landed in the last row of seats.

“We got into a good count, had a couple real nice pitches and left one up in the middle,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s not going to turn out well.”

Josh Harrison also homered for the Pirates, and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his 23rd save.

Jon Jay and Randal Grichuk each drove in a run for the Cardinals. Lance Lynn gave up two runs over six innings in a bid for his fourth consecutive win.

Pittsburgh, trying desperately to stay in the hunt for a wild-card slot, appeared in danger of a second straight disheartening defeat after a brilliant effort by Cole vanished.

The 23-year-old overwhelmed the Cardinals for long stretches in his second start since returning from the disabled list after being sidelined by right lat soreness. St. Louis didn’t get a hit until a two-out double just inside the first-base bag by Kolten Wong in the sixth. Cole responded by fanning Matt Holliday for his ninth strikeout of the game.

Hurdle decided to send Cole back out for the seventh with a 2-0 lead even though he had thrown 102 pitches. Trouble soon followed.

Matt Adams led off with a double, and Jhonny Peralta followed with a single. Watson, who has slipped a bit over the past month following a dazzling first half, came on but couldn’t quell the rally.

Adams scored on a sacrifice fly by Jay, and Grichuk — called up earlier in the day after outfielder Shane Robinson was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury — slapped a single up the middle to tie the game.

— Associated Press —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jon Jay already had a bat in hand before St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny even called his name.

A minute later the veteran outfielder was standing on second base after his pinch hit tied the game. Jay didn’t stay there long, racing home with the go-ahead run on Matt Holliday’s sharp single in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.

“He just sensed,” Matheny said of Jay’s precocious grab of the bat. “We hadn’t had any interaction at that point. He’s smart, he knows the game.”

And the Cardinals know a thing or two about coming through late. St. Louis scored all three runs off reliever Jared Hughes (6-4) with two outs in the seventh inning to back John Lackey and send the scuffling Pirates to their seventh loss in 10 games.

Lackey (2-1) worked out of trouble early to last seven innings in his second victory for the Cardinals after arriving in a trade from Boston on July 31. He was 11-7 with the Red Sox.

Trevor Rosenthal gave up a leadoff home run in the ninth to Andrew McCutchen but held on to earn his 39th save.

“I think guys know when we have a pitcher like Lackey on the mound, he’s going to keep us in the game,” Matheny said. “We’ve just got to keep fighting and figure out a way to get something going.”

Pedro Alvarez hit his 18th homer in the second off Lackey, but the Pirates managed little after that to fall further behind St. Louis and first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central race.

Pirates starter Francisco Liriano overwhelmed St. Louis for six-plus innings before leaving after Kolten Wong’s infield single led off the seventh. Hughes came on and promptly picked off Wong.

Things didn’t work out so well for the normally dependable right-hander, however, when he went to the plate.

Tony Cruz started the game-changing rally by turning an 0-2 count into a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sharply hit single by Jay. Holliday then gave St. Louis the lead with a grounder past shortstop Jordy Mercer. St. Louis has 209 RBIs this season with two outs, tops in the National League.

“It was just a night where (Hughes) couldn’t get the ball where he wanted to go,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

The cushion was more than enough for Lackey, who had little trouble after navigating a choppy second inning. Alvarez hit a long home run to center with one out, and infield hits by Starling Marte and Jordy Mercer followed. The runners moved up on a sacrifice by Liriano, but Josh Harrison’s sharply hit fly to left went right to Holliday.

Lackey settled down following the reprieve, not allowing a runner past first base over his final five innings. He walked one and struck out three to improve to 3-0 against National League teams this season.

“I think Tony and I made some good adjustments after the first time through the lineup,” Lackey said. “The last three innings were as good as I felt.”

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A change of scenery has done Jerome Williams well.

Jimmy Rollins homered and Williams tossed eight strong innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

“I’m just happy that I’m actually doing the job that I’ve been doing,” Williams said. “My stuff was there. It’s just I wasn’t using it right. I think I’m using it right now.”

Williams (2-0) continued his fine form with Philadelphia, his third team this season. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits while setting a season high for innings. He was claimed off waivers Aug. 10 from Texas and has a 1.77 ERA since coming to the Phillies after pitching to a 6.71 ERA prior to his arrival in Philadelphia.

Ben Revere had a pair of hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, which took two of three from the Cardinals for consecutive series wins for the first time since April.

Jhonny Peralta and Oscar Taveras had a pair of hits for St. Louis, which lost for just the third time in 11 games.

Justin Masterson (2-2) was lifted after giving up five runs and six hits in three innings. His ERA ballooned to 7.43 ERA in five starts since the Cardinals acquired him from Cleveland on July 30.

“It’s frustrating but I’m trying to stay positive,” Masterson said. “It’s my responsibility to pitch better. It’s a hard thing when you’re not doing it.”

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny stood behind Masterson.

“It was just one of those days,” he said. “We’ll continue to work with him. He’s a worker. He wants to help us do better.”

Chase Utley’s RBI single put Philadelphia in front in the first. The Phillies scored two more in the second on Williams’ bunt and Revere’s single, and Wil Nieves’ RBI single in the third made it 3-0.

Nick Greenwood relieved Masterson and retired 10 straight batters before Revere’s one-out single in the seventh. Rollins followed with a drive over the wall in left. It was the 16th homer for Rollins, who hit just six last season.

St. Louis got its lone run in the fourth on Taveras’ single. But the Cardinals couldn’t get anything else off Williams.

Revere, who began Sunday two points behind Justin Morneau for the NL batting lead, raised his average to .314 with his 26th multihit game since June 26.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Saturday night.

Jhonny Peralta homered for the Cardinals, who have won eight of 10 and closed within a half-game of NL Central-leading Milwaukee.

Ryan Howard homered and Marlon Byrd and Carlos Ruiz each drove in a pair of runs for the Phillies.

Pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso drew a leadoff walk in the 12th from Ken Giles (2-1). Descalso went to second on Jon Jay’s sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Peter Bourjos’ infield single. Carpenter then flied out to deep left.

Seth Maness (5-2) pitched two scoreless innings and Trevor Rosenthal earned his 38th save in 43 chances.

The teams combined to use 14 pitchers in a game that took 4 hours, 53 minutes.

The Phillies tied it at 5 in the eighth on Byrd’s two-run single off Pat Neshek, who relieved Randy Choate after the bases were loaded with no outs.

Cardinals starter Shelby Miller was in line for the win after going six innings and allowing three runs and five hits.

A pair of Phillies errors helped the Cardinals break a 2-all tie and go in front in the sixth with three runs off reliever Mario Hollands.

After A.J. Pierzynski led off with a double, Oscar Taveras hit a sinking liner to left. Domonic Brown appeared to pull up on a catchable ball and Pierzynski took off for third when Brown hesitated to throw back to the infield. Brown then threw the ball away, allowing Pierzynski to score.

David Buchanan got his first no-decision in his 14th start, giving up two runs and eight hits in five innings. The right-hander is filling in for Cliff Lee, who is out for the season with an elbow injury.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After the first inning, the results for Kyle Kendrick are completely different.

Ryan Howard drove in a pair of runs and Kendrick overcame a rocky opening inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

Ben Revere, who entered the day second in the NL in batting, went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .315. Chase Utley and Marlon Byrd also drove in runs for Philadelphia, which won its third in four games.

Matt Adams homered and Matt Holliday drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who lost for just the second time in nine games.

Kendrick (6-11) increased his first-inning ERA to 9.69 this season by allowing three early runs. He left after giving up four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.

“It’s not in my head at all; it’s really not,” Kendrick said. “I don’t know. It’s one of those things this year. It will be gone next year I think.”

Adam Wainwright (15-8) failed in his bid to become the first 16-game winner in the big leagues while continuing his August struggles. The right-hander allowed five runs, four earned, and six hits in six innings, dropping to 2/3 with a 6.49 ERA in five starts this month.

“I haven’t been able to make pitches like I want to,” Wainwright said. “I’ve been talking myself blue in the face. Now I just have to go out and pitch.”

Wainwright looked to be in good position to earn the victory after the first inning.

It was a continuing theme for Kendrick, but he settled down after his early struggles.

Adams’ leadoff homer in the third was the right-hander’s only other blemish, and he finished by retiring his final eight batters. Kendrick has a 4.01 ERA in all innings other than the first this season.

“You just have to battle,” Kendrick said. “I’m a competitor. I don’t want to lose, so I just had to keep battling. That’s all you can do. Keep making pitches, keep grinding and try to keep your team in the game.”

Jonathan Papelbon capped 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief by the Phillies’ bullpen with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 31st save in 33 opportunities.

Philadelphia took the lead with four runs in the third thanks to some help from the Cardinals.

Carlos Ruiz singled and Howard got a late stop sign from coach Pete Mackanin after rounding third base. Adams caught Jon Jay’s relay throw from center and appeared to have an easy out, but he threw wildly to third and Howard scored on the error.

The Phillies, who batted around in the inning, scored their first three runs on RBIs by Utley, Howard and Byrd.

Holliday’s two-run double and Jay’s sacrifice fly staked St. Louis to a 3-0 lead. Jay went 0 for 3, ending his 12-game hitting streak.

Holliday nearly tied it in the eighth, but Byrd leaped high against the fence to catch the drive to right.

— Associated Press —