Gerrit Cole and the Pittsburgh Pirates played a game of role reversal, and pulled even with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The hard-throwing rookie gave up two hits in six dominant innings and also had an RBI in his postseason debut, Pedro Alvarez homered for the second straight day and the Pirates beat the Cardinals 7-1 Friday to even their NL division series at one game apiece.

“Just what we’ve been seeing all year,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “You saw a focused man that was ready to go.”

A day after St. Louis got a strong effort from its starter and took advantage of mistakes to romp 9-1 in the opener, the Pirates showed poise for their first playoff win since 1992 while the Cardinals looked tentative in the field.

The Pirates now head home for Game 3 on Sunday in the best-of-five series. Wild-card game winner Francisco Liriano faces Cardinals right-hander Joe Kelly.

Cole faced the Cardinals for the first time and left most of them shaking their heads, striking out five and walking one. After allowing Carlos Beltran’s double with one out in the first, the 22-year-old retired 11 straight before Yadier Molina led off the fifth with his third career postseason homer.

Relying on a fastball that peaked at 99 mph on the stadium radar gun and one that TBS had at 100, Cole had hitters helpless at times even without shadows that benefited pitchers early in Game 1.

“I just trusted myself and tried to keep it as simple as I could,” Cole said. “You just try and clear you mind after every pitch and just look forward.”

When he got in the least bit of trouble, Cole ignored chants from a second straight sellout crowd at Busch Stadium.

Gerrit Cole was dominant in his first time facing the Cardinals, allowing two hits in six innings.

“You just have to take a deep breath,” Cole said. “Rip off the rear-view mirror on the car.”

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn needed some help. He hasn’t lasted long enough to qualify for the victory in any of his three career postseason starts and yielded five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

“It was a bad game,” Lynn said. “I made four bad pitches for four extra-base hits. When I made a mistake with the fastball, they were ready for it.”

Lynn was manager Matheny’s choice for Game 2 ahead of rookies Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha, the decision based on the right-hander’s strong September and 9-3 record at home.

Wacha (4-1, 2.78) will oppose Charlie Morton (7-4, 3.26) in Game 4 on Monday.

Alvarez doubled and scored on Cole’s single in the second to put the Pirates ahead — eighth-place hitter Jordy Mercer was walked intentionally ahead of Cole.

Center fielder Jon Jay said he should have tracked down the double by Alvarez.

“That’s a play I’ve got to make and I didn’t,” Jay said. “That’s on me.”

Alvarez then hit a 418-foot, two-run homer in the third.

Pirates pitchers totaled 10 RBIs during the season and Cole had five of them, including two in his final start.

Third baseman David Freese dropped Marlon Byrd’s pop fly for an error in gusting wind in the seventh inning, leading to a run.

Lynn made it to the fifth for the first time, but just barely. Miller warmed up in the third and Lynn was yanked with one out after back-to-back doubles by Justin Morneau and Byrd that put the Pirates up 5-0, followed by a four-pitch walk to Alvarez that gave reliever Seth Maness a little more time to warm up.

Miller worked the eighth and gave up a homer to Starling Marte.

Liriano is 4-0 with a 1.16 career ERA in four starts against the Cardinals. He dominated in three starts this year, including a complete game in St. Louis, and allowed 10 hits in 22 innings with 20 strikeouts. He was the winner Tuesday night against Cincinnati in front of a raucous crowd in Pittsburgh that was celebrating the Pirates’ return to the postseason.

Kelly (10-5, 2.69) thrived as a fill-in starter for the second straight season and won eight straight decisions.

— Associated Press —

Carlos Beltran, Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals gave Pittsburgh a quick reality jolt.

Beltran’s three-run homer sparked a seven-run third inning Thursday and the Cardinals got seven stingy innings from Wainwright to open their NL division series with a 9-1 rout of the Pirates.

“To be able to get out on a good first step and play well today I think is big for our guys confidence-wise,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “Gives us an opportunity to just take some momentum, and momentum is big right now when you talk about a five-game series.”

The first eight Cardinals reached safely in the third to chase A.J. Burnett, saddling the right-hander with the second-shortest outing of his career and putting Game 1 out of reach early.

A sellout crowd roared and then settled in for an easy victory by the NL Central champions, making their third consecutive trip to the postseason.

“Game 164 was rough,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “One of the things we’ve been good at is we don’t overcook things.”

Lance Lynn (15-10) faces Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole (10-7) in Game 2 on Friday.

After a record 20 straight losing seasons, the Pirates are back in the playoffs for the first time since 1992. They entered their first best-of-five division series with plenty of momentum after beating Cincinnati in the wild-card game Tuesday, but Pittsburgh never threatened to rally against Wainwright and finished with only four hits.

Pittsburgh also was sloppy in the field, committing three errors. St. Louis was sharp on defense, with reliever Carlos Martinez turning in the top play by slinging an off-balance throw to first to nip Russell Martin in the eighth.

“What a play!” Matheny mouthed in the dugout.

Third baseman David Freese prevented extra bases in the third with a diving catch on Clint Barmes’ low liner.

Wainwright remained unbeaten in the postseason, going to 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA in 14 games, five of them starts.

He allowed a run on three hits in seven innings, striking out nine without a walk. The only damage came on a homer by Pedro Alvarez to start the fifth.

The right-hander tied for the NL lead with 19 wins this year and was 4-0 in his last five starts. He thrives on expectations.

“I’d love to be that guy,” Wainwright said. “It’s important to have somebody go out there that you can count on for sure.”

Wainwright also started the Cardinals’ big burst with a leadoff, full-count walk.

Beltran, who has never reached the World Series, reprised his role as one of the game’s greatest playoff sluggers. His 443-foot drive to the distant second deck in right field put St. Louis ahead and was the second-longest shot by a left-handed batter at 8-year-old Busch Stadium.

“I almost got caught up in the moment,” said Wainwright, who had a perfect view from second base. “I threw my hands up in the air as soon as he hit it, I knew it was gone.

“Then I realized I had to run.”

Beltran has 15 home runs, 10 doubles and 28 RBIs in 35 postseason games. He also has scored 40 runs and stolen 11 bases.

Leadoff man Matt Carpenter called Beltran “Mr. October.”

“He’s like our secret weapon when it comes to the postseason. He steps up every time,” Carpenter said. “Some guys just have a knack for a big game and he’s one of them.”

Beltran’s 13 career RBIs against Burnett are the most of any player.

Beltran’s homer got the Cardinals going, and Jon Jay later walked with the bases loaded. Freese added a two-run single that cleared the bases when right fielder Marlon Byrd’s throw to the plate deflected off Freese’s leg for an error.

Burnett was 3-1 against the Cardinals this season but has gotten rocked in his last two visits to St. Louis, also giving up five runs in three innings in early September. In five outings at Busch Stadium the last two seasons he has a 15.50 ERA.

“Hopefully, we can turn it around and give me a chance to get that ball again,” Burnett said. “I was not able to repeat a single delivery all day, that’s the bottom line.”

Hurdle was non-committal on whether Burnett would get the ball if the Pirates make it to Game 5, again in St. Louis.

“I do believe that he’s capable of going out and throwing a gem the next time he’s out there, wherever that may be,” Hurdle said.

While the Pirates may have had trouble at the plate and in the field with the shadows, the late-afternoon start didn’t seem to bother the Cardinals.

“Everybody was seeing the ball good today,” rookie Matt Adams said.

— Associated Press —

Matt Carpenter came up empty Sunday in his bid for a 200-hit season. St. Louis’ second baseman could have cared less.

Carpenter and the Cardinals clinched home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs when they beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 for their sixth straight win.

”That last one (hit) was tough to find,” Carpenter said after going 0 for 4. ”From an individual standpoint 200 hits is a cool thing, but more importantly we won a big game today and have the best record in the National League.”

With the top seed, the Central League champions will host the wild-card winner in Game 1 of an NL division series on Thursday.

Joe Kelly (10-5) pitched 5 1-3 innings of three-hit ball in relief of Jake Westbrook as the Cardinals matched a season high winning streak to finish 97-65, their most since reaching 100 in 2005. St. Louis also won six straight from April 30-May 5.

The Cardinals have won eight of nine and 17 of 22.

Carpenter finished with a league-leading 199 hits. He struck out in the seventh in his last opportunity. Carpenter said he felt a little pressure in his at-bats Sunday.

”It’s one of those things, when guys are chasing certain (goals) it can kind of get to them a little,” he said. ”I don’t know if it did or not.”

The milestone was important to manager Mike Matheny, who said Carpenter’s failure was the lone damper on the afternoon.

”He was pushing hard, ”he said. ”But what a season.”

Carpenter also finished first in the NL in runs (126), doubles (55) and multihit games (63).

”Now all those stats go out the window, it’s just about winning games,” he said. ”But, I’m pleased and proud with what I’ve done.”

Jon Jay, Daniel Descalso, Shane Robinson and Tony Cruz drove in runs for St. Louis.

The Cubs, who lost 41 of their last 59 games, finish last in the Central at 66-96.

Chicago manager Dale Sveum, who is scheduled to meet Monday with Cubs management to discuss his future, says a lack of offense hurt his club the last month.

”We didn’t score a lot,” he said. ”When you’re facing the Cardinals, Reds, Pirates, Atlanta, it’s going to be tough.”

St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook pitched one inning before Kelly came on in relief. Westbrook is not likely to be on the postseason roster and the Cardinals are not expected to pick up his option for next season.

Kelly struck out five in his first relief appearance since re-joining the starting rotation on July 6.

”It was a little different, but my mindset was the same the whole time,” Kelly said. ”I felt like I was commanding my fastball on both sides of the plate. I was just trying to keep a high level of focus and attack these guys.”

Matheny called it, ”one of his best all-around outings.”

Randy Choate, Carlos Martinez and Kevin Siegrist contributed to the five-man, five-hit shutout.

The Cardinals scored twice in the fourth off Chicago starter Jeff Samardzija (8-13) to take a 3-0 lead. Matt Adams and Descalso hit back-to-back doubles to push the advantage to 2-0. Robinson followed with a run-scoring single.

Samardzija gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings.

”I had a strong year, I felt good,” Samardzija said. ”I pitched every start, threw a lot of innings and had a lot of strikeouts.”

Jay, who drove in a run with a single in the third, extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with a single in the first.

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina took the field to start the game, but was removed before the first pitch. Molina received a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout. Right fielder Carlos Beltran was taken out at the start of the fifth inning and also left to a loud applause.

”Today, we were proud to do something that could honor our guys,” Matheny said. ”The fans like to acknowledge our guys.”

— Associated Press —

The plan called for Adam Wainwright to get a little tuneup for the NL division series opener.

The right-hander was so efficient, he stayed in there long enough to earn his 19th victory, an RBI and a triumphant exit, too.

”I wanted to stay sharp,” Wainwright said after the St. Louis Cardinals showed no letup after clinching the NL Central, beating the Chicago Cubs 6-2 Saturday for their fifth straight win.

”Ten days off is too much, I think, between starts. It’s good to get in there, get some good work in, get a knock and get the win.”

Matt Holliday homered for the second day in a row and Yadier Molina drove in two runs for St. Louis (96-65), which entered the day tied with Atlanta for the NL lead in wins.

All three of them were taken out before the finish and manager Mike Matheny removed Wainwright (19-9) after getting the first out of the sixth so he’d get an ovation.

”You’ve got to tiptoe around how you do that, we want to make sure we respect the other club,” Matheny said. ”It worked out fine.”

The start time was moved up three hours to avoid a forecast of storms.

The Cardinals mailed vouchers to all ticket holders, whether they attended or not, for a game in 2014. The crowd of 42,520 was a few thousand shy of a sellout.

Wainwright allowed two hits in 5 1-3 shutout innings and tied for the league lead in victories with Washington’s Jordan Zimmermann, who lost his last scheduled start Wednesday in St. Louis.

According to STATS, Wainwright is the third Cardinals pitcher to lead the league in victories twice, also doing it with 19 wins in 2009.

Dizzy Dean (1934-35) and Mort Cooper (1942-43) are the other Cardinals pitchers to twice lead the league in wins. Bob Gibson did it once.

The Cubs averted a second straight shutout loss by scoring twice in the ninth against former St. Louis closer Edward Mujica.

Anthony Rizzo led off with a homer and Donnie Murphy had an RBI double against Mujica, who has allowed 18 hits in 7 1-3 innings with two blown saves this month and lost his job to rookie Trevor Rosenthal.

Mujica has 37 saves but is in danger of getting left off the postseason roster for the first round. Matheny was noncommittal about using Mujica in the regular-season finale, saying he’d see ”how he feels.”

Seth Maness earned his first career save by getting Darwin Barney on a double play ball.

Edwin Jackson (8-18) allowed six runs and eight hits in 2 2-3 innings before leaving with mild side discomfort that he said bothered him as the game went on. He leads the majors in losses.

”At the end of the day I’ve got three more years here to look forward to,” Jackson said. ”I definitely look forward to changing things and changing everything around.”

The Cubs have lost 11 of 14, scoring two or fewer runs nine times in that stretch.

Wainwright got his sixth RBI of the season with a single off third baseman Donnie Murphy’s glove in a four-run third.

Wainwright entered 1-6 with a 5.16 ERA at home against the Cubs. He’s 6-0 with a 3.72 ERA at Wrigley Field.

Holliday hit his 22nd homer, a two-run drive in the first that put his average at .300 and likely won’t play Sunday to keep it there.

The Cardinals broke away in the third when Holliday and Matt Adams drew one-out walks ahead of Molina’s two-run double, and Pete Kozma had an RBI single.

— Associated Press —

Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Louis Cardinals sprayed champagne, showing a wide smile he could not contain.

”It’s a good feeling,” Lynn said the Cardinals clinched their first NL Central title in four seasons with a 7-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. ”It’s a good time to have that feeling.”

Lynn had six strikeouts in a row early, and David Freese and Matt Holliday hit early home runs.

St. Louis (95-65) has won six of seven and is tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NL. They are assured of home-field advantage when the NL division series starts Thursday.

”I think relentless is probably the term that might sum it up,” said second-year manager Mike Matheny, soaked like everybody else on the team. ”It’s extremely special.”

The Cardinals have made it to the postseason 11 times the last 18 seasons under the ownership group led by chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. A large group of rookies was mixed in with a veteran core, and they overcame injuries to Chris Carpenter, Jason Motte, Jaime Garcia and Rafael Furcal.

”I’ll sacrifice any of my clothes, anything for this,” DeWitt said. ”It’s extremely satisfying. Think of the players we had to bring up and some of the great years we had.”

Adam Wainwright (18-9) was moved up to start Saturday, putting the St. Louis ace on track to start his team’s postseason opener against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A near-sellout crowd of 44,030 was on its feet, roaring and clapping in unison the final half-inning, then snapping pictures and applauding while the team celebrated near the mound. After the final out, Cardinals players put on T-shirts that read: ”We Own The Central.”

”We’re all embracing this and understanding what we’ve accomplished,” Freese said. ”We’ve been through so much.”

The Cubs have lost 12 of 16 and watched an opponent clinch for the third time within a week. The Braves wrapped up the NL East on Sunday at Wrigley Field and the Pirates secured a playoff spot in Chicago the following day.

”I’ve already said it,” Sveum said. ”You get something out of it.”

Lynn (15-10) began his strikeout streak with Dioner Navarro to end the first. He fanned seven his first time through the order and allowed just four hits over six innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. Lynn has won consecutive starts after a skid in which he was 0-5 with a 5.44 ERA in eight outings.

Cubs leadoff man Starlin Castro had three hits, including a third-inning single that stopped Lynn strikeout streak,

Yadier Molina had two hits and three RBIs to set his season best with 78, Jon Jay had two hits and an RBI and leadoff man Matt Carpenter had a single that left him one hit shy of 200.

Travis Wood (9-12) gave up three runs and four hits, leaving after just one inning – when he reached 200 in a season for the first time.

”That was a shame,” manager Dale Sveum said. ”That kind of made you want to throw up, to have two out, nobody on and all of that happen.”

After Wood’s running catch in foul territory on Carlos Beltran’s foul pop, six batters reached safely with two out: Molina had a two-run double off the left-field wall and Jay extended his hitting streak to 12 with an RBI single.

”That’s on me,” Wood said. ”When you get two outs and you still face all nine, that’s on you.”

Holliday hit his 250th career homer and 21st this season leading off the sixth off Blake Parker.

— Associated Press —

All of those young arms embraced this pennant race. The St. Louis Cardinals threw five rookies at the Washington Nationals and clinched a tie for their first NL Central title since 2009.

Shelby Miller earned his 15th win with relief help from Seth Maness, Kevin Siegrist, Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal in a 4-1 victory that spoiled Jordan Zimmermann’s bid for his 20th win and wrapped up a three-game sweep on Wednesday.

All are 24 or younger, and all have been filling critical roles for a while now.

”We know what’s at stake and what we need to do to get the job done, how many games we need to win,” Miller said. ”Hopefully, we can just win them all.

”It’s just been an amazing year, I’ve had so much fun and there’s still a lot of baseball left.”

Miller (15-9) has been in the rotation all year and leads major league rookies in wins after allowing a run in six-plus innings. Maness induced a double-play ball in the seventh, Siegrist hasn’t allowed a run in an NL-best 23 1-3 scoreless innings and has a microscopic 0.47 ERA and the 23-year-old Rosenthal saved all three games in the series.

Rosenthal, who struck out Adam LaRoche to end a perfect ninth, was ready when closer Edward Mujica faltered.

”It’s been a fun year, especially right now,” Rosenthal said. ”Guys are getting to pitch in different situations than they had all year. Everybody’s stepping up.”

Yadier Molina had the go-ahead hit and Matt Adams homered for the Cardinals, seeking their first division title since 2009. Manager Mike Matheny reported screaming in the clubhouse after the Cubs’ Darnell McDonald’s go-ahead three-run homer off Francisco Liriano in a 4-2 victory over the Pirates and admitted he’d taken peeks at the scoreboard.

”Yeah, I was guilty again of watching during the game,” Matheny said. ”It wasn’t my intent, but it did happen.”

Molina had an RBI in all three games for the Cardinals, who swept the season series 6-0.

Zimmermann (19-9) allowed four runs in seven innings. The Nationals had five hits one day after breaking up rookie Michael Wacha’s bid for a no-hitter in the ninth inning.

”I’m not really disappointed,” Zimmermann said. ”Twenty wins is a lot of wins and 19 is not too far off.”

Adams hit his eighth home run since replacing injured Allen Craig earlier this month and doubled for the Cardinals, who lead the Pirates by three games with three to go. The Reds lost 1-0 to the Mets on Wednesday and were eliminated from the divisional race.

The Cardinals (94-65) are a season-high 29 games above .500 and have a day off before 14-game winner Lance Lynn faces the Cubs on Friday night to open the final series.

Miller was wild high early and walked two of the first three hitters to set up Bryce Harper’s RBI single. The Nationals had no other runners in scoring position against the 22-year-old Miller, who allowed a run in six-plus innings and beat them for the second time this season.

Miller was 10-3 with a 1.75 ERA at home, becoming the third pitcher to reach double-digit victories at 8-year-old Busch Stadium.

”I didn’t think he had too much,” Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. ”I thought he was all over the place and really wasn’t setting up his pitches and we helped him out in a lot of situations.”

Zimmermann had won his previous four appearances and had been coming off a two-hit shutout of Miami. But he is 0-3 with an 8.27 ERA in six career starts against St. Louis, and lost Game 2 of the NL division series last fall.

Daniel Descalso doubled leading off the third and scored on Matt Carpenter’s groundout to tie it. Zimmermann hit Matt Holliday to open the fourth, and Adams doubled ahead of Molina’s two-run single that made it 3-1.

The Cardinals were 15-2 against the NL East and also swept Miami and Philadelphia.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha lost his no-hit bid on Ryan Zimmerman’s infield single with two outs in the ninth inning, and St. Louis beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 Tuesday night to close in on the NL Central title.

Making his ninth career start, Wacha came about as close as possible to finishing off the third no-hitter in the majors this season. Instead, the Busch Stadium crowd let out a loud, collective groan as he became the third pitcher to have a bid broken up with one out to go.

Zimmerman hit a chopper just over the 6-foot-6 Wacha, and the ball bounced slowly toward shortstop. A charging Pete Kozma grabbed it with his bare hand and whipped a throw to first that was a little wide, pulling Matt Adams off the bag as Zimmerman arrived.

”I think it nicked off my glove a little bit,” Wacha said.

As the ball left Zimmerman’s bat, several Cardinals started to climb the dugout railing, ready to pour onto the field to celebrate. Second baseman Matt Carpenter did a little hop, all set for the final out.

But first base umpire Jeff Kellogg correctly called Zimmerman safe, and the Cardinals sagged right along with their fans.

Third baseman David Freese sat crouched in the infield, stunned at how close his 22-year-old teammate had come. Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright put his hands on his head in disbelief.

Wacha (4-1) was pulled after Zimmerman’s hit and walked off to a huge ovation. The right-hander struck out nine and walked two.

”I guess I wasn’t meant to throw one tonight,” he said.

Trevor Rosenthal got Jayson Werth to ground out for his second save.

With anticipation building and fans on their feet in the ninth inning, Wacha retired pinch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi on a grounder to Kozma before throwing a called third strike past Denard Span.

But on the next pitch, Zimmerman spoiled it.

Texas’ Yu Darvish lost a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning against Houston on April 2 and San Francisco’s Yusmeiro Petit had his try at perfection end one out shy against Arizona on Sept 6.

Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey and the Giants’ Tim Lincecum threw no-hitters in July.

The last two no-hitters by St. Louis pitchers came from rookies – Bud Smith in 2001 and Jose Jimenez in 1999.

It has been 30 years since there was a no-hitter in St. Louis. Bob Forsch finished off his second for the Cardinals on Sept. 26, 1983, against Montreal.

Drafted 19th overall out of Texas A&M last year, Wacha has been up and down from the minors a couple of times this season. But he came up big for the Cardinals in the final week as they try to nail down their first division title since 2009.

St. Louis, which already clinched a playoff berth, began the night with a two-game lead in the NL Central over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Reds lost to the New York Mets 4-2, falling three games back with four to play.

The Cardinals have won four of five. They remained a half-game behind Atlanta for the best record in the NL.

Washington was eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-3 loss to St. Louis on Monday night. The Nationals have dropped three of four.

Wacha retired his first 14 batters before Adam LaRoche reached on an error by Carpenter at second base with two outs in the fourth.

Span tried to break up the no-hitter with a two-out bunt in the sixth. The ball rolled just foul near third base, and the crowd booed lustily.

Left fielder Shane Robinson made a running catch of a tailing liner off the bat of Anthony Rendon to end the eighth.

Robinson drove in Carpenter with a two-out single off Gio Gonzalez (11-8) in the third. Carpenter began the rally with his major league-leading 55th double.

Yadier Molina pushed the lead to 2-0 with a run-scoring double in the fourth.

Gonzalez came within inches of a no-hitter himself this month. He finished with a one-hit shutout against the Mets after pinch-hitter Zach Lutz’s seventh-inning single landed right on the first base line behind the bag.

This time, Gonzalez allowed two runs and six hits over seven innings. He struck out six.

— Associated Press —

The young Brewers got a taste of what a pennant race is like.

The 6-4 win Sunday night over the NL Central-leading Cardinals might be even more valuable next season for Milwaukee than in a 2013 campaign weighed down by injuries and the doping suspension of slugger Ryan Braun.

Norichika Aoki scored three times and doubled home a run, and Jim Henderson got Matt Adams, representing the potential go-ahead run, to strike out to end the game and close out the season at Miller Park on a high note.

”I think it’s great for them. You play the Cardinals right now, it’s a playoff atmosphere,” manager Ron Roenicke said. ”But all this is growth for them, and (when) the pressure spots come up, because they will, they can handle them better.”

The Brewers are in fourth in the NL Central, long out of the pennant race at 17 games under .500. More pressure is on the division-leading Cardinals, who learned earlier Sunday they were assured of at least an NL wild card after Washington lost its doubleheader opener against Miami.

The Cardinals chased Peralta after loading the bases in the sixth with nobody out. Reliever Donovan Hand allowed two runs to score on consecutive sacrifice flies to cut the Brewers’ lead to 4-3, but he got out of the jam by getting Matt Carpenter to strike out on a curve with the tying run at third.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina misplayed a throw to the plate for another error in a two-run seventh that restored Milwaukee’s three-run cushion. St. Louis also committed two errors in the Brewers’ two-run second.

For some reason, the Cardinals just weren’t sharp.

”We made many mistakes and were lucky to have been that close,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”From here on out we have to play clean baseball and they know that. But when you don’t do it, you have to make up for it somehow.”

Working through a nagging blister on his right index finger, Wily Peralta (11-15) struggled through five-plus innings by giving up five hits and walking five. Henderson earned his 26th save after allowing Carlos Beltran’s RBI single in the ninth before striking out Adams.

The Brewers lost Braun in late July to suspension. Rickie Weeks was lost for the season in August to strained left hamstring. Corey Hart never even made it out of spring training and hurt both knees this year.

So Milwaukee has turned to young players to solidify the team. For instance, Peralta, 24, will be counted on to continue to mature and solidify the rotation next year.

The blister that has plagued him of late felt the worst it’s been all season on Sunday.

”You know, I walked a lot of people, but I think I made big pitches when I needed to,” Peralta said.

St. Louis remains two games up in the division, but now has two teams to fend off in second after the Reds defeated Pittsburgh 11-3 to pull into a tie with the Pirates.

Errors by third baseman David Freese and starter Joe Kelly (9-5) helped contribute to the two Milwaukee runs in the second.

Kelly hesitated on what could have been an inning-ending double play in the first after getting Carlos Gomez to bounce sharply back to the mound with runners on first and third. That allowed a run to score from third.

Aoki had led off the first with a single and came home on an RBI single by Aramis Ramirez with one out. Aoki then reached on an RBI double in the second before scoring after Kelly threw away a sacrifice bunt attempt by Scooter Gennett.

”My stuff felt good,” Kelly said. ”Obviously, me throwing away a ball didn’t help. Just one of those games and that kind of stuff happens.”

Kelly went seven innings, allowing seven hits and six runs – three of them unearned.

— Associated Press —

After coming off a 15-inning loss at Colorado the night before, another extra-inning affair wasn’t what a weary St. Louis Cardinals team needed.

Fighting to maintain control of the lead in the NL Central, the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night on Carlos Beltran’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, preserving their roost atop the division.

”Getting taken into extra innings isn’t what we were looking for, but what a win,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. ”That would be a pretty tough one to eat when you have the two-run lead. It was just a great, great win.”

The Cardinals hold a two-game lead over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The Reds downed the Pirates 6-5 in 10 innings to move into a tie for second place.

”That says a lot about this club the way we responded. It was a huge win and we needed that one,” said Matt Carpenter, who had three hits and a walk in six plate appearances. ”Every game is crucial.”

Matt Adams, who has been plagued by right elbow soreness and was fitted for a brace before the game, smacked a towering two-run, ninth-inning home run to give the Cardinals a 6-4 lead, but the Brewers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the frame to tie the game.

Adam’s blast to right-center field came off Brewers’ closer Jim Henderson, who walked Matt Holliday to start the inning.

Former Brewers closer John Axford (7-7), acquired by St. Louis last month, picked up the win. Carlos Martinez got his first save of the year for the Cardinals.

”Coming back here to Miller Park, I was definitely nervous in the pen, but when I was out there on the mound I was calm,” Axford said. ”We needed that win.”

Michael Blazek (0-1), whom the Brewers received in the deal for Axford, took the loss. Beltran’s fly ball to deep right field off Blazek scored Kolten Wong, who led off the 10th with a walk.

Matheny was impressed with Axford’s composure.

”He was sharp, looked good and (got) a real big double play ball for us. It was pretty impressive how he could maintain and do that under that kind of pressure.”

Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Brewers got a leadoff double from Jeff Bianchi and he later scored on a single by pinch-hitter Logan Schafer. The Brewers added another run on Aramis Ramirez’s slow roller off Axford. Carlos Gomez grounded into an inning-ending double play to send the game to extra innings.

”I was just trying to get a groundball and get us back in the dugout,” Axford said. ”I would have preferred to have gotten the save as opposed to the win, but it worked out.”

Axford came on in relief of closer Edward Mujica, whom the Brewers tagged for three hits and two runs in one-third of an inning.

”We are trying to get our closer right. We are one groundball away from turning a double play,” Matheny said. ”We turn a double play, he gets a save, we get a win and he is feeling pretty good about himself. It didn’t happen tonight. We hurt for him.”

The Cardinals jumped on Brewers’ starter Johnny Hellweg for a run in the first inning on Matt Holliday’s single.

Ramirez hit a three-run home run with one out in the Brewers’ half of the first off Shelby Miller, who entered the game having given up just three earned runs over 25 innings in four previous starts against the Brewers this season.

”It was a hanging breaking ball that didn’t finish,” Miller said. ”Obviously a bad way to start off the first inning. Other than that, we settled in and battled as much as we could. At the end of the day it was a huge win for us.”

Miller surrendered seven hits and four runs in six innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Hellweg gave up seven hits and two runs over in an erratic five-inning stint. He walked five, struck out one, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.

”He looked pretty good today,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. ”He faced a really good lineup. He also got ground balls when he needed them and got double plays. That’s what he does.”

— Associated Press —

The Colorado Rockies are giving Todd Helton a thrilling curtain call to his 17-year career.

Corey Dickerson’s RBI triple with one out in the bottom of the 15th inning gave the Rockies a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

Charlie Blackmon finished with four hits and Troy Tulowitzki and Helton homered for the Rockies in tying the second-longest game in Coors Field history.

Matt Holliday had three hits for the Cardinals, who had their NL Central Division lead over Pittsburgh trimmed to one game. The Pirates beat San Diego 10-1 on Thursday.

“We control our own fate here,” Cardinals infielder Pete Kozma said. “Losing games like this hurts a little bit. We still got to play. We keep on playing the way we have been, we’ll be OK.”

The game took 5 hours, 9 minutes and depleted both bullpens and benches in what became a game of attrition. St. Louis used 10 pitchers and five bench players but still came away on the losing end.

“You look on the other side, that’s got to be a tough game for them,” Tulowitzki said. “To play that many innings, lose, we’ll see if that affects them. Just being a baseball fan you want to see if that affects them down the stretch.”

In the first inning, Helton tagged out Matt Carpenter at first with the hidden-ball trick. After Roy Oswalt threw to first, Helton feigned a throw back to the mound and tagged Carpenter when he stepped off the bag to end the inning.

“(Oswalt) picked over the time before and threw it back and turned around and watched him step off the back of the bag,” Helton said. “I was hoping he was going to pick again and he did. It worked. It’s never worked. I’ve done it five or six times, giving it a half-hearted effort. I can’t believe it worked. It’s one of those things I wanted to do my whole career.”

The game contained many twists besides the hidden-ball trick. There were two late-inning comebacks by Colorado and a dramatic home run to send the game into extra innings by the Rockies first baseman who is entering the last 10 days of his career.

“It doesn’t (get any better), especially with it being Todd’s last week and his home run to keep us in the game,” Dickerson said.

The dramatic finish, however, belonged to Colorado’s young players.

DJ LeMahieu started the winning rally with a one-out single to right off Fernando Salas (0-3). Dickerson then drilled a line drive into the right-field corner as LeMahieu rounded the bases. The relay from second baseman Carpenter beat LeMahieu but catcher Yadier Molina couldn’t control the ball as LeMahieu crawled to touch home.

It was Dickerson’s second triple of the game and sixth of the season. Rob Scahill (1-0), Colorado’s 10th pitcher, got the win.

“That late in the game, you have to take that chance,” Dickerson said of LeMahieu’s dash home. “I was already going to be on third for Tulo. That was a good chance right there.”

The Cardinals loaded the bases in the 15th but Kozma hit into a double play to end the inning.

“We had plenty of chances throughout that whole game,” Kozma said. “That was probably our best chance.”

It capped a long day in which the teams traded late-game rallies.

Helton, who struck out with the bases loaded to end Wednesday’s game, turned on Edward Mujica’s fastball Thursday, sending an 0-1 offering into the Rockies bullpen to lead off the ninth and tie it at 6-all.

It was Mujica’s fourth blown save in 41 chances.

“Everyone remembers the hit that wins the game but the hit that ties the game is as clutch as it gets,” manager Walt Weiss said.

Holliday hit his former team hard, going 8 for 21 with a home run, four walks and four RBIs in the series. He reached base in six straight at-bats Thursday and was poised to be the hero with his RBI single in the ninth before Helton tied it with his 14th home run of the season.

It was part of a back-and-forth that saw the Cardinals rally from four runs down but blow two late leads.

Trailing 4-0, the Cardinals got within a run in the fourth. Oswalt walked the first two batters, Carlos Beltran singled to score Jon Jay and Holliday came home on a sacrifice fly.

Tony Cruz doubled off the wall in left to make it 4-3.

Holliday tied it at 4-all with an RBI single in the fifth.

“We’ve seen this team do that pretty consistently through this season,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of the comeback. “That tells about the character of this club, and I think it’s going to serve us well as we move closer toward the end here and hopefully we have a real strong finish.”

David Freese gave the Cardinals a 5-4 lead in the eighth with an RBI double to center, but Colorado tied it in the bottom of the inning on Dickerson’s two-out triple.

Helton helped the Rockies take an early lead with a leadoff double in the second, his 588th career two-bagger. He moved to third on Charlie Culberson’s infield single and scored on Yorvit Torrealba’s blooper to right.

Culberson scored on a double play to make it 2-0.

Tulowitzki’s two-run homer in the third made it 4-0. It was his 23rd of the season.

— Associated Press —