ST. LOUIS (AP) — In a pivotal series for the Dodgers, rookie Walker Buehler came through with a masterful performance.

Buehler allowed two hits in eight innings, Yasiel Puig homered twice and Los Angeles drew even with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race with a 3-0 victory on Friday night. The Dodgers also moved within one-half game of first-place Colorado in the NL West.

Buehler (7-5) pitched beyond the seventh inning for the first time and earned his first victory since Aug. 17. He retired the first 13 batters before Paul DeJong singled to left field. Harrison Bader singled later in the fifth for the Cardinals’ only other hit.

“This was probably the best pitching performance of the year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Not only Walker but across the board. Against a very good club in St. Louis on the road and obviously what’s at stake right now for each game. He wanted this moment and just coming out firing. His command. Just domination. He kind of did what he wanted to do tonight.”

Buehler struck out nine and walked two. In two career starts against St. Louis, the right-hander has not allowed a run and has 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.

“He’s got some serious weapons,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s throwing 97-98 (mph), with command. When you can locate your fastball, regardless of velocity, that’s a nice weapon. Then you do it with that velocity and then you do it with some cut. And his cutter, at least from the side, it looked like it had some depth. Then second time through the lineup, start mixing in a changeup and hitting with that, that’s a pretty potent weaponry right there.”

The Dodgers and Cardinals are tied for the second NL wild-card position, four games behind Milwaukee for the top spot. But Los Angeles has its sights on the division crown and moved closer when the Rockies lost to San Francisco.

“Sometimes there’s teams you match up well against,” Buehler said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s just the way the game works and luckily tonight that worked out.”

Puig homered in the second off Jack Flaherty (8-7) and connected again in the ninth off Tyler Webb. It was his second multi-homer game of the season.

“I was trying to do my best,” Puig said through a translator. “He threw a fastball there and I was able to connect with it. I can hit lefties sometimes and right there I was trying to find something up in the zone. I wasn’t expecting a home run but it happened.”

In the seventh, Cody Bellinger scored on a passed ball by Yadier Molina.

Kenley Jansen hit Yairo Munoz with a pitch to open the ninth but retired the next three batters to finish the two-hitter, earning his 35th save in 39 opportunities.

Flaherty worked six innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He has 168 strikeouts this season, the fourth-best total for a rookie in franchise history.

“We want to win. I don’t care about my line. I don’t care about anything other than winning,” Flaherty said. “It doesn’t matter how I pitched, I didn’t pitch well enough. He pitched better than I did.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: Relievers John Axford and Tony Cingrani were scheduled to pitch in the California Championship Series for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday night. “They’re stacking the deck, trying to help them make their playoff push,” Roberts joked. “They’re supposed to go an inning each. We’ll see how they come out of it. Our hope is to get these guys back.” Axford could return to the majors after one appearance, while Cingrani (shoulder) would likely need more rehab work.

Cardinals: IF Jedd Gyorko is likely to return to the starting lineup Saturday, manager Mike Shildt said. He drew a pinch-hit walk in the eighth inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Adolis Garcia.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals send right-hander John Gant (7-5, 3.16 ERA) to the mound Saturday afternoon to make his third career appearance and first start against Los Angeles. Veteran lefty Rich Hill (8-5, 3.88) starts for the Dodgers.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs to back Clayton Kershaw, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-7 Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between playoff contenders.

The Dodgers snapped a five-game losing streak against the Cardinals and moved to within one game of St. Louis for the final NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals, who went 22-6 in August, lost their second straight game and fell to 5-7 in September.

Kershaw (8-5), pitching at Busch Stadium for the first time since taking the loss in Game 4 of the 2014 NL division series, struck out eight in six innings, allowing four runs — three earned — on eight hits and two walks.

David Freese tripled on a 14-pitch at-bat against Austin Gomber to score Chris Taylor and Machado in the first. Matt Kemp followed with a single to score Freese.

Kershaw’s RBI single started a four-run fourth and drove Gomber (5-1) from the game. Taylor followed with an RBI double, and Justin Turner and Machado had sacrifice flies as the Dodgers went ahead 8-1.

Machado went 3 for 4, and his solo homer in the seventh traveled 417 feet to center.

It was Gomber’s first loss in the majors. The rookie left-hander went three-plus innings and gave up a career-high seven runs on nine hits.

Cardinals reliever Tyson Ross hit his second career home run in the fifth, sparking a three-run rally. He became the fourth Cardinals pitcher to homer this season, the most the team has had since 1966.

Matt Carpenter had a pair of singles and scored twice. Marcell Ozuna had two hits, an RBI and scored a run.

The Cardinals scored twice and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen needed 29 pitches to finish the game in a non-save situation.

FAN-TASTIC

The attendance was announced at 40,997, putting the Cardinals over the 3 million mark for the 15 straight season and 22nd overall.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: RHP Ross Stripling will move back into the rotation for Sunday’s game, moving LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu back to Monday and LHP Alex Wood to the bullpen.

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina (left hamstring tightness) returned to the starting lineup after missing six games. He went 0 for 1 with a walk before leaving the game after the fourth inning with St. Louis trailing by seven. “He feels like he can catch without any issue, and clearly he’ll be a little compromised on the bases,” manager Mike Shildt said. “It’s something that we’ll sacrifice him scoring maybe a run, of course clearly we might pinch-run for him late in the game if it’s applicable.”

UP NEXT

The Cardinals send RHP Jack Flaherty (8-6, 2.92 ERA) to the mound Friday night. The Dodgers will counter with RHP Walker Buehler (6-5, 3.09) in a rematch of a duel between the rookies in a 3-1 Cardinals win at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 22. Flaherty struck out 10 in that game, giving up one hit (a solo homer by Joc Pederson) in six innings, while Buehler allowed three hits and struck out nine over seven scoreless innings.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A small bump in the road.

That’s what St. Louis Cardinals infielder Paul DeJong says Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates was.

“At this point we’re flushing this one,” DeJong said. “And getting ready for L.A.”

The Cardinals begin a key four-game series against the Dodgers on Thursday. St. Louis leads Los Angeles by two games for the second NL wild card. The Dodgers beat the Reds 8-1 on Wednesday.

The Cardinals are 34-19 under new manager Mike Shildt. They have the most wins in the NL after the All-Star break with 33.

Outfielder Harrison Bader is confident St. Louis can break its two-year postseason drought.

“The best time to play our best baseball is towards the end of the season,” Bader said. “And I think we’re right there. Pitching, defense, offense, I couldn’t be more excited for these last few games.”

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill agreed: “We’ve been playing great in the late innings and had a lot of walk-offs this year. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done tonight. But we’ll be ready for what lies ahead.”

Jameson Taillon (13-9) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings Wednesday, leaving with a 4-1 lead after the first two Cardinals reached in the eighth. He has held opponents to three earned runs or less in his last 19 starts, the second- longest streak in the NL behind New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom with 26.

“His command and his control were at a premium,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “All of his pitches were in good sequence. It was all part of the package.”

Taillon has gone seven innings or more seven times this season and has limited opponents to two runs or fewer in all of those outings.

“Having a slider helps, it’s something else I can throw,” Taillon said.

Jose Martinez hit into a run-scoring forceout in the eighth inning against Felipe Vazquez, who allowed Patrick Wisdom’s run-scoring single in the ninth. Vazquez rebounded to strike out DeJong and Matt Carpenter with two on to end the game for his 22nd consecutive save and 32nd in 36 chances this year.

“He went to next-level stuff,” said Pittsburgh catcher Jacob Stallings, who drove in three runs. “To get those two punch-outs against those quality hitters was pretty spectacular.”

Pittsburgh has won six of eight. The Pirates won 11 in a row from July 11-24.

Daniel Poncedeleon (0-2), making his fourth start for St. Louis, allowed two runs and five hits in five innings.

Marcell Ozuna had a run-scoring single in the first for the Cardinals, but Stallings hit a sacrifice fly in the second, Jordan Luplow had a go-ahead single in the third, and Stallings boosted the lead to 4-1 with a two-run single off Mike Mayers in the sixth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: OF Gregory Polanco underwent surgery to repair an acute dislocation of his left shoulder on Wednesday. He was injured on Friday in a 5-3 win over Miami and is likely out for the rest of the season.

Cardinals: INF Jedd Gyorko was activated from the 10-day DL. He had been bothered by a left groin strain. … C Yadier Molina remains out with a sore hamstring.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (4-7, 4.56) will face LHP Gio Gonzalez (8-11, 4.40) in the opener of a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday. Archer is making his eighth start for the Pirates after he was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31.

Cardinals LHP Austin Gomber (5-0, 2.93) is to take on LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-5, 2.32) in the start of a four-game series against the visiting Dodgers on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals rookie Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run homer during a six-run eighth inning, Marcell Ozuna drove in three and Miles Mikolas pitched seven solid innings to lift the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5 on Tuesday night.

Mikolas (15-5) gave up a run, five hits and a walk while striking out seven. He dropped his ERA to 2.99, and he got his first victory in five starts against the Pirates this season. Mikolas struck out five straight in one stretch, and the Cardinals improved to 21-8 in his starts.

Ozuna is hitting .352 this season against Pittsburgh. He has 13 RBI against the Pirates and 79 on the season.

Joe Musgrove (6-9) went six innings. He allowed four hits, four runs and two walks while striking out eight.

St. Louis took a 2-0 lead in the first when Ozuna hit a two-run double to left, scoring Matt Carpenter and Jose Martinez.

Corey Dickerson countered for Pittsburgh with an RBI single in the fourth before St. Louis added two runs in the sixth after loading the bases with no outs. After Ozuna struck out, Musgrove uncorked a wild pitch to score Carpenter. Paul DeJong hit a sacrifice fly to center, driving in Martinez for a 4-1 lead.

A wild pitch by Pirates reliever Tanner Anderson with the bases load in the seventh let Francisco Pena score.

Then St. Louis blew it open in the eighth. Pena singled home Kolten Wong from second base, and O’Neill then hit a 3-0 pitch 457 feet into the upper left field bleachers for his eighth home run. The shot knocked out rookie pitcher Nick Burdi, who was making his major league debut.

Pinch-hitter Adolis Garcia added a run-scoring double off Clay Holmes, and Ozuna finished off the St. Louis scoring with a sacrifice fly.

The Pirates scored four runs and five hits in the ninth off Luke Weaver. John Brebbia relieved to record the final out.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Activated P Mike Mayers (right shoulder inflammation) from the 10-day disabled list. He had been out since Aug. 26. … C Yadier Molina missed his fifth straight game with left hamstring tightness. He is day to day. … 3B Jedd Gyorko (left groin strain) is expected to be activated Thursday.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (12-9, 3.40) make his career-high 29th start. He had made 18 straight starts allowing three earned runs or fewer. He is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in seven career starts against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (0-1, 2.67) will make his fourth start of the season and it will be his first appearance against the Pirates. He pitched two innings of scoreless relief Saturday in Detroit.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Adams hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to rally the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.

St. Louis, which overcame deficits of 4-0 and 6-4, moved two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the second wild card spot in the NL. Cincinnati beat Los Angeles 10-6 Monday.

Josh Harrison, Colin Moran and Starling Marte homered for Pittsburgh, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

Adams homered off Edgar Santana (2-3) to erase a 6-4 deficit.

John Brebbia (2-3) picked up the win for St. Louis, which has won two in a row.

Carlos Martinez, a former starter, picked up his third save in as many chances. He gave up run-scoring double to Josh Bell with two out. But he got Francisco Cervelli to ground out to DeJong at deep short to end the game. The play was challenged, but Cervelli was ruled out after a video review.

St. Louis right-hander Adam Wainwright, making his first start since May 13, gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings. He retired the last eight batters after giving up three runs in the third.

Matt Carpenter walked to start the go-ahead rally. Jose Martinez followed with a hit to set the stage for Adams’ heroics.

Harrison broke a 4-4 tie with a solo shot off Chasen Shreve in sixth. Adam Frazier added a run-scoring hit for a 6-4 lead.

The Cardinals scored four times in the fourth off Trevor Williams, who had allowed just four earned runs over his previous nine starts. Paul DeJong had a two-run double and scored on Harrison Bader’s game-tying sacrifice fly.

Williams allowed six hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Moran homered in the second off Wainwright, who struck out three and did not walk a batter. Marte ripped a two-run shot in the third, his 19th of the season, for a 3-0 lead.

St. Louis is 33-18 under manager Mike Shildt, who took over for Mike Matheny on July 15.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina missed his fourth straight game with left hamstring tightness suffered Wednesday in Washington. He is expected to return sometime during the current seven-game homestand that began on Monday. … RHP Adam Wainwright was activated from the 60-day disabled list prior to the game.

UP NEXT

RHP Joe Musgrove (6-8, 3.75) takes on RHP Miles Mikolas (14-4, 3.06) in the second game of the three-game set on Tuesday. Musgrove has gone at least seven innings in five of his last nine starts. The Cardinals are 7-1 in Mikolas’ last eight starts.

— Associated Press —

DETROIT (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals needed something to get them going on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.

Out of nowhere — again — a squirrel appeared.

In an episode sure to revive St. Louis fans’ memories of the 2011 Rally Squirrel, this game at Comerica Park was scoreless going into the seventh inning. That’s when a squirrel took up residence between second and third base.

There was a delay and, with some prompting from the Tigers infield, the critter moved into foul territory and eventually made its escape in right field.

The Cardinals wound up scoring five times in the inning and avoided a series sweep with a 5-2 victory.

“I don’t think you can discount that factor,” manager Mike Shildt said. “The squirrel shows up and we score five runs. We only had six in the whole series before that.”

During the 2011 NL Division Series, a squirrel cut across the diamond at Busch Stadium, running right past home plate during a game against Philadelphia. The Cards went on to win the playoff series and later the championship — their World Series rings even depicted a squirrel.

“I don’t necessarily believe in superstitions like that,” said Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong, who had a hit in the seventh. But he added: “Maybe you could call it the Rally Squirrel.”

The Cardinals lost the first two games of the series in walk-off fashion and didn’t have a baserunner until the sixth against Michael Fulmer.

St. Louis, which has a one-game lead for the second NL wild card spot, won for the third time in eight games.

“You never want to get swept by anybody,” said Kolten Wong, who drove in the Cardinals’ first run. “We knew they could be dangerous, because they have nothing to lose, and they gave us a battle. Luckily, we were able to get one.”

Detroit’s four-game winning streak was snapped.

John Gant (7-5) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six.

“I knew I really needed to bear down, because we needed this game,” Gant said. “I had to go out there and give my best effort.”

Carlos Martinez pitched the ninth for his second save. After the game, Shildt said Martinez will replace Bud Norris as the team’s closer.

Fulmer (3-11) was perfect through five innings but only got four more outs. He allowed five runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings, striking out five.

“He was cruising, and then everything fell apart behind him,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We didn’t make a couple plays, we dropped a ball and they found a bunch of holes. I don’t think they hit a ball hard off him.”

Fulmer fell to 0-6 in his last nine starts, with the Tigers losing all nine.

“My job is to help this team win games, and I’m obviously not doing that,” he said. “But I can feel the progress every time. This is the best I’ve felt in two years.”

In the seventh, Marcell Ozuna and DeJong both hit infield singles with one out, and Wong followed with an RBI single to left. Yairo Munoz followed with a flyball down the right-field line that Niko Goodrum dropped, allowing the second run to score.

Greg Garcia was intentionally walked, loading the bases, and Carson Kelly hit the third infield single of the inning to make it 3-0. Victor Alcantara replaced Fulmer and allowed a sacrifice fly to Matt Carpenter before Jose Martinez’s RBI single gave the Cardinals a five-run lead.

“Fulmer was really tough, but we found some little holes,” Kelly said. “You never know when that squirrel will show up, but we needed it there.”

The Tigers got their two runs in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to doubles from Nicholas Castellanos, James McCann and Ronny Rodriguez.

Carpenter and Shildt were both ejected after Carpenter was called out on strikes to end the ninth.

ROSTER MOVES

The Tigers brought up three players from Triple-A Toledo, one day after the Mud Hens were eliminated from the International League playoffs. Prospect Christin Stewart is expected to play regularly in left field, while C Jarrod Saltalamacchia will serve as the third catcher and RHP Zac Reininger will add a bullpen arm. Stewart made his major-league debut, pinch-hitting for Ronny Rodriguez with two out in the ninth. He popped out to third to end the game.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Return home for a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Adam Wainwright (1-3, 4.00 ERA) starts Monday for the Cardinals against Pittsburgh’s Trevor Williams (12-9, 3.15).

Tigers: Justin Verlander (14-9, 2.73) returns to Comerica Park to face the Tigers on Monday in the first of a three-game series with the Houston Astros. Francisco Liriano (4-9, 4.90) starts for Detroit.

— Associated Press —

DETROIT (AP) — Jeimer Candelario left the St. Louis Cardinals with a sinking feeling.

Candelario connected on a 102 mph sinker from Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks, hitting a two-run homer in the ninth inning Friday night that gave the Detroit Tigers a 5-3 victory.

“There are guys who throw a soft 100 mph fastball — you can see it coming and you can time it,” Tigers catcher James McCann said. “Hicks is throwing a hard 103. It is right on top of you, and it moves. It’s tough to make contact, and he barreled it up.”

Hicks, who was facing his sixth batter, gave Candelario most of the credit.

“I was sharp and I was trying to pound the strike zone,” he said. “He just got good wood on it and the ball left the yard. I can’t mourn a mistake. I just have to get better.”

Candelario’s second career game-ending homer was made more special by the presence of his family.

“This is a blast,” he said in a postgame television interview. “To do this, not just in front of the fans, but in front of my family.”

Marcell Ozuna homered twice for St. Louis, which has lost four of six. The Cardinals hold a slim lead for the second NL wild-card spot.

“I’m trying to be more aggressive,” Ozuna said. “When my shoulder was hurting, I couldn’t stay inside, but now I feel better and I can hit that pitch.”

The Tigers won their third in a row.

“That’s a lot of fun,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Those guys are in a pennant race and we’re not, but we stepped up and got a victory. Those are the moments you enjoy.”

Hicks (3-4) retired the first five batters he faced, but rookie Victor Reyes slapped a 102 mph fastball to left with one out in the ninth, and Candelario hit his 18th homer on the next pitch.

“Candy is still learning at this level, but he’s a strong young man,” Gardenhire said. “He has some tough at-bats, but he can also do that.”

Detroit closer Shane Greene (3-6) worked a scoreless ninth.

Tigers starter Daniel Norris allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out seven and gave up both of Ozuna’s homers.

“I learned not to throw him a fastball over the plate,” he said.

Norris was making his second start after missing four months with groin surgery and was starting at home for the first time since April 20.

“It was great to be out there in front of our fans, wearing our white jerseys and feeling healthy,” he said. “It’s been a long road back.”

Cardinals starter Austin Gomber gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in six-plus innings, striking out six.

Ozuna led off the second with a home run, much to the delight of the large contingent of Cardinals fans. The Tigers made it 1-all in the bottom of the inning on Dawel Lugo’s RBI groundout.

Ozuna connected for his 20th homer to begin the fourth. He also hit two home runs against Washington on Tuesday.

The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead in the fifth when Kolten Wong doubled, took third when Norris balked and scored on Francisco Pena’s sacrifice fly.

Gomber retired the first two batters in the bottom half, but Reyes beat out a bunt single and the Tigers loaded the bases on Candelario’s base hit and Goodrum’s walk. Nicholas Castellanos lined a tying, two-run single.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina is expected to miss the three-game series in Detroit with a hamstring injury.

REYES KEEPS IMPROVING

Reyes, a Rule 5 pick who had never played above Double-A ball before this season, was hitting .118 with no walks or extra-base hits after the first 25 games of his career. Since then, playing more regularly, he is batting .261 in 60 games and hit his first career homer last week in New York.

“Once I gave him a chance, he’s worked hard to become a major league player, and we expect him to stay here next year,” Gardenhire said.

THROWBACK WEEKEND

The Tigers are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their 1968 World Series win over the Cardinals during the weekend series. Five players from the 1968 team threw out first pitches on Friday, and a ceremony will be held before Saturday’s game.

UP NEXT

The teams continue the series Saturday night. Matthew Boyd (9-12, 4.24) will start for the Tigers against Jack Flaherty (8-6, 2.83).

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Adams homered twice against his former team who traded him last month, Marcell Ozuna tied his career-high with four hits and the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Washington Nationals 7-6 on Wednesday night.

One night after bashing five homers against Washington, St. Louis settled for three in the rubber game of the series as Yairo Munoz had a solo shot in the sixth.

Miles Mikolas (14-4) worked 6 2/3 innings and was charged with four runs on 12 hits. Carlos Martinez worked the final two innings for his first save since 2014, getting three straight outs in the ninth after the first two batters reached.

Ryan Zimmerman’s three-run double followed by Wilmer Difo’s RBI single pulled Washington within 7-6 in the seventh.

Bryce Harper had three hits for Washington on a day when general manager Mike Rizzo responded that he hasn’t considered any other scenario when asked if manager Dave Martinez will return in 2019.

Adams was signed by the Nationals in the offseason. The former Cardinal hit .258 with 18 homers for Washington and was traded back to St. Louis on Aug. 21, the same day Daniel Murphy was dealt to the Cubs.

Tuesday’s homers were Adams’ first since the trade. He came into the game 3 for 23 with the Cardinals.

Washington’s Tanner Roark (8-15) was a loser for the third straight start. He gave up six runs on 10 hits over five innings.

It took the Cardinals just seven pitches to take a 3-0 lead off Roark. Following a pair of singles, Adams homered on the first pitch he saw.

Fielding problems helped the Cardinals expand their lead in the second. With two outs, third baseman Anthony Rendon had trouble getting a Mikolas bouncer out of his glove. Then Matt Carpenter launched a flyball to the warning track in center that Harper lost sight of for an RBI double.

Carpenter later scored to make it 5-0.

Adams struck again in fifth, hitting a solo shot into the back of the second deck on Roark’s first pitch.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina left in the eighth inning with left hamstring tightness. … 2B Kolten Wong (left hamstring strain) was activated from the 10-day disabled list after missing nine games. Manager Mike Shildt said Wong was available Wednesday in a limited capacity. . OF Harrison Bader started a night after fouling a ball off his ankle. “I said after the game `How are you feeling?” Shildt said. “He said, `Five ounces can’t hurt me’ — the weight of a baseball.”

Nationals: LHP Sean Doolittle (left toe inflammation) threw another simulated game Wednesday. “He felt a lot better today than he did the previous game,” Martinez said. “Hopefully he’ll be back for the weekend.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals: LHP Austin Gomber (5-0, 2.77 ERA) starts Friday at Detroit as St. Louis begins its final interleague series of the season.

Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (7-7, 4.09) starts the opener of a four-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs. Strasburg is 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA in six career starts versus the Cubs.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — Yadier Molina hit a grand slam, Marcell Ozuna homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 11-8 on Tuesday night.

Molina provided a cushion for St. Louis via his sixth career slam, which made it 11-5 with two outs in the ninth.

The Cardinals, who occupy the second NL wild card spot, hit five homers overall as they stopped a three-game skid.

Right fielder Yairo Munoz robbed Ryan Zimmerman of a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, reaching over the fence and pulling it back into the field of play for a two-run double.

Tyson Ross (8-9) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win and Jordan Hicks got the final out for his sixth save in 11 chances.

Ozuna and Paul DeJong homered back-to-back leading off the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and one out later, Patrick Wisdom went deep to make it 7-4.

Making his second major league appearance, reliever Austen Williams (0-1) gave up all three homers. He allowed none in 68 innings this season in Double and Triple A.

The 4-hour, 10-minute game included 16 walks and 20 strikeouts.

Wilmer Difo homered and Bryce Harper had a double and three walks in five plate appearances for the Nationals, who fell one game below .500.

Ozuna gave led off the second with his 17th homer, and Matt Carpenter capped the inning with a two-run single that made it 4-0.

Washington rallied in the fifth when Zimmerman led off with a grounder to second that second baseman Munoz misplayed for an error. Washington ultimately sent 10 men to the plate in the inning against three pitchers.

Harper drove in two with his bases-loaded double, and Trea Turner and Juan Soto drew bases-loaded walks.

Washington starter Erick Fedde allowed four runs in five innings. John Gant of St. Louis was charged with three runs — none earned — in 4 1/3 innings.

WALK OUT

St. Louis picked up a first-inning out when Harper walked on a 3-2 pitch with Turner running from first. Despite the walk, catcher Molina threw to Munoz. The Cardinals appealed the play, and upon review Turner was called out. Though entitled to second base via Harper’s walk, Turner slid past the bag and was tagged out.

ROSTER MOVES

The Nationals recalled a top prospect, OF Victor Robles, from Triple-A Syracuse along with INF Adrian Sanchez and RHP Austin Voth and selected the contract of RHP Kyle McGowin from Syracuse. Robles flied out as a pinch-hitter in the sixth. Washington also reinstated Fedde and RHP Joe Ross from the 60-day disabled list and activated LHP Tommy Milone from the 10-day DL. Milone was then assigned outright to Syracuse.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Shildt said 2B Kolten Wong (left hamstring strain) will be activated tomorrow.

Nationals: LHP Sean Doolittle (left toe inflammation) will throw another simulated game Wednesday. “His (velocity) was a little down in the last one so we just want to make sure he’s not tinkering with his mechanics or anything like that,” manager Dave Martinez said. … RHP Jefry Rodriguez will move to the bullpen to limit his innings and Ross will start Friday against the Cubs.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (13-4, 2.96 ERA), who was originally listed as Tuesday’s starter, will instead go in Wednesday’s finale. He gave up four runs in seven innings to Washington on Aug. 13.

Nationals: RHP Tanner Roark (8-14, 2.96 ERA) makes the second home start of his career against the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

WASHINGTON (AP) — After Bryce Harper swung into action, the St. Louis Cardinals were the ones who didn’t feel so good.

Ill for the past week, Harper hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning, then delivered a sacrifice fly in the 10th that sent the Washington Nationals over the Cardinals 4-3 Monday.

“I felt pretty good at the plate,” Harper said. “Body doesn’t feel very good. Just trying to grind every single day and not try and worry about it. But coughing, hacking, all that good stuff.”

Washington got back to .500 and pulled within 7 1/2 games of NL East-leading Atlanta and 3 1/2 games of Philadelphia after both lost.

The playoff-contending Cardinals have dropped three in a row for the first time since July 11-14.

The Cardinals led 3-1 with one out in the ninth when Harper hit his 31st home run, sending a 96 mph fastball from closer Bud Norris over the center field fence.

Mark Reynolds led off the Washington 10th against Chasen Shreve (1-1) with a double that went in and out of right fielder Tyler O’Neill’s glove. Pinch-runner Michael Taylor moved to third on Adam Eaton’s bunt single and an out later, Harper flied to deep left. Taylor slid in safely, well ahead of Marcell Ozuna’s throw.

“Just trying to get it in,” Harper said. “I know nobody wants to play extra innings in here. Real hot out there today, so just trying to get the run in any way possible.”

It was the second rough outing in a row for Norris, who gave up three runs and two homers in the 10th inning of Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Cincinnati.

“I pound the strike zone, and I’ve walked the both leadoff guys in situations right there and that’s not helping me,” Norris said. “It’s hard this late in the year, but I have to be better. I have to make better pitches. He hit it, so I have to give him credit for that, but I have to make better pitches and get ahead of hitters.”

St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said Norris, who has converted 28 of 33 save opportunities, is unlikely to be available Tuesday after pitching on consecutive days.

“He’s done a nice job for us all year, and you have to ride though some stuff with guys occasionally,” Shildt said. “Clearly, we’ll evaluate as we go. But it just wasn’t his day the last couple of days, and I know he feels as bad as anybody in the clubhouse.”

Greg Holland (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory against the Cardinals, who designated him for assignment July 27. It was his longest outing since a two-inning appearance for Kansas City on May 12, 2015.

Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty went five innings, giving up a solo homer to Trea Turner in the first. He loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but coaxed Ryan Zimmerman to fly out. Flaherty struck out five and walked five.

Washington’s Max Scherzer settled in after needing 33 pitches to get through a two-run first. He eventually retired 12 in a row, a stretch halted when Yairo Munoz led off the sixth with his seventh home run.

Scherzer pitched seven innings, allowing four hits while striking out 11. It was his 15th outing with at least 10 strikeouts this season. He has a major league-leading 260 strikeouts for the year, his fifth consecutive season with at least 250.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (elbow inflammation) will come off the disabled list and start Sept. 10 against Pittsburgh, Shildt said. Wainwright (1-3, 4.00 ERA) has not started since May 13 and has made only one major league appearance since April 17. … St. Louis recalled RHP John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis. Brebbia struck out the side while working a scoreless sixth.

Nationals: Matt Wieters (groin) struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth before remaining in the game to catch. He has not started since leaving Friday’s game and did not play Sunday.

GREAT ESCAPE

Washington reliever Justin Miller entered with the bases loaded and none out in the eighth, but induced a double play grounder on his first pitch before striking out Ozuna to end the threat.

“Normally I get myself in that situation,” Miller said of wiggling out of the jam.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (13-4, 2.96 ERA), who gave up four runs in seven innings to Washington on Aug. 13, gets the start as the three-game series continues.

Nationals: RHP Erick Fedde (1-3, 5.79), who has not pitched since leaving his July 4 start against Boston with shoulder inflammation, will come off the disabled list to face St. Louis.

— Associated Press —