Jorge De La Rosa answered a pair of pitching gems by the St. Louis Cardinals with one of his own. The Colorado Rockies’ offense woke up, too.

De La Rosa held St. Louis hitless into the seventh inning and Troy Tulowitzki’s three-run homer ended Colorado’s scoreless streak at 28 innings, sending the Rockies to an 8-2 victory Sunday.

”I definitely think it was a big hit and it took some pressure off Jorge,” Tulowitzki said. ”He didn’t feel like he had to be perfect, even though he was real close to being perfect.”

De La Rosa did not allow a hit until David Freese’s two-out single in the seventh.

”You try to stay calm,” the pitcher said. ”I think that helps, but I started feeling tired the last few innings. I think that’s why I left a couple of pitches up and they hit (them) very good.”

Mets lefty Johan Santana pitched a no-hitter against the Cardinals last year. Freese flashed back to that game, which ended when he struck out.

”You never want to lose a game. You never want to get no-hit, either,” Freese said. ”I remember last year it was pretty frustrating against Santana and it was creeping up on us.

”So it was nice to get it out of the way.”

Charlie Blackmon added a two-run homer off Jaime Garcia (4-2) for the Rockies, who snapped a four-game skid. They finished with 11 hits after totaling three in consecutive shutout losses to rookie Shelby Miller and Adam Wainwright.

”Jaime definitely had a couple of pretty tough acts to follow,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ”He came out and looked pretty good at the beginning, and had a couple things happen that didn’t quite go his way.”

Nolan Arenado, who singled with one out in the eighth to break up Wainwright’s no-hit bid Saturday, was among four Rockies with two hits apiece.

”It’s too good of an offensive lineup to stay down too long,” manager Walt Weiss said. ”Tulo had a big home run that got us going.”

The Cardinals lost for just the second time in 11 games. Pinch-hitter Matt Adams’ RBI single off Matt Belisle in a two-run ninth ended Colorado’s shutout bid.

De La Rosa (4-3) struck out seven and allowed two hits in seven innings, baffling the Cardinals until Freese singled sharply to right off the glove of diving first baseman Jordan Pacheco and Jon Jay followed with a double. De La Rosa finished his longest outing of the season, and his best showing on the road by far, by getting Pete Kozma on a lineout to first.

De La Rosa entered 1-3 with a 5.13 ERA on the road and 2-0 at home with 12 scoreless innings. This was the fourth time he worked six or more scoreless innings, and he carries a 13-inning scoreless streak into his next outing.

Tulowitzki’s eighth homer and first on the road since April 9 stopped the Rockies’ scoreless streak two innings shy of the team record. They went 30 innings without a run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, 2010, according to STATS.

The Rockies entered the weekend with the top offense in the National League and still led with a .266 batting average going into the finale of the three-game series. Tulowitzki was 0 for 6 in the first two games with five strikeouts and Carlos Gonzalez had been hitless in 15 at-bats before finishing with two singles and a walk.

Blackmon batted eighth after being called up earlier in the day to replace Michael Cuddyer, placed on the 15-day disabled list with a neck injury. Blackmon got a nice ovation for his fourth career homer after mistakenly getting introduced as a player making his major league debut during his first at-bat.

”Oh my gosh,” Blackmon said. ”That’s unbelievable. Who does that? It wasn’t my first home run, but they thought it was.”

Colorado had five hits in the first three innings after totaling three and going 40 consecutive at-bats without a hit the previous two days. The Rockies have never been shut out three straight times.

Garcia had won three straight starts before giving up five runs in six innings and falling to 0-3 with a 10.53 ERA against the Rockies in four starts – his highest against any opponent. He entered as the career ERA leader at 8-year-old Busch Stadium at 2.41.

”How many starts have I made against them?” Garcia said. ”You know what, I didn’t even think about that at all. Obviously, they have a really good lineup but I don’t think about those things.”

The lefty gave up just two homers in his first seven starts and entered with a 2.25 ERA overall.

Pacheco doubled with one out in the first to stop a 34-inning drought since the team’s last extra-base hit, also according to STATS. The Rockies finished with five extra-base hits, including a two-run double by pinch-hitter Reid Brignac off Carlos Martinez in the eighth.

The Cardinals’ streak of retiring 40 straight batters is tied for the second-longest in the majors since 1974, two shy of the record set by the Seattle Mariners from Aug. 14-17 last year, with Felix Hernandez throwing a perfect game on Aug. 15. Rangers pitchers retired 40 in a row in 1996.

— Associated Press —

Shelby Miller retired the last 27 batters Friday night, finishing with a one-hitter. A day later, the St. Louis Cardinals rookie sat in the dugout and watched Adam Wainwright nearly top that feat.

Wainwright pitched no-hit ball into the eighth inning and finished with a two-hitter Saturday against the suddenly punchless Colorado Rockies in a 3-0 victory.

”I thought for sure he was going to throw a no-hitter,” the 22-year-old Miller said. ”He was locked in. We both threw well and his was exciting to watch, especially.”

Wainwright doesn’t mind getting pushed by the team’s electric fifth starter who’s 5-2 with a 1.58 ERA.

”You follow Roger Clemens a couple times like I have been, it makes you focus a little bit more,” Wainwright said. ”Once you see Shelby mow through a lineup like he has all year, you want to go out there and do it, too.

”Those guys will think there’s a new sheriff in town,” Wainwright added.

The Rockies had been hitless in 49 consecutive at-bats before Nolan Arenado lined a clean hit to center field with one out in the eighth. Eric Young led off Friday night’s game with a broken-bat single off Miller then failed to put a runner on until Todd Helton walked with one out in the fifth inning a day later.

”I’m just trying to hit the ball hard,” Arenado said. ”I knew he wanted to get ahead with a strike and he threw one down and away. I got pretty lucky, I guess.”

The 49 at-bats is the longest hitless stretch since Sept. 25-27, 1981, when the Los Angeles Dodgers went 50 at-bats without a knock, according to STATS.

”I thought we were going to witness something pretty special,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”You could see him finishing that off.

”What a great couple of days,” Matheny said.

After the hit, Wainwright (5-2) doffed his cap in appreciation during a prolonged standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 43,050, then quickly retired the next two hitters. He gave up a two-out single to Dexter Fowler in the ninth and matched his career best with a two-hitter.

”About the third or fourth inning, I could tell he was throwing everything for a strike and was doing whatever he wanted to do,” right fielder Allen Craig said. ”You just never know how it’s going to go from there, but that was a lot of fun to be out there.

”He was close. Maybe next time,” added Craig.

Wainwright struck out seven for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career. The Rockies have been shut out for 26 consecutive innings since Carlos Gonzalez hit a first-inning sacrifice fly against the Yankees on Thursday, and have had just one runner in scoring position the first two games of the series.

The Rockies entered Saturday as the highest-scoring team in the National League. Manager Walt Weiss wasn’t planning a meeting.

”You leave it alone,” Weiss said. ”You know, everyone gets beat up a little bit in this game at some point, but our guys will keep grinding and we’ll to come out and try to turn it around (Sunday).”

Craig had three hits and a sacrifice fly and Yadier Molina had two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who have won nine of 10 and are a major league-best 23-12.

Wainwright has won five of his last six starts, recapturing his form as the staff ace in his second season coming off reconstructive elbow surgery. He has thrown a pair of two-hitters, the last on Aug. 6, 2010 at Florida.

Wainwright bounced back from his lone poor outing when he gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings at Milwaukee his last time out. He’s 5-1 against the Rockies.

”I wanted to get back to the basics after the last start,” Wainwright said. ”I wanted to attack the strike zone right away. Keep it simple, that was my focus today.”

Wainwright and Miller retired 40 consecutive batters with 18 strikeouts before Helton walked. He was stranded when Arenado fouled out and Reid Brignac grounded out.

All things appeared headed toward the no-hitter after Matt Carpenter made a sliding stab of a grounder about 10 feet onto the outfield grass behind second base for the first out in the eighth. Wainright smiled broadly at the play. Arenado, though, then singled.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the second and fourth, both times with the eighth and ninth-place hitter coming up. Both times, Jhoulys Chacin (3-2) escaped by striking out Pete Kozma and Wainwright.

They loaded them again in the fifth on singles by Carpenter, Jon Jay and Matt Holliday and took the lead on Craig’s sacrifice fly, with Matt Adams adding a two-out RBI single.

Matt Holliday, Craig and Molina hit consecutive singles off Josh Outman in the seventh to make it 3-0.

The Cardinals haven’t thrown a no-hitter since Bud Smith at San Diego in 2001, and haven’t had one at home since Bob Forsch threw the second of his career on Sept. 26, 1983, against the Expos.

Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki have each struck out five times the first two games.

— Associated Press —

Shelby Miller gave up a leadoff single then retired 27 in a row for his first career complete game, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Eric Young Jr. had a line drive hit to right field to start the game for the Rockies but Miller (5-2) gave up nothing else in his first shutout. The right-hander struck out Young to end it with his 13th K, tying a Cardinals rookie record.

The one-hitter was the fewest hits allowed by a Cardinals pitcher since Bud Smith tossed a no-hitter on Sept. 3, 2001, and it was the second one-hitter of the night in the major leagues. Boston’s Jon Lester was perfect until he allowed a two-out double in the sixth against Toronto.

In a near-perfect performance, Miller threw 113 pitches.

Miller lowered his ERA to 1.39, which is the lowest for a Cardinals pitcher in his first eight starts since Howie Pollet had a 2.09 ERA in his first eight in 1941.

Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer – his ninth – for St. Louis. Pete Kozma added an RBI single and Jon Jay a sacrifice fly for the Cardinals, who are National League-best 22-12.

Yadier Molina had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, which is the longest for a Cardinal this season.

Rockies starter Jon Garland (2-3) gave up all three runs in five innings. Garland allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out five.

Garland retired the first five batters he faced before Jay singled to center with two outs in the second. David Freese walked, and Kozma drove home Jay with a single to left.

Beltran made it 2-0 when he hit Garland’s first pitch of the third inning 409 feet into the seats in right. Jay gave the Cardinals a three-run cushion with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

— Associated Press —

Starting pitching. Veteran hitters. Dependable relievers. The St. Louis Cardinals have it all, so all this success on the road is no accident.

Carlos Beltran and Jon Jay drove in two runs apiece, and the Cardinals capped an impressive trip with a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

Beltran also had three hits as St. Louis won for the seventh time in eight games and improved to a major league-best 14-7 on the road. The Cardinals went 5-1 on a six-game swing to Milwaukee and Chicago, with the lone loss Tuesday in their first game of the season against the last-place Cubs.

”We’ve been an opportunistic team,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”We make the most of the opportunities that we’re getting, even though they’re not that many right now. And then they’re resilient, they just keep coming back.”

The Cardinals trailed 4-3 before Beltran singled in Matt Carpenter in the seventh, and Jay drove in Yadier Molina with a tiebreaking single against Michael Bowden (1-2) in the eighth. Each rally featured a costly mistake by the Cubs, with Carpenter moving to third on an error by right fielder Nate Schierholtz and Molina advancing to second on a wild pitch.

Jay also had a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and hit .500 (10 for 20) with a homer and eight RBIs on the trip. The center fielder has been playing so well that Matheny decided to move him up to sixth in the lineup, pushing struggling David Freese down one. The lineup switch also provided more protection for Molina, who responded with two hits.

”I’m just trying to keep it simple up there,” Jay said. ”Trying to hit the ball hard, and I’ve been able to get some pitches over the plate that I’ve been able to drive.”

Anthony Rizzo had three hits and Schierholtz ripped a two-run double for Chicago, trying for its second three-game winning streak this season. Instead, the Cubs finished a 4-6 homestand.

”We just can’t seem to shut anybody down in the sixth, seventh inning,” manager Dale Sveum said. ”We’re getting two strikes on people, we just can’t make a pitch when we have to.”

Chicago had 11 hits but grounded into four double plays, one in every inning from the fifth to the eighth. The last one was particularly heartbreaking, with the potential tying run on third.

Four Cardinals relievers combined for 3 2-3 innings of two-hit ball after Jake Westbrook had his worst start this season. Seth Maness (2-0) got five outs to get the win and Edward Mujica worked the ninth for his ninth save in nine opportunities.

”They did a great job,” Westbrook said. ”They got into a little trouble, but then they found ways to get out of it.”

The afternoon game on a picturesque spring day in Chicago attracted 26,354 to Wrigley Field, and fans were treated to a little bit of everything. There were a couple of adventures on the basepaths, a rarely seen 4-2-3 groundout and a bunch of singles – just three of 22 hits were for extra bases. Julio Borbon of the Cubs was called out for interference for running inside the baseline in the seventh.

The Cubs used Schierholtz’s two-run double, which caromed off the wall in foul territory and straight out into right field, and a well-placed grounder by Dioner Navarro to take a 4-2 lead in the fourth.

The Cardinals had their infield in with Navarro at the plate, but Schierholtz scored easily. With Molina standing in front of the plate and pointing to first, Carpenter still came home with the throw from second, and the Gold Glove catcher made a strong throw to first to retire the lumbering Navarro.

Molina also cut down Rizzo when the big first baseman tried to steal third following his two-out RBI double in the first. But the Cardinals had their own baserunning blunder in the fifth, when Carpenter was thrown out after he made a wide turn at second on Beltran’s run-scoring single.

Westbrook allowed four runs – three earned – and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings, increasing his ERA from 1.07 to 1.62. He had allowed just four earned runs all year.

”I was battling my location today,” he said. ”Kind of fighting pretty much all day.”

Carlos Villanueva pitched 6 2-3 innings for Chicago and was charged with three runs and seven hits. He has a 3.02 ERA in seven starts, but only one victory.

”You can see the boys coming alive now. The weather is warming up a little bit. We’re right there,” Villanueva said. ”We’re close. Keep chipping away.”

— Associated Press —

Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum has his choice for best starter right now in the major leagues: Travis Wood.

Wood pitched impressively into the seventh inning to outduel Lance Lynn, Nate Schierholtz hit a two-run homer and the Cubs snapped the St. Louis Cardinals’ six-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory.

Wood (3-2) allowed one run and five hits while striking out eight in 6 2-3 innings for his first win since April 27 at Miami. He has worked at least six innings in each of his seven starts this season.

”He’s got it,” Sveum said. ”He’s figured it out.”

Wood earned his first win at Wrigley Field since July 1 when he beat Houston. Over his previous 12 starts at Wrigley, he was 0-7 with a 4.58 ERA.

Sveum added: Wood is ”the best starter in baseball, pretty much” through the first part of the season.

Responded Wood: ”That’s a strong statement.”

He had to be pretty close to beat Lynn and the Cardinals.

St. Louis’ six-game winning streak was its longest since an eight-game run in July 2010, and Lynn was trying to be the National League’s first six-game winner.

”That’s a really good lineup,” Wood said. ”I was fortunate enough to be able to locate pitches and have good command tonight and keep them off balance and end up having a good game.”

Carlos Marmol relieved Wood with two outs in the seventh and pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings. In the eighth he allowed a single to Yadier Molina and walked Jon Jay before getting out of the inning by picking Molina off between second and third.

Molina stole second earlier in the inning, and Marmol stepped off the mound with the Cardinals catcher on second.

”I’m glad he made that mistake,” said Marmol, who’s had consecutive scoreless outings since allowing three runs in a loss to Cincinnati on Saturday.

Kevin Gregg pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save in five opportunities since signing with Chicago on April 15.

The Cubs have won two straight since dropping four in a row.

Lynn, meanwhile, pitched seven innings and gave up two runs and four hits while striking out eight. Last year, Lynn (5-1) went 6-0 to start the season, earning his sixth victory on May 7.

He might have matched that feat if not for Schierholtz’s fourth-inning home run.

”You look back at it, you gave up two runs on one swing,” Lynn said. ”I got behind him and made him hit it and he put a good swing on it so you tip your cap there, but for the most part I threw the ball well. That was only one I wanted back.”

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead with no outs in the second inning when Allen Craig hit a 2-2 fastball into the left field bleachers for his second home run of the year. Craig, who hit 22 last season, has two in the Cardinals’ last three games.

That was it for the St. Louis offense, which had scored 29 runs in its last four games.

”(Wood) made good pitches when he had to,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ”We couldn’t capitalize on the mistakes.”

There weren’t too many mistakes from Wood. He left with the lead May 2 against San Diego, but lost after he and the bullpen couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead in a 4-2 defeat.

Nothing like that happened Tuesday against Lynn and the Cardinals

”(Lynn is) a good pitcher. I mean, that whole club over there is outstanding,” Wood said. ”They’ve got good players, solid players, good staff and everything. It’s a confidence booster for us to come in and take Game 1 from them.”

— Associated Press —

Jaime Garcia put the Brewers and St. Louis’ sweep of Milwaukee under wraps.

He pitched eight innings and Allen Craig drove in four runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-1 win over Milwaukee and the franchise’s first four-game sweep of the Brewers.

”Early in the season, late in the season, it doesn’t matter when you get a series win like this one,” Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina said. ”Everything went good this weekend. We pitched good and really hit the ball well.”

Matt Holliday also homered for the Cardinals, who have won six straight, their most since taking eight in a row from July 11-21, 2010. It was the first time the Cardinals have four in a row from the Brewers, who moved to the NL and have been in the Cardinals’ division since the 1998 season.

Garcia (4-1), who won his third straight game, gave up one run on eight hits. He had three strikeouts and only one walk.

”I felt really good out there,” he said. ”I was able to keep the ball down and keep our team in the game.”

Marco Estrada (2-2) lasted 3 1-3 innings for the Brewers, who have lost five in a row. He gave up eight runs on six hits and had a career high six walks.

The Cardinals scored six runs in the second inning to take control of the game on three hits as St. Louis sent 10 men to the plate. Estrada was wild and loaded the bases with two walks and single.

Shane Robinson and Holliday forced in runs with walks before Craig lined a double to the left field corner to drive in three runs. Yadier Molina’s RBI single scored Craig.

Garcia lobbied Cardinals manager Mike Matheny to be allowed to pitch the ninth, but Carlos Martinez finished off the eight-hitter for Milwaukee.

”He pitched a great game,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ””Everything really came together for us this weekend. We had great pitching, good hitting and strong defense.”

Marco Estrada (2-2) lasted 3 1-3 innings for the Brewers, who have lost five in a row. He gave up eight runs on six hits and had a career high six walks in what he said may have been the worst outing of his big league career.

”I had no idea where the ball was going,” he said. ”I made a lot of pitches in the second inning. I couldn’t find it after that. It was one of those outings where I had no clue what I was doing out there.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Wednesday that the club has traded cornerback Javier Arenas to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for fullback Anthony Sherman.

Sherman (5-10, 242) has played in 28 games (11 starts) in two NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals (2011-12). His career numbers include one rush for three yards and 13 catches for 111 yards (8.5 avg.). Sherman paved the way for running back Beanie Wells’ first-career 1,000-yard rushing season in 2011.

He originally entered the NFL as the fifth-round selection (136th overall) of the Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft. The North Attleborough, Mass., native played fullback at Connecticut where he served as a team captain. With the Huskies, he appeared in 51 games (28 starts), totaling 17 carries for 61 yards and adding 45 receptions for 414 yards and a touchdown in four seasons. He prepped at North Attleborough High School where he was a multi-sport standout.

Arenas (5-9, 197) played in 47 games (12 starts) in three NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2010-12). His career numbers include 149 tackles (115 solo), 4.0 sacks (-35.0 yards), one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He added two interceptions and 23 passes defensed. On special teams, he returned 50 kickoffs for 1,050 yards (21.0 avg.) and 153 punts for 1,029 yards (9.8 avg.).

The Tampa, Fla., native was selected with the second of the Chiefs two second-round picks (50th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at Alabama and prepped at Robinson High School.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Jaime Garcia seems to save his best for the Cincinnati Reds.

The St. Louis left-hander dominated Cincinnati again with eight strong innings, Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer and the Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Reds on Tuesday night.

Garcia (3-1) gave up one run on seven hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter. He improved to 7-0 in eight starts against Cincinnati at Busch Stadium and is 9-2 overall with a 3.18 ERA against them in 13 starts. He retired the last seven batters he faced and recorded 18 ground ball outs.

”They’ve got a really strong lineup and they take good at-bats,” Garcia said. ”I just try to make good pitches against them and it’s been working.”

Edward Mujica struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances.

Bronson Arroyo (2-3) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings for the Reds, whose win streak ended at three games. Arroyo has had four quality starts in six outings this season.

Holliday drilled a line drive over the left-field wall in the sixth inning, his third homer of the season. Carlos Beltran, who had three hits for the Cardinals, had singled with one out before Holliday went deep.

The shot left the park in a hurry.

”I hit it good with some backspin,” Holliday said. ”It wasn’t a no-doubter, but I wasn’t surprised.”

Holliday’s first homer since April 19 decided a well-played contest between the two NL Central rivals.

”We hate to lose it, but that was a great game,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. ”If we keep playing like that, and get pitching like that, we’re going to win a lot of ballgames.”

Holliday muscled a 3-2 offering from Arroyo into the first few rows of the stands.

Arroyo said he put the pitch in the desired location.

”The guy is a beast,” Arroyo said of Holliday. ”He’s solid and he swings the bat about as hard as anyone in the game. There’s only a handful of guys that hit the ball with such a low trajectory and get it out.”

The Cardinals managed just one run in their previous 23 innings prior to the homer.

Garcia, given a 2-1 lead, set the side down in order in the seventh and eighth innings with six ground ball outs.

”With the defense we have, you want to make them hit the ball on the ground,” Garcia said. ”I’m confident that they’ll make the plays.”

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the fifth on a run-scoring double by Shin-Soo Choo, who has reached safely in 26 of 27 games this season. He brought in Derrick Robinson with a drive off the left-field wall. Choo broke out of a 2-for-20 skid with the double, his eighth of the season.

Mujica, who has taken over the closer role, needed just 19 pitches to fan Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce.

”That’s a tough assignment with that lineup,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. ”He just goes out there regardless of the situation and makes pitches.”

— Associated Press —

Mat Latos outpitched Adam Wainwright, extending his scoreless innings streak to 17, and the Cincinnati Reds got an RBI apiece from Joey Votto and Xavier Paul in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Aroldis Chapman worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save in six chances, finishing off only the third road victory in 11 games for the Reds and handing St. Louis its third straight loss.

Yadier Molina had three of the Cardinals’ seven hits, including an RBI double off Jonathan Broxton that produced their first run in 17 innings. The Cardinals stranded 10 runners.

Wainwright (4-2) trailed just six pitches in after Shin-soo Choo doubled on his first offering, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Votto’s single. Over his final six innings, the right-hander gave up three hits and one run on Paul’s broken-bat forceout grounder in the fourth set up by hits from Brandon Phillips and Todd Frazier.

Wainwright walked two, one intentionally, after issuing just one in 37 1-3 innings his first five starts.

Latos (2-0) worked around five hits and three walks in his sixth quality start in as many outings this season. The Reds have scored just four runs in his last three appearances.

The Cardinals, who entered with a major league-leading .355 average with runners in scoring position, had two base runners in an inning four times against Latos. Allen Craig, who came in 7 for 11 with runners in scoring position and two outs, failed twice in that situation with forceouts to end the third and fifth innings.

— Associated Press —

It was a milestone day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who took the NL Central lead for the first time since last July and reached 15 wins in April for the first time since 1992.

Manager Clint Hurdle thought his 700th career victory was a footnote at best, considering he has 808 losses. Players gave him a toast all the same.

”It means you’re gifted and blessed with the opportunity to do this for a while,” Hurdle said after the Pirates beat the Cardinals 9-0 Sunday for a series win and the division lead. ”You don’t talk about the other number because the other number is bigger.”

Rookie Jeff Locke gave a salute to his manager after pitching seven innings of three-hit ball and Russell Martin had two of Pittsburgh’s four home runs.

”It’s special to be the guy on the mound that day,” Locke said. ”I was awfully happy for him, and it’s not the last one.”

Garrett Jones had three hits and John McDonald had a key bloop RBI double for Pittsburgh, which ended rookie Shelby Miller’s streak of 14 scoreless innings at home to start the season. The Pirates have won nine of 12 overall and have the division lead for the first time since July 8, leapfrogging St. Louis for first place.

”It helps us believe we have the team we think we have,” Martin said. ”The key is to be consistent and do it every day, and we’ve been doing it every day.”

Locke (3-1) has worked 13 scoreless innings while allowing five hits his last two starts. The Cardinals got just three singles and advanced two runners into scoring position against the 25-year-old left-hander, who earned the fifth spot in the rotation with a strong spring.

Justin Wilson allowed a walk the last two innings to wrap up the Pirates’ fifth shutout, tied for the league lead with St. Louis and San Francisco. All of them have been collaborations.

The Cardinals lost consecutive games for the first time this season, managing just 11 hits. They didn’t get much going against Locke after some hard outs the first time through the order.

”It looked like good things were going to be coming the second time through,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”He mixed it up, kept us off-balance, and just shut us down.”

Miller (3-2) struggled to put away hitters and was taken out after 113 pitches and giving up two homers in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out seven, one off his season best, and was charged with a three runs after John McDonald greeted Fernando Salas with a well-placed pop fly that barely dropped in for an RBI double.

The 22-year-old rookie, who entered among the NL leaders with a 1.44 ERA, said he simply left too many pitches up.

”I probably can’t even count on my fingers how many balls I threw down in the zone,” Miller said. ”The ball might have been carrying a little bit, but that’s no excuse.

”I’m still getting hit hard, they were seeing the ball well.”

Left fielder Matt Holliday took a circuitous route and just missed a diving catch with the ball deflecting off his left wrist, and Brandon Inge scored from first on a close play at the plate for a 3-0 lead.

Martin hit his fourth homer with a 412-foot drive to straightaway center in the second. He doubled off the right-field fence in the fourth for his fourth straight extra-base hit, two of them homers, then added a two-run shot to cap a five-run ninth.

It was the seventh career multi-homer game and first since June 10-12, 2012, for the Yankees against the Mets for Martin, who’s hitting .409 since April 15 and batting .267 overall after going hitless in 17 at-bats his first seven games.

”I think it’s just the law of averages,” Martin said. ”Everything that happened earlier in the year is now going my way right now.

”Balls that are pretty much left over the plate, I’m not missing right now.”

Tabata lined a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall in the fifth for his first homer, giving him a hit in 21 of 23 career games at Busch Stadium.

Jones’ second homer and first in 50 at-bats since April 8 barely cleared Shane Robinson’s leaping attempt the wall in the seventh to make it 4-0. First base umpire Laz Diaz initially ruled no homer, but it was quickly overturned after the Pirates appealed.

Mitchell Boggs allowed two hits and a run-scoring groundout by Gaby Sanchez in the ninth, and was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Boggs lost the closer’s job earlier this month and has allowed 15 earned runs in 10 2-3 innings.

Boggs and Matheny both thought the pitcher deserved better this time. After deconstructing his outing, Boggs struck a note of defiance.

”Yeah, it’s hard to be positive, but at the same time you have to do everything you can to fight every single day and I’m doing that,” Boggs said. ”If anybody can’t see that, they’re crazy.”

— Associated Press —