CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs celebrated Anthony Rizzo’s engagement with a postgame cake. The All-Star first baseman dove right in.

Pretty sweet day.

Rizzo reached four times and scored the winning run on Jason Heyward’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, leading the Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday that snapped a six-game losing streak.

“It doesn’t matter if it was versus the Cardinals or versus a college team, we needed to win no matter what,” Rizzo said.

It was the second big win for Rizzo in less than a day. He proposed to girlfriend Emily Vakos on Thursday.

“We were on a boat on Lake Michigan, had some fireworks go off, and it was great,” Rizzo said. “She was totally surprised, so that’s what I wanted. Somehow kept that under wraps.”

Heyward also doubled in Rizzo in the sixth and Kris Bryant homered as the Cubs washed away some of the sting from a winless road trip against the Dodgers and Padres. John Lackey pitched seven solid innings, settling down after a shaky start.

“We just did enough,” manager Joe Maddon said.

Dexter Fowler homered for St. Louis in his first game at Wrigley Field since he signed with the Cardinals in the offseason. Rookie Magneuris Sierra had an RBI single, and Lance Lynn pitched 5 1/3 innings of two-hit ball.

“It was one of those days when I didn’t have my best stuff but I was able to kind of mix and match and move in and out,” Lynn said.

Rizzo led off the eighth with a double over the head of Sierra in left. He moved up on Ben Zobrist’s grounder to third and scampered home when Heyward hit a fly ball to center against Trevor Rosenthal (1-2).

Pedro Strop (1-2) struck out Yadier Molina with the bases loaded for the final out of the Cardinals eighth, and Wade Davis closed for his 11th save.

“We were in a good spot,” manager Mike Matheny said of the blown opportunity in the eighth. “We just weren’t able to get the hit we needed.”

Fowler received his World Series ring during a pregame ceremony, drawing loud cheers from the crowd of 41,051 on a picturesque day at the iconic neighborhood ballpark. He then posed for a picture with his former teammates, Maddon, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, and general manager Jed Hoyer.

The 31-year-old Fowler got another loud ovation when he stepped to the plate in the first inning, and he hit a drive to the bleachers in right for his 23rd career leadoff homer. He clapped his hands as he approached home, and a fan threw the ball back on the field.

“I know John and John knows me,” Fowler said. “I know he’s going to come after me from the beginning. It’s just a matter of getting a good pitch to hit.”

St. Louis got another run in the second on Sierra’s one-out single, but that was the Cardinals’ last hit against Lackey. Bryant connected for his 12th homer in the third, and the Cubs tied it at 2 in the sixth.

Lynn departed after consecutive one-out walks, and Heyward followed with a towering fly ball to right against Tyler Lyons. Stephen Piscotty had trouble with the ball, and it landed on the warning track in front of the wall for an RBI double.

“As soon as it went up, when it got to the highest point I just lost it,” Piscotty said. “It was in the sun.”

The Cubs had the bases loaded when Matt Bowman got pinch hitter Jon Jay to bounce into an inning-ending double play. Maddon originally sent Albert Almora Jr. up to hit for slumping slugger Kyle Schwarber and then switched to Jay when Matheny brought in Bowman.

SIERRA RETURNS

Sierra was promoted from Double-A Springfield to replace infielder Jedd Gyorko, who was placed on paternity leave after Thursday’s 2-0 victory over the Dodgers. Gyorko’s wife, Karley, had a girl on Tuesday, named Brooklyn Ellee. Gyorko is expected to return to the team in time for Sunday night’s series finale.

The 21-year-old Sierra made his major league debut last month and hit .367 (11 for 30) in seven games.

“He’s a very even-keeled player,” Matheny said. “He understands what he brings to the table and has a great chance to build on that.”

UP NEXT

Cubs left-hander Jon Lester (3-3, 3.86 ERA) and Cardinals right-hander Mike Leake (5-3, 2.24 ERA) match up in the second game of the series on Saturday. Lester struggled in his last start, allowing six runs in 3 1/3 innings in a loss to the Dodgers, but he is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six home starts this season. Leake went 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA in five May starts.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright credits a more rigorous pregame warmup routine as part of the reason for his May rebound.

Wainwright hit a two-run homer off Brandon McCarthy and pitched six innings of four-hit ball, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 on Thursday for a four-game split.

“Earlier in my career it was a little different when I took the mound, my first pitch of the game I was hot and I was ready to rock,” the 35-year-old Wainwright said. “I could still probably do that now, but I feel more prepared when I get a good warm up now.”

After finishing April 2/3 with a 6.11 ERA, Wainwright was 3-0 in May.

Wainwright (6-3) struck out six and walked two, pitching out of two-on, one-out jams in the fourth and fifth, and extending his scoreless streak to 16 1/3 innings. His ERA has dropped to 3.79.

Matt Bowman, Trevor Rosenthal and Seung Hwan Oh pitched an inning each to complete a five-hitter. Oh threw a one-hit ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances.

Wainwright followed Paul DeJong’s second-inning single with a drive over the left-field bullpen for his 10th career homer. Wainwright has six hits and seven RBI this season.

“He showed me the curveball before and kind of locked me up a little bit, but he threw it out of the same slot the next time and I was able to put a good swing on it,” Wainwright said.

McCarthy (5-2) gave up seven hits in four innings, struck out six and walked one, before leaving with a blister.

Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal were ejected in the ninth by plate umpire Marty Foster. Gonzalez took a called third strike on the outside corner leading off and was tossed while arguing from the dugout as Grandal was being introduced as a pinch hitter with one out and one on, prompting Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to go to the plate for a discussion with Foster. Grandal swung past strike three, got into an argument with Foster — apparently over a called strike on the second pitch of the at-bat — and also was tossed. Austin Barnes then popped out.

“Once he threw me out, I might as well go out there and let him have a little more,” Gonzalez said. “The funniest thing is he told Dave afterwards that he’s been calling pitches off the plate all game, so he wasn’t going to change.”

POWER CHART

Wainwright needs two homers to tie Bob Forsch for second among Cardinals pitchers behind Bob Gibson (24).

“I think he’s lined up to arguably be the best hitting pitcher in the league,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

WEB GEMS1

Cardinals SS Aledmys Diaz made a diving stop up the middle on Barnes’ fourth-inning grounder with two on, transferred the ball to his right hand and made a backhand flip to DeJong at second for an inning-ending forceout on Chase Utley, saving a run. … Los Angeles LF Cody Bellinger made a sliding backhand catch on Diaz’s liner in the bottom half.

ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY

St. Louis advanced a runner to third without scoring for the second time in the series. With runners at second and third, no outs and the middle of the Dodgers infield playing back in the third, Yadier Molina grounded to a drawn-in third baseman Kike Hernandez, who threw to first for the out. Tommy Pham also grounded to Hernandez, who threw home and got Stephen Piscotty into a rundown, and Piscotty was tagged out by Barnes, the catcher, near third base as Jedd Gyorko advanced to third. DeJong then struck out.

“We left money on the table again,” Matheny said. “We left a couple of runs out there that need to come across. That’s a lot to put not only on our starters but our pen also.”

BREAKING THROUGH

Gyorko’s first-inning single off of McCarthy was his first hit in 16 career plate appearances against the right-hander.

TRAINING ROOM

Dodgers: LHP Adam Liberatore (left forearm tightness) was placed on the 10-day DL retroactive to Wednesday and LHP Grant Dayton was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Cardinals: INF Gyorko will go on paternity leave when the team travels to Chicago for a weekend series against the Cubs.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.37) starts Friday at Milwaukee, where he is 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in five starts.

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (4-3, 2.93 ERA) will face RHP John Lackey (4-5, 5.18 ERA), a former teammate, on Friday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dexter Fowler hit tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to back Carlos Martinez and give the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night.

Martinez (4-4) allowed one run on four hits while striking out nine as he pitched eight innings to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak.

Ross Stripling (0-3) lost for the first time since April 26 as he surrendered Fowler’s seventh home run of the season, a 429-foot shot to right-center field. The Dodgers saw their six-game winning streak end.

Seung-Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 14 opportunities this season.

Hyun-Jin Ryu returned to the rotation in place of Alex Wood after earning the save last Wednesday, May 24 versus St. Louis in his first career relief appearance. Ryu allowed one run on three hits in six innings in his first start since May 11 at Colorado.

Cardinals rookie second baseman Paul DeJong drove in Tommy Pham in the second inning after Chris Taylor initially broke in on a ball that ultimately went over his head for a double. The run was St. Louis’ first with Martinez on the mound since May 13.

Los Angeles tied the game 1-1 in the sixth inning on Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly that drove in Corey Seager.

PISCOTTY RETURNS:

Cardinals RF Stephen Piscotty returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games to be back with his family in California after his mother was diagnosed with ALS.

FORTY-FIVE CANDLES:

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts celebrated his forty-fifth birthday. He said, “I got coffee and scouted the Cardinals,” to revel in the occasion.

PASS OUT THE CIGARS:

3B Jedd Gyorko was back with the club after his wife, Karley, gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, Brooklyn Ellee, at 7:46 p.m. on Tuesday. Gyorko will go on the paternity list and miss the club’s games Friday and Saturday in Chicago before returning to the team on Sunday.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Dodgers: IF Justin Turner (strained right hamstring) took swings in the batting cage and ran at about 70 percent pregame. “When he’ll return, I still don’t know,” said Roberts. “We’re still for me, realistically, a week away for him to think about being back with us.”

Cardinals: Prior to the game the club released RHP Jonathan Broxton and recalled RHP John Gant from Triple-A Memphis. Gant opened the season on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right groin before being optioned to Memphis on May 16.

UP NEXT:

Dodgers: Brandon McCarthy (5-1, 3.28 ERA) is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (5-3, 4.20 ERA) has not lost since April 16 and has gone 5-0 with a 3.21 ERA since then.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Chase Utley, Logan Forsythe and Chris Taylor combined to reach base 11 times and totaled six runs, helping the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers rally past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 on Tuesday night to move into first place in the NL West.

Utley finished a homer shy of the cycle as the Dodgers won their season-high sixth straight game. Forsythe reached five times, including three walks, and Taylor reached three times.

The Dodgers moved ahead of the Colorado Rockies, who lost 10-4 to the Seattle Mariners.

Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly and Utley’s RBI double started the Dodgers comeback in the third. Enrique Hernandez tied it at 3 with a single, and Paul DeJong’s throwing error on the same play scored Utley to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

The Dodgers scored three more times behind one hit in the fifth as relievers Tyler Lyons and John Brebbia each walked in a run.

Kenta Maeda spotted the Cardinals three first-inning runs for the second straight start, but once again held them scoreless after that to give the Dodgers a chance to come back.

Brandon Morrow (1-0) led a parade of six Dodgers relievers. The Dodgers bullpen gave up one run in five innings, the third consecutive game Los Angeles relievers had to get more than nine outs.

The Cardinals, who’ve lost 10 out of their last 13 games, capitalized on a fortunate call and a couple of Dodgers errors to take a 3-0 lead in the first.

Dexter Fowler appeared to be thrown out trying to steal second following a strikeout, but umpire Mark Wegner called a close 3-2 pitch to Tommy Pham ball four. Matt Carpenter followed with a single, Taylor’s throwing error scored Fowler, and Pham and Carpenter took an extra base on Maeda’s throwing error on the same play. Yadier Molina drove them both home with a single.

Molina had three RBI, and his homer off Chris Hatcher in the eighth broke the Dodger bullpen’s scoreless innings streak at 24 2/3 innings.

Michael Wacha (2-3) needed 77 pitches to get through three innings, the shortest outing for a Cardinals starter this season. Three of the four runs he allowed were earned.

DODGERS BLUES

Wacha has blown 3-0 leads in consecutive starts against Los Angeles.

MAEDA LOSES GRIP

Maeda made throwing errors in the first and second innings. It is the first time Maeda has had two errors in a game and his first error since June 30, 2016.

TRAINING ROOM

Dodgers: 3B Justin Turner (hamstring) will go on a rehab assignment, but a beginning date has not been determined.

Cardinals: 2B Kolten Wong (left elbow strain) had an MRI on Monday that revealed no structural damage. OF Stephen Piscotty (personal) is expected back Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-5, 4.28 ERA) starts in place of LHP Alex Wood (left shoulder inflammation). Ryu is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three career appearances against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.32 ERA) has received zero run support in his last two starts. He is 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA in seven career games against Los Angeles.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — With every ball that sails over the fence, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gets a little more encouraged that his lineup is finding its groove.

Not that the rookie leading the charge seems to be feeling any pressure.

Cody Bellinger, Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe hit solo home runs, leading Rich Hill and the Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Monday for their fifth straight victory.

“We’re starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” Roberts said. “To see Logan get a homer, obviously Cody’s been doing it. Chase (Utley has had) really quality at-bats and starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but I think if you look at our lineup, there’s guys that are really grinding that aren’t swinging the way we’re capable of.”

Los Angeles is within a half-game of the Colorado Rockies for the NL West lead, and they’ve powered nearer to the top of the standings behind Bellinger’s early contributions.

Bellinger connected in the fourth — it was his ninth home run in May, tying Joc Pederson and James Loney for the Dodgers rookie record for home runs in a month. Bellinger leads the team with 11 home runs and 29 RBI, thriving in his first exposure in the major leagues.

“I just try to be consistent every day,” Bellinger said. “Sometimes in the outfield I kind of just look around, but, yeah, it’s real, and I just try to keep going.”

Hill (2-2) recovered from a bout of wildness in his last start to pitch five innings, giving up one run and two hits. In his previous outing, also against the Cardinals, he permitted five runs on four hits and seven walks in four innings.

Hill held the Cardinals hitless until Aledmys Diaz singled to lead off the fifth.

“We made some adjustments this week, mechanical adjustments, and proved to be successful and feel much more comfortable where I’m at now,” Hill said. “Getting my hand out of my glove, getting timing down, and all that stuff was huge.”

Mike Leake (5-3) entered the game leading the majors with a 1.91 ERA, but allowed a season-high four runs in 6 2/3 innings.

“He’s been terrific. Seven innings and six hits, he gives us a chance there,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. Those are the days we need to offensively pick him up because he’s been so shutdown.”

Los Angeles got all the offense it needed in the third as Utley opened with his third home run of the season and second against St. Louis. Corey Seager later drove in Yasiel Puig with a two-out single.

Puig’s sacrifice fly in the seventh snapped Leake’s streak of nine quality starts to open the season.

Paul DeJong got two hits in his first career major league start after making his debut Sunday for the Cardinals.

Brandon Morrow pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth in his season debut for the Dodgers after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

FLORIDA BOUND

The Cardinals optioned OF Randal Grichuk to High-A Palm Beach before the game. He was batting .222 with four home runs and 19 RBI, and had just five hits in 37 at bats with 14 strikeouts in his last 11 games. He hit 24 homers for St. Louis last year. The Cardinals want him to work on his plate approach at a lower level, rather than at Triple-A.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: LHP Alex Wood was put on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to May 27 with inflammation in a joint in his upper body.

Cardinals: LHP Zach Duke threw a side session in extended spring training as he continues to recover from elbow surgery in October. … OF Jose Martinez was activated from the disabled list prior to the game after missing 18 games with a left groin strain sustained on May 6 at Atlanta.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (4-2, 5.08 ERA) is scheduled to face the Cardinals for his second straight start. He is 2-0 with a 4.22 ERA in two career starts versus St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (2-2, 3.66 ERA) is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA in five starts at home this season.

— Associated Press —