St. Louis Cardinals

ST. LOUIS -- Yadier Molina hit a disputed double that drove in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning Thursday night, sending the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 4-3. The Cardinals began the day one game behind San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot...

ST. LOUIS -- Mike Matheny managed with a playoff intensity. His offense didn't respond. "It's baseball, you're going to have times when you just don't get it done," Matheny said after his St. Louis Cardinals fell 2-1 to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. "Tonight was one of those times guys make good pitches in big situations and we couldn't finish it off."...

ST. LOUIS -- Playing with a heavy heart, Aledmys Diaz hit his first career grand slam and the St. Louis Cardinals finished with five home runs Tuesday night in a 12-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis kept pace in a tight race for the two NL wild cards, with a chance to gain some ground pending San Francisco's late game against Colorado...

CHICAGO -- David Ross homered and teamed with Jon Lester for another scoreless performance, and the Chicago Cubs hurt St. Louis' wild-card chances with 3-1 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday night. Ben Zobrist had three hits and scored two runs as Chicago finished with a major league-best 57-24 home record. It's the most home wins for the Cubs since they went 58-19 at the West Side Grounds in 1910...

CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot to accomplish if they want to return to Chicago in two weeks for a rematch of last year's NL Division Series. They would have to qualify for one of the wild-card spots, then win the single-elimination playoff game...

DENVER -- The St. Louis Cardinals picked up a win before a pitch was even thrown when reserve outfielder Jose Martinez captured a playful, pregame anthem with Colorado reliever Carlos Estevez. Too bad for the Cardinals that didn't count in the standings. They sure could've used it...

DENVER -- Adam Wainwright was shaky on the mound and shined at the plate with a career-high four RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 10-5 on Tuesday night to move into a tie for the top NL wild card. The free-swinging Wainwright lined a two-run double in the second inning and brought in two more with a bloop single in the fifth. ...

DENVER -- Carlos Martinez threw five effective innings and added a two-run double, helping the St. Louis Cardinals gain ground in the NL playoff race with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. The Cardinals moved within one game of wild card-leading New York after the Mets lost to Atlanta. San Francisco played later in Los Angeles against the Dodgers...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Alex Reyes arrived in the majors this year already packing some of the best stuff in baseball. On Sunday, the 22-year-old Cardinals right-hander showed he can handle the spotlight just fine, too. Reyes pitched seven dominant innings in his third major league start, fellow rookie Aledmys Diaz hit a two-run homer and St. Louis moved up in the tight NL wild-card race by beating the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on Sunday...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Kolten Wong hit a sacrifice fly that capped a two-run comeback in the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a big win in their playoff chase, beating the San Francisco Giants 3-2 Saturday night. The Cardinals had lost three straight and held a team meeting prior to the game. Their win further tightened the NL wild-card race -- the Giants and Mets are tied for the top two spots, with the Cardinals trailing by two games...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- All that talk about Buster Posey's second-half power drought was answered with one mighty swing in a September game that mattered, and his two-run homer helped the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 Friday night in a matchup of playoff contenders...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Fist-pumping Johnny Cueto pitched a five-hitter and retired his final 17 batters, and the San Francisco Giants gained ground in the playoff race with a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. The Cardinals' loss clinched the NL Central title for the Chicago Cubs...

The seeds were sewn decades ago right here in Southeast Missouri. The resulting flowers might be familiar to you if your a St. Louis Cardinals fan and have ever stood to sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame.' On Wednesday, Cardinals organist Dwayne Hilton, a native of Ellington, Missouri, made a stop in Jackson to sit down at a familiar old organ and play some tunes -- including a few of the ones you might hear at Busch Stadium...

ST. LOUIS -- Jon Lester gave the Chicago Cubs a much-needed boost. Anthony Rizzo hit a pair of home runs and Lester pitched eight dominant innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 on Wednesday to clinch at least a wild-card playoff berth...

ST. LOUIS -- Brandon Moss broke out of a lengthy slump with a tiebreaking home run and Aledmys Diaz connected in his return to the starting lineup, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs 4-2 Tuesday night. The Cardinals ensured that the runaway Cubs won't clinch the NL Central at Busch Stadium. Chicago's magic number is three, and the series in St. Louis wraps up Thursday...

ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up Jeremy Hazelbaker's leadoff homer, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 Monday night to close in on the NL Central crown. Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th home run. Hendricks (15-7), the major league ERA leader at 2.03, was relieved by Aroldis Chapman...

ST. LOUIS -- A one-run loss to the Milwaukee Brewers left Kolten Wong and the St. Louis Cardinals frustrated. Ryan Braun hit a solo home run in the ninth inning, leading the Brewers to a 2-1 win Sunday and dropped the Cardinals back in the NL wild-card race. They are a half-game behind the Mets for the second wild-card slot...

ST. LOUIS -- Randal Grichuk made two key plays and Adam Wainwright pitched eight strong innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Saturday night. Grichuk made a perfect throw to the plate to cut down Jake Elmore trying to score from second in the eighth. Then he doubled in the bottom half, helping clear the way for a five-run rally. Matt Adams drove in the tying run with a grounder to second and Grichuk scored on Kolten Wong's single, giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead...

ST. LOUIS -- Domingo Santana and Orlando Arcia hit back-to-back homers as the Milwaukee Brewers continued their recent road dominance routing the St. Louis Cardinals 12-5 on Thursday night. Hernan Perez had four hits and three RBIs for the Brewers, who won their season-high fifth straight on the road and have won seven of their last eight games...

PITTSBURGH -- The St. Louis Cardinals were done in by a nemesis. Jung Ho Kang led off the eighth inning with a home run, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday night to snap an eight-game losing streak and cost St. Louis a chance to sweep the three-game series...

PITTSBURGH -- Down to his final strike and his team trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth, St. Louis pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter told himself to just find a pitch he could handle. When the fastball from closer Tony Watson ended up right down the middle and not up and away as Watson hoped, Carpenter pounced. ...

PITTSBURGH -- Adam Wainwright drove in three runs and survived five occasionally bumpy innings to pick up his first victory since mid-July as the St. Louis Cardinals drummed the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 on Monday. Wainwright hit an RBI-double off Chad Kuhl (3-3) in the second and added a two-run single in the fourth as the Cardinals held on to the second wild card spot in the National League by sending the Pirates to their seventh straight loss...

CINCINNATI -- Randal Grichuk and Kolten Wong homered, Carlos Martinez carried a shutout into the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Yadier Molina had two of the Cardinals' five hits as they avoided being swept in Cincinnati for the first time since July 2012...

CINCINNATI -- A misplayed fly ball. A passed ball. Four walks in an inning. The St. Louis Cardinals did a lot of things wrong, and they added up to a third straight loss. Zack Cozart hit a pair of doubles during run-scoring innings that included St. Louis misplays, and the Cincinnati Reds pulled away to a 9-1 victory Saturday that left the Cardinals treading water in the playoff chase...

MILWAUKEE -- Zach Duke stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout in the 10th inning after Randal Grichuk hit an RBI single in the top half of the inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Tuesday night. Seung Hwan Oh (4-2) pitched out of a jam in the ninth to get the win. Duke got his first save with the Cardinals by entering to strike out pinch-hitter Manny Pina after Matt Bowman walked three batters...

MILWAUKEE -- Stephen Piscotty watched Jonathan Villar's throw skid past first base, then sprinted 180 feet to give the St. Louis Cardinals a victory. Piscotty scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning after Carlos Martinez struck out a career-high 13, leading the Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Monday night...

ST. LOUIS -- Jaime Garcia's recent woes continued and so did the St. Louis Cardinals' season-long struggles at home. Garcia gave up a three-run homer to Stephen Vogt in the third, a two-run shot to Khris Davis in the first and the Cardinals lost 7-4 to the Oakland Athletics on Sunday...

ST. LOUIS -- Khris Davis hustled home on an infield grounder in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics rallied for two runs, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Saturday night. St. Louis starter Mike Leake was scratched because he was still recovering from having shingles. The Cardinals fell to 1-8 in interleague games at Busch Stadium this season...

ST. LOUIS -- Randal Grichuk and the St. Louis Cardinals love when Carlos Martinez pitches. Martinez allowed one run over eight innings and Grichuk, Matt Carpenter and Stephen Piscotty all homered off Mets starter Jacob deGrom, powering the Cardinals past New York 8-1 on Wednesday night...

ST. LOUIS -- It was a night of firsts for Robert Gsellman, who made his major league debut for the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Wilmer Flores and Justin Ruggiano homered as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4. The offense helped Gsellman (1-0) get the decision. Gsellman, pressed into action after starter Jonathon Niese left with an injury in the first inning, pitched 3 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run...

PHILADELPHIA -- Next to all of that St. Louis power, Mike Leake's single might've looked puny. But it scored two runs and those helped, too. Leake pitched seven strong innings and contributed at the plate, and the Cardinals homered four times Sunday to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0...

PHILADELPHIA -- Jeremy Hellickson gave the Philadelphia bullpen a much-needed rest. Cesar Hernandez homered, doubled and singled, and Hellickson pitched seven strong innings in the Phillies' 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Hellickson became the first Philadelphia starter to throw seven innings since July 26...

PHILADELPHIA -- There is a power bug going through the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup right now. Randal Grichuk homered early, then hit an RBI double in the 11th inning that sent St. Louis over the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Friday night for their fifth straight win...

HOUSTON -- Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez ended a tough stretch in emphatic fashion Wednesday. Martinez took a no-hitter into the sixth, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Brandon Moss hit home runs and St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 8-2. Martinez (11-7) pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing a run while striking out seven. He retired 15 of the first 16 batters before giving up a leadoff double to Teoscar Hernandez in the sixth...

HOUSTON -- Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko each homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 8-5 on Tuesday night. The Cardinals roughed up ace Dallas Keuchel (7-12) to overcome a rocky outing from starter Jaime Garcia (10-8). Garcia gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings, including three home runs...

CHICAGO -- Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run homer, Brandon Moss followed with a solo shot one out later and the St. Louis Cardinals used a five-run eighth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 on Sunday night. Piscotty hit his 17th homer off setup man Hector Rondon (2-3), who entered with a 3-1 lead in his first appearance since Aug. ...

CHICAGO -- Following two stints in the minors this season, Randal Grichuk is back in the majors and eager to prove he belongs. Grichuk hit a grand slam that capped a six-run burst in the eighth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals stopped the Cubs' 11-game winning streak, beating Chicago 8-4 Saturday...

CHICAGO -- Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals have hit rock bottom in their topsy-turvy season. Or at least they hope so. Wainwright was pounded for seven runs in two innings in a 13-2 rout at the hands of the Chicago Cubs on Friday. The Cardinals fell a season-high 14 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central, their largest deficit since the final month of the 2008 season...

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo drew a bases-loaded walk from Zach Duke with two outs in the 11th inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday night for their 10th consecutive win. Pinch-hitters Willson Contreras and Jorge Soler led off with singles against the lefty Duke (2-1) and Dexter Fowler walked to load the bases with one out. Kris Bryant struck out before Rizzo took a 3-1 pitch inside to give the Cubs their longest winning streak since getting 12 straight in 2001...

ST. LOUIS -- Jaime Garcia is finally feeling like himself on the mound. "I'm a guy who goes after guys, and I got away from where I needed to be and I had some mechanical issues that I had to get rid of," Garcia said. "The last couple of games my defense has been great, and hopefully we can do that the rest of the way."...

Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Alex Reyes lived up to the advance billing. His teammates did not. Reyes, the St. Louis Cardinals' highly touted prospect, made his debut pitching a perfect ninth inning as the Cardinals fell to the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Tuesday night...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals have placed Michael Wacha on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation, a day after his latest start, and purchased the contract of top prospect Alex Reyes from Class AAA Memphis. Reyes will pitch out of the bullpen. General manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday another highly touted prospect, Luke Weaver, will likely make Wacha's scheduled start Saturday and a corresponding roster move would be made then...

ST. LOUIS -- Never has a 94 mile-per-hour fastball to the ribs felt so good for Yadier Molina as it did Monday night. Molina started and ended a five-run rally in the ninth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals stunned the Cincinnati Reds 5-4. He was hit by a pitch from Ross Ohlendorf with the bases loaded to drive home the winning run. Instead of wincing, Molina pumped his fist and slid into first base...

ST. LOUIS -- Mike Foltynewicz set the tone for the capper of the Atlanta Braves' feel-good weekend. The right-hander worked six strong innings, Nick Markakis and Erick Aybar had two RBIs apiece and the Braves kept the St. Louis Cardinals down at home with a 6-3 victory on Sunday...

ST. LOUIS -- Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia had three-run home runs and the Atlanta Braves got enough from Roberto Hernandez in his first start this season for a 13-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. The 35-year-old Hernandez (1-0), who previously pitched under the name Fausto Carmona, was the 14th starting pitcher used by the Braves this season, one off the franchise record in 1975. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Jaime Garcia turned back the clock to his childhood Friday night. Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings and had an RBI single to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. "I think I did it a bunch of times in Little League," Garcia said of the dual production. "I think the only thing that would have made it better would be to hit a home run for the only run."...

CINCINNATI -- The St. Louis Cardinals haven't been able to put everything together this season. An injury-depleted offense, an erratic defense and an unreliable bullpen cost them games. The most dependable part of the team has let them down lately. Mike Leake gave up seven runs in five-plus innings on Thursday as the Cincinnati Reds pulled away to a 7-0 victory and took two of three in the series. ...

CINCINNATI -- No blown leads this time. The Cardinals' bullpen made one big inning stand up. Brandon Moss drove in a pair of runs during St. Louis' four-run first inning, extending his season-long streak against the Reds, and the Cardinals held on for a 5-4 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday night to even their series...

CINCINNATI -- Scott Schebler's three-run homer in the ninth inning rallied the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Brandon Moss and Tommy Pham hit solo homers in the eighth for a 5-4 lead, but the Cardinals couldn't hold on...

MIAMI -- St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham and left fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker were in agreement: One of them should have caught the hit that ended Sunday's game. Their pursuit of the ball was not as well coordinated. Pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich dropped a walk-off RBI triple between the two outfielders, and the Miami Marlins beat the Cardinals 5-4 for a split of their four-game series...