UNDATED (AP) — A 17-game winning streak has allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to wrap up the second National League wild card with five days to spare.
Dylan Carlson, Nolan Arenado and Jose Rondon homered to back Adam Wainwright in the Redbirds’ 6-2 victory over the Brewers.
The game was tied 2-2 in the fifth until Tyler O’Neill hit a run-scoring single, his 22nd RBI in his last 20 games.
Wainwright allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings for his 17th victory. He’s won his last six decisions.
St. Louis was 71-69 on Sept. 11 before the winning streak, the longest in team history and the longest in the major leagues since Cleveland took 22 in a row in 2017.
Checking out Tuesday’s other major league action:
— The Giants kept their two-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West by defeating the Diamondbacks, 6-4. Wilmer Flores furnished a go-ahead, bases-loaded single in a four-run sixth that sent San Francisco to its 103rd win, tying the third-highest total in franchise history. Logan Webb struck out six and walked two, not allowing an earned run over five innings in a third straight no-decision.
— The Dodgers were 2-1 winners over the Padres behind Walker Buehler, who limited San Diego to three hits over seven scoreless innings. Buehler shook off his September swoon and picked up his 15th victory. The L.A. runs came on Trea Turner’s RBI double and AJ Pollock’s RBI single.
— The Yankees moved two games ahead of Boston for the first AL wild card with a 7-2 verdict over the Blue Jays. Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run home run, while Aaron Judge chipped in a solo shot and two RBIs in New York’s seventh consecutive win. Gio Urshela added a solo blast after Stanton homered for the fourth consecutive game, giving him 35 this season.
— The Red Sox absorbed their fourth straight loss by falling to the American League-worst Orioles, 4-2. Boston led 2-0 in the sixth until Ryan Mountcastle smacked a two-run homer and Pedro Severino added an RBI single later in the inning. Kyle Schwarber and Hunter Renfroe homered for the Bosox, who are just a half-game ahead of Seattle for the second AL wild card.
— The Mariners gained ground on Boston as Mitch Haniger slammed his 100th career home run in a 4-2 win against the Athletics. Jake Fraley had a go-ahead two-run double on the Ms’ 40th comeback win. The Mariners are 18 games over .500 for the first time since August 2018 following their ninth victory in 10 contests.
— Charlie Morton and Jorge Soler led the Braves to a 2-1 win over the Phillies and a 3 ½-game lead over Philadelphia atop the NL East. Morton struck out 10 while limiting the Phils to three hits over seven shutout innings. Soler delivered a two-run single in the third off Zack Wheeler, who entered the game 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA in four starts this month.
— The White Sox thumped the Reds, 7-1 as Luis Robert homered twice and Reynaldo Lopez pitched two-hit ball over a season-high six innings. Yoan Moncada and Gavin Sheets also homered for the White Sox, who have hit at least four in a tow 12 times this season. Chicago remains 2 1/2 games behind Houston for home-field advantage in the AL Division Series.
— The Astros walked twice with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 4-3 triumph over the Rays. Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve hit solo homers for the Astros, who ended a four-game skid and will clinch the AL West if the Mariners fall to the Athletics. The Rays took a 3-2 lead when Randy Arozarena hit a solo homer off Phil Maton with one out in the ninth.
— Salvador Perez clubbed his major league-leading 47th home run, a go-ahead blast in the sixth inning of the Royals’ 6-4 downing of the Indians. Perez also tops the majors with 118 RBIs and 17 go-ahead home runs.
— The Mets ended a five-game skid as Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer and an RBI single in their 5-2 win over the Marlins in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Winning pitcher Marcus Stroman made his major league-leading 33rd start and allowed five hits over five innings, including a two-run homer by Lewin Diaz.
— Javier Baez beat a throw to the plate on a grounder in the bottom of the ninth to give the Mets a 2-1 victory in the nightcap. Mets starter Noah Syndergaard struck out two in a perfect first inning, his first major league action since undergoing Tommy John surgery 18 months ago.
— Kyle Freeland carried a shutout into the seventh inning to help the Rockies end a five-game home losing streak, 3-1 versus the Nationals. Trevor Story lined a long solo homer and Freeland blanked Washington until his bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
— Colin Moran slammed a three-run homer and drove in four runs as the Pirates dealt the Cubs their seventh straight loss, 8-6. Bryan Reynolds had three hits and scored three times in Pittsburgh’s second win in six games.
— Miguel Sanó homered and the Twins shut down the Tigers until the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory. Sanó connected for his 30th home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning.
— Texas avoided 100 losses for the second straight game as rookie Andy Ibanez slapped a two-run single while the Rangers scored four in the second to beat the Angels, 5-2. A.J. Alexy won for the third time in four career starts, yielding Max Stassi’s two-run homer and just two other hits over five innings.
