Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer off Yu Darvish in the sixth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Tuesday night to win the first two of a three-game series.

Miles Mikolas (1-1), who broke into the majors with San Diego in 2012, improved to 3-2 against his old squad. He allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings.

Ryan Helsley worked the ninth for his first save in two chances.

Cardinals LHP Zack Thompson (0-1, 8.44 ERA) and Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (0-1, 9.72) are scheduled to start the series finale on Wednesday.