Mike Leake outpitched Max Scherzer, Stephen Piscotty homered and had five RBIs, and the Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Leake (1-1) gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked none over seven shutout innings. The right-hander allowed hits to the first two batters, then picked off a runner before getting 19 straight outs. The streak ended when Daniel Murphy singled with two outs in the seventh.
By that time, St. Louis had taken a 3-0 lead against Scherzer, who yielded only one earned run. He did, however, throw three wild pitches - two in the third inning - after tossing only two all last year while going 20-7.
Scherzer (1-1) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out 10, the 50th time in his career he reached double figures in strikeouts.
The Cardinals will travel by train to New York on Wednesday night, take Thursday off and start a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.
>>Holland Sharp Again As Sox Beat Indians
Derek Holland held Cleveland hitless until the sixth inning and late fill-in Matt Davidson had a two-run single that helped the Chicago White Sox beat the Indians 2-1 Wednesday night.
Holland (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor in the sixth. The White Sox lefty struck out four, walked four and threw 101 pitches in six innings.
Holland is 4-0 with a 1.02 ERA in five starts at Progressive Field. He is 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 10 career starts against Cleveland.
David Robertson pitched the ninth for his first save.
Davidson, added to the lineup when third baseman Todd Frazier was scratched with flu-like symptoms, drove in two runs with a single in the second.
Danny Salazar (0-1), who struck out 11, matching a career high, in six innings.
>>Dodgers Blank Cubs
Brandon McCarthy pitched four-hit ball over six innings, Andrew Toles hit his first leadoff homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Chicago 2-0 on Wednesday night after the Cubs received their championship rings.
The Cubs put the finishing touches on a celebration that started when they beat Cleveland in Game 7 last November to win the World Series for the first time since 1908. They raised the banner Monday night and got 14-karat white gold rings with a total of 214 diamonds in a ceremony Wednesday that drew more roars from the fans at Wrigley Field.
But once the game started, there wasn't much to cheer.
Toles gave the Dodgers a quick lead with his drive off John Lackey to start the game, and it stayed 1-0 until the ninth.
