Paul Goldschmidt smacked a two-run homer in his Chase Field reunion, Yadier Molina also had a two-run shot, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks 9-7 Monday night for their sixth straight win.
The Cardinals have a 3 1/2-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. St. Louis has five games remaining in the regular season while Milwaukee has six.
Adam Wainwright (14-9) won his fifth straight start, though he didn’t have his best stuff. He gave up eight hits and five runs over five innings.
Alex Young (7-5) gave up six earned runs over five innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Arizona fell behind 6-2 in the fifth inning after Molina’s two-run homer but scored three runs off Wainwright in the fifth to pull within one.
St. Louis got breathing room in the eighth inning when Harrison Bader ripped a solo homer to left field and the offense added two more runs in the ninth. Carlos Martínez earned his 24th save.
St. Louis will start RHP Jack Flaherty (10-8, 2.96 ERA). He gave up just one run over eight innings in a win over the Cubs on Friday. He threw a season-high 118 pitches.
Arizona will start RHP Mike Leake (12-11, 4.38). He’s 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA over his last five starts.
