Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Dakota Hudson threw seven strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Nick Wittgren earned his first save as a Cardinal by getting the last out of the game when he retired pinch-hitter Robinson Cano on a fly ball with the bases loaded. The Cardinals have won five of six games. The Padres have lost four of five.
Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 23 games and reached safely for a career-best 37th consecutive game. Goldschmidt went 1 for 2 with two walks and two runs scored. He is hitting .353 this season.
Hudson (4-2) gave up a run in the first inning but shut out the Padres over the next six innings. He allowed one run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. At one point, Hudson retired 18 consecutive hitters.
Yu Darvish (4-3) pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up five runs and seven hits.
Arenado's 10th home run came after Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak with a one-out single in the sixth. Arenado sent an 0-1 fastball over the left-field fence, giving St. Louis a 3-1 advantage.
Goldschmidt's career high-hit streak is 26, from Sept. 10, 2013 to April 4, 2014 with Arizona.
In the eighth, Arendado chased Darvish with a run-scoring single with two outs. He scored on a double by Juan Yepez, who drove in two runs.
Yepez' first RBI made it a 1-1 tie in the fourth. His sacrifice fly scored Goldschmidt, who drew his second walk to begin the inning. He went to third with aggressive baserunning on a single by Arenado.
Nolan Gorman (lower back tightness) missed his second consecutive game. The 22-year-old rookie is hitting .387 since he joined the club May 20. He can swing a bat but bending over to field causes some pain.
LHP Steven Matz (shoulder impingement) has played catch twice. His likely next move will be to throw two side sessions. If there are no setbacks, Matz may have a short rehab outing or return to the Cardinals on a limited-pitch basis.
RHP Alex Reyes (shoulder) was slated to undergo surgery Wednesday that's likely to end his season.
Matthew Liberatore (1-0, 3.72) will face the Chicago Cubs and RHP Keegan Thompson (5-0, 1.58) for the first time.
