Adam Wainwright threw five solid innings in his first start since injury, Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer and then a tying single in the ninth against his former team, and the Cardinals rallied for a 10-6 win over the skidding Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
It was a back-and-forth game that saw Wainwright and the Cardinals take a 5-2 lead after five innings, only to watch the Diamondbacks push ahead 6-5 heading into the ninth. But St. Louis rallied against closer Andrew Chafin, loading the bases with one out.
That's when Goldschmidt sent a full-count pitch into left field for a single that made it 6-all. Chafin (2-3) struck out Nolan Arenado for the second out but then walked Lars Nootbaar, which forced home Willson Contreras for a 7-6 lead.
Tyler O'Neill followed with a crucial blow, hitting a three-run double off Kevin Ginkel that made it 10-6.
St. Louis snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 7-4 since the All-Star break.
Arizona has dropped five straight, continuing an extended slide. The D-backs are 5-13 in July, which could change the team's approach to the rapidly approaching trade deadline on Aug. 1.
Goldschmidt crushed his 17th homer in the first for a 2-0 lead, hitting a fastball from Ryne Nelson off the batter's eye, far above the 407-foot sign on the center-field wall. The veteran first baseman spent his first eight seasons with the Diamondbacks - making six All-Star teams - before being traded to the Cardinals after the 2018 season.
It was Goldschmidt's 104th career homer at Chase Field - the most for any player since the park opened in 1998.
Arizona scored a run in both the first and second to even it 2-all. Corbin Carroll had a sacrifice fly, and Alek Thomas hit a two-out single that scored Emmanuel Rivera.
Wainwright returned to the mound after three weeks on the shelf with a right shoulder strain. He got better as his outing progressed, retiring nine hitters in a row at one point. He went five innings - even dropping down for a sidearm delivery at times - and gave up two runs on four hits while throwing 76 pitches.
Wainwright left with a 5-2 lead and was in line for his 199th career win, but the St. Louis bullpen couldn't hold it.
The D-backs scored twice in the sixth to cut the margin to 5-4 and then pushed ahead 6-5 in the seventh on Evan Longoria's pinch-hit, two-run double off Giovanny Gallegos (2-4). The 37-year-old third baseman is a three-time All-Star who has turned into a valuable role player this season in the desert.
Nelson gave up five runs on eight hits over six innings.
The series continues Tuesday night. The D-backs are expected to start RHP Merrill Kelly (9-4, 3.22 ERA), though Arizona still needs to make a roster move to bring him off the injured list. The Cardinals will counter with LHP Steven Matz (1-7, 4.67).
