Miles Mikolas pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Jameson Taillon and the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Sunday.
Showing off an improved sinker, Mikolas allowed one run, struck out five and walked none. The right-hander, who tossed seven scoreless innings on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh, is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA in his last seven starts.
Pedro Pagés hit a two-run homer for St. Louis, which improved to 4-1 against Chicago this season by taking two of three this weekend.
The 25-year-old Pagés, who moved from Venezuela to the U.S. with his family when he was just a kid, had his father on hand for the series at Wrigley Field. Edgar Pagés watched his son hit his first major league homer in Friday's 3-0 win and then saw him go deep again on Father's Day.
The Cubs dropped to 10-21 in their last 31 games.
Mikolas departed after Ian Happ's one-out double in the seventh. Happ scored on Michael Busch's two-out RBI single off Ryan Fernandez, but that was it for the Cubs.
Mikolas (5-6) threw 91 pitches, 60 for strikes. He said he's being careful with his routine as the weather heats up in an effort to preserve his energy for the long season.
Andrew Kittredge struck out Seiya Suzuki with a runner on third for the final out of the eighth. Ryan Helsley handled the ninth for his major league-best 24th save.
Pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom flied out to the warning track in left with two runners on for the final out.
Helsley has been perfect since he blew his first opportunity of the season on March 30 at the Dodgers. He moved into a tie with Alex Reyes for the franchise record with 24 consecutive saves.
Taillon (3-3) escaped a jam in the first when he struck out Nolan Arenado with two runners on. But Brandon Crawford hit a one-out double in the second and Pagés drove an 0-2 sweeper deep to left-center.
Mikolas retired his first nine batters before Mike Tauchman hit a leadoff single in the fourth. Two-out singles by Suzuki and Happ loaded the bases for Nico Hoerner, who bounced into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
It was a close call on the force play at second and the Cubs challenged, but the call was upheld after a video review.
Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (8-4, 3.01 ERA) takes the mound on Monday at Miami. LHP Braxton Garrett (2-2, 6.10 ERA) starts for the Marlins.
Cubs RHP Javier Assad (4-2, 2.81 ERA) starts on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against San Francisco. RHP Jordan Hicks (4-3, 3.01 ERA) goes for the visiting Giants.
