Wainwright leads Cards over Rockies

[July 05, 2012]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Adam Wainwright pitched six strong innings and Matt Holliday had three hits to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night.

Wainwright (7-8) gave up one run, struck out seven and allowed eight hits to help the Cardinals win for the third time in four games. He fanned seven of the first 13 hitters and threw a first-pitch strike to nine of the first 10 batters.

Wainwright was coming off one of his worst performances of the season. He gave up seven earned runs in five innings of a 14-5 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday.

Holliday, who went 3-for-4, is 33-for-64 (.516) with four homers and 19 RBI in his last 16 games.

St. Louis scored runs in the first and second off Colorado spot starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-8), who gave up two runs in six innings. Guthrie allowed six hits and struck out two in his first start since being dropped from the rotation June 17.

Holliday brought in Jon Jay with a double to left in the first. Jay began the rally with a one-out walk.

The Cardinals pushed the lead to 2-0 in the second. Yadier Molina, Skip Schumaker and Rafael Furcal singled to load to the bases. Jay was hit on the hip by a two-strike offering from Guthrie.

Guthrie drove in the Rockies' lone run with a single in the fifth. It was his first career RBI.

David Freese pushed the lead to 4-1 with a bases-loaded single off reliever Adam Ottavino in the eighth.

Wainwright, nursing a 2-1 lead, wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth by inducing Tyler Colvin to fly out. Jonathan Herrera bounced into a 3-6-5 double play to end the sixth.

Relievers Maikel Cleto, Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Motte each pitched a scoreless inning. Motte picked up his 18th save in 22 opportunities. The trio combined for six strikeouts. The St. Louis pitchers fanned 13.

Carlos Gonzales extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning single. It is the longest current streak in the NL and the longest by a Rockies player this season.

NOTES: The game-time temperature of 103 degrees was the highest in St. Louis since 1988 when temperature readings were first added to box scores. ... Colorado INF Chris Nelson broke out of an 0-for-9 skid with a single in the sixth. ...The Cardinals are 13-8 in their last 21 games on July 4. ....St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn (10-4, 3.62) will face Christian Friedrich (4-5, 5.52) in the final game of the four-game series on Thursday. Lynn, an All-Star selection, has not won in his last three starts. ....Colorado OF Tyler Colvin, who homered in the first two games of the series, has six HR's and 14 RBI in his career against St. Louis, the most against any team.

[Associated Press]

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