Cardinals 5, Red Sox 2

[August 08, 2014]  Cardinals 5, Red Sox 2: Kolten Wong homered twice among three hits and Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings as host St. Louis claimed the rubber match of the three-game series.Wong scored three runs and Jhonny Peralta added two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who remained one game behind National League Central-leading Milwaukee and pulled even with San Francisco atop the wild-card standings. Wainwright (14-6) struck out seven while allowing two runs and seven hits, Kevin Siegrist worked the eighth inning and Pat Neshek pitched a perfect ninth for his third save one night after closer Trevor Rosenthal surrendered the go-ahead run.

Mike Napoli and Christian Vazquez each knocked in a run for Boston, which has dropped 12 of 15. Brandon Workman (1-5) lost his fifth straight start, allowing four runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and two walks.

The Cardinals jumped on Workman early, as Peralta roped a two-out, two-run double to right-center field in the first inning and came around to score on Oscar Taveras' single for a 3-0 lead. Napoli and Vazquez delivered RBI base hits in the third to trim the deficit to 3-2, but Wainwright retired Jackie Bradley Jr. to end the rally.

Wong hit solo shots in the fifth and seventh - the first multi-homer performance of his career - to pad the lead, and Wainwright set down 11 straight hitters. The Red Sox had two on in the seventh before Wainwright struck out Yoenis Cespedes to end the inning, and Boston managed only one baserunner over the final two frames.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The start of the game was delayed 64 minutes because of rain a day after the wet weather pushed the start of the contest back 63 minutes. Boston's David Ortiz, who originally was slated to start at first base without the designated hitter in play, was scratched from the lineup because of the wet playing surface. … Taveras stretched his hitting streak to seven games and has hit safely in every contest since taking over the everyday job in right field after the Cardinals dealt Allen Craig to Boston. … Bradley went 0-for-3 and is hitless in his last 27 at-bats.

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