Cardinals 1, Diamondbacks 0
Pete Kozma ripped a double and scored the lone run and five pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout for visiting St. Louis, which clinched its second straight National League Central title after Pittsburgh lost earlier in the day.
The Pirates' setback allowed the Cardinals to save ace Adam Wainwright to pitch Game 1 of the NL Division Series at the West-champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. Los Angeles won four of the seven meetings this season against St. Louis, but lost to the Cardinals in the 2013 NLCS.
Nick Greenwood tossed three innings in his first career start and Justin Masterson (7-9) allowed one hit over two frames to pick up the victory and improve to 3-3 with his new team. Two more pitchers bridged the gap to Carlos Martinez, who recorded the final two outs in the ninth for his first save and secured the Cardinals' majors-best 23rd shutout.
With the teams locked in a scoreless draw, Kozma doubled into left-center field to lead off the sixth inning against Josh Collmenter (11-9). Kozma advanced to third on an out by Xavier Scruggs' and crossed the plate following Kolten Wong's groundout.
Collmenter permitted one run on three hits in eight innings to take the loss for the Diamondbacks, who finished the season with a majors-worst 64-98 mark. Cliff Pennington had a pair of singles, but Ender Inciarte went 0-for-4 to see his 15-game hitting streak come to an end.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Shortly after Pittsburgh's loss, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny altered his lineup to rest 3B Matt Carpenter, SS Jhonny Peralta, C Yadier Molina and OFs Jon Jay and Matt Holliday. ... The Cardinals mustered just three hits, with 1B Matt Adams and 3B Daniel Descalso each recording a single. ... Collmenter limited his opponent to two runs or fewer for the seventh straight start.