Cardinals 7, Brewers 3
ST. LOUIS -- Thanks largely to a rookie who just arrived in the majors about two months ago, the St. Louis Cardinals continued their steady march to a National League Central title Thursday night.
Stephen Piscotty knocked in St. Louis' last four runs, lifting the Cardinals to a 7-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis reduced its magic number for a third straight division crown to six.
Piscotty, who has 37 RBIs in his first 58 big league games, went 3-for-4 to up his average to .313, capping his big night with a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh that scored right fielder Jason Heyward.
Starter Michael Wacha (17-6) survived a shaky first to pick up the win. He allowed six hits and three runs over five innings with three walks and a strikeout.
After throwing 56 pitches in the first two innings, Wacha needed only 34 to complete the next three.
Taylor Jungmann (9-7) absorbed the loss, yielding six hits and six runs over five innings with three walks and five strikeouts.
The Cardinals (97-56) maintained a four-game lead over Pittsburgh and reached 41 games over .500 for the first time this year. Milwaukee (64-89) fell to 1-3 on its 10-game road trip and dropped to 4-12 against St. Louis.
Milwaukee jumped on Wacha for three first-inning runs. Left fielder Jason Rogers' RBI single plated second baseman Scooter Gennett. Two batters later, third baseman Hernan Perez laced a two-run double down the right field line.
Sailing along with a three-run lead, Jungmann found trouble in the fourth. Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta cracked a three-run homer to left-center, his 17th of the year, but his first since Aug. 1.
Two pitches later, Piscotty broke the tie with a 413-foot blast over the Milwaukee bullpen in left-center, his sixth homer of the season.
Piscotty upped the lead to 6-3 in the fifth with a bases-loaded single up the middle that scored two runs.
NOTES: St. Louis LF Matt Holliday, who started Wednesday for the first time since suffering a right quad injury July 29, wasn't in the Thursday night lineup. But manager Mike Matheny said it was a scheduled day off and that Holliday came through the game in good shape. ... Milwaukee has replaced RHP Wily Peralta (right oblique tightness), who has been shut down for the season, with RHP Tyler Wagner for Saturday night's game. Wagner pitched in one game earlier this year for the Brewers, taking a no-decision on May 31. ... The Cardinals' 53 home wins entering this game mark the fifth time in six years they've won 50 or more games at Busch Stadium.