ST. LOUIS (AP) - Pinch-hitter Jon Jay delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and right fielder Shane Robinson threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth to help the St. Louis Cardinals hold off the San Diego Padres 4-3 Thursday night.
Jhonny Peralta hit an early two-run homer for the Cardinals, who moved ahead of Pittsburgh into second place in the NL Central. St. Louis remained two games behind division-leading Milwaukee.
San Diego had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-9 since the All-Star break.
Trailing by two in the ninth, the Padres loaded the bases with one out against closer Trevor Rosenthal. Pinch-hitter Jake Goebbert came through with an RBI single to right, but Alexi Amarista was cut down at home when he tried to score from second.
The replay review lasted 4 minutes, 9 seconds. Padres manager Bud Black then was ejected for continuing to argue the call.
After a four-pitch walk to Will Venable loaded the bases again, Rosenthal struck out Tommy Medica for his 36th save in 40 opportunities.
San Diego reliever Alex Torres (1-1) appeared to strike out Tony Cruz leading off the eighth, but it was ruled Cruz foul-tipped the ball. Replays showed Cruz missed the pitch.
Given another chance, Cruz singled on the next delivery. Pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso walked on four pitches and Kolten Wong came in to run for Cruz. Matt Carpenter loaded the bases with a single to left.
Nick Vincent entered to face Jay, who went after the first pitch and drove a one-hop double off the wall in center to snap a 2-all tie. Jay is 5 for 17 with three RBIs as a pinch hitter. He has a six-game hitting streak with seven RBIs.
Seth Maness (4-2) earned the win with one spotless inning of relief.
Peralta hit his 16th home run to drive in Matt Adams, who led off the second with a single. That lifted Peralta into a tie with Edgar Renteria (2000) and Daryl Spencer (1960) for the St. Louis single-season record for home runs by a shortstop.
The Padres tied the score with two runs in the sixth after loading the bases with none out. Venable scored on a fielder's choice. Medica, who had doubled, came home when Rymer Liriano beat out an infield single with two outs.
Both starters went seven innings.
Cardinals right-hander John Lackey improved on his last start in Baltimore that resulted in nine earned runs over five innings. Lackey allowed five hits and two runs with five strikeouts.
Eric Stults gave up two runs and four hits for San Diego. Stults has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of his last 10 starts.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: 1B Yonder Alonso was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained forearm, retroactive to Wednesday. San Diego recalled INF Jace Peterson from Triple-A El Paso.
Cardinals: Adam Wainwright had a familiar catcher for his bullpen session in Yadier Molina. On July 11, Molina had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. Molina wore a brace on the thumb. He had yet to throw a ball or hold a bat without wearing the brace. ... Relief pitcher Jason Motte (strained lower back) is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday, but he won't be ready.
UP NEXT
San Diego RHP Tyson Ross (11-10, 2.63 ERA) faces St. Louis RHP Lance Lynn (12-8, 2.97) in the second game of the four-game series Friday.
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