ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday homered, Carlos Martinez threw seven strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep to their NL Central rival.
The Cardinals scored twice in each of the first two innings against Kyle Hendricks (1-2). Chicago, the first team in the majors to 11 wins, had won three of its previous four.
Anthony Rizzo hit his fourth homer of the season in the fourth and added an RBI single in the eighth for Chicago. Rizzo was robbed of a home run in the first by Randal Grichuk, who reached over the wall in center.
Martinez (3-0) allowed a run on three hits. Trevor Rosenthal got his fourth save by striking out the side in the ninth. It was his 100th career save.
The game was delayed 3 hours, 21 minutes by rain in the middle of the seventh.
Holliday hit a two-run shot in the first off Hendricks, who gave up seven hits and four runs over 5 1/3 innings.
Cubs starters had gotten through the sixth inning in 14 straight games to begin the season, a streak that matched the 1910 team for the franchise record.
Holliday has three homers, including two in a 14-3 win over Cincinnati on Friday. He managed just four during last year's injury-plagued campaign.
Martinez struck out five, walked three and also drove in a run with a bloop hit in the second. He has allowed three runs or less in all three starts.
Yadier Molina pushed the lead to a 5-3 with an RBI single in the eighth off reliever Adam Warren.
The Cubs are 7-2 on the road and have outscored their opponents by 43 runs this season, the largest differential in the majors.
BREAKING OUT
St. Louis outfielder Stephen Piscotty broke out of an 0-for-10 slump with a double in the first inning.
TRYING TO CHANGE THE TREND
Chicago, which won two of three against St. Louis, is looking to capture the season series for the first time since 2010.
UP NEXT:
Cubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (3-0, 1.23) will open a four-game series at Cincinnati against LHP Brandon Finnegan (1-0, 2.04) on Thursday. Arrieta has recorded three straight quality starts to begin the season.
Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (0-2, 8.57) will kick off a three-game series at San Diego on Friday against RHP Andrew Cashner (0-1, 5.40). Wainwright is 6-2 lifetime against the Padres and has won his last three starts against them.
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