ST. LOUIS _ The Cardinals moved a half-game out of the second wild-card spot in the National League with a 5-2 win over the Brewers, the team they are chasing, on Friday night at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals will have a chance to move into one of the two wild-card spots with a win on Saturday.
After seeing their eight-game win streak snapped on Thursday against Washington, the Cardinals started a new one and moved back to a season-high 11 games over .500.
Jack Flaherty got off to a slow start but finished well, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced after seeing runners get into scoring position in the first and third innings. Flaherty went six innings, allowing three hits (none after the third) and striking out seven while walking three.
The Cardinals jumped on Brewers starter Freddy Peralta early, which is when most teams do. Matt Carpenter started the game with a fly ball into the gap in right center that center fielder Lorenzo Cain and right fielder Eric Thames collided with each other while chasing, but Thames made the catch, depriving Carpenter of what would have been an inside-the-park home run. That was the last good break for Peralta that inning. Yadier Molina walked, Jose Martinez doubled into the right-field corner and Marcell Ozuna singled them both home. That increased Peralta's ERA in the first inning this season to 9.00. (Carpenter was intentionally walked in the seventh to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 35 games. He was 0 for 3 at that point.)
The Cardinals had runners on first and second with no outs in the second but couldn't score as Flaherty bunted into an out at third and Carpenter and Molina flew out.
The Cardinals added a run in the fourth inning on Jedd Gyorko's 10th home run of the season.
The Brewers threatened to score in the third on a leadoff double by Christian Yelich, who took third on a ground out. Mike Moustakas walked but Jesus Aguilar followed with a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Thames came out of the game for Milwaukee after the third with right knee soreness.
The Brewers scored twice in the eighth off reliever Jordan Hicks and had the tying run on second but couldn't get him in. After getting the first out on a nice play by Kolten Wong at second, Hicks gave up a single, two walks to load the bases and then a single by Aguilar to score two. Manager Mike Shildt stuck with Hicks, who got Travis Shaw to hit a foul fly ball to left and Jonathan Schoop blooped out to short.
The Cardinals pushed the lead back to three runs in the eighth on a two-run double by Wong with the bases loaded. Bud Norris then came in to pitch the ninth.
