ST. LOUIS _ Jack Flaherty threw seven innings of one-hit ball, leading the Cardinals in a 8-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs before a sellout crowd of 46,811 at Busch Stadium on Thursday night.
The win gives the Cardinals a one-game lead over the Cubs atop the NL Central.
Flaherty (5-6) struck out nine and walked two. The only hit he allowed was a two-out single in the sixth to Cubs' newcomer Nicholas Castellanos.
The Cardinals broke the game open with four runs in the sixth, three coming on a home run from catcher Matt Wieters.
A bad night got worse for the Cubs in the eighth. After Lane Thomas singled to lead off the inning, he took second on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch from Tyler Chatwood, this one on a third strike to Tommy Edman, put runners at first and third with no outs. Dexter Fowler walked to load the bases.
Pinch-hitter Rangel Ravelo hit into a double play, forcing in the game's eighth run.
In the seventh, after Jose Martinez walked and stole second, he moved to third on a Paul DeJong hit and scored on a Yairo Munoz sacrifice fly. That pushed the lead to 7-0.
The Cardinals broke it open in the sixth, scoring four runs before the Cubs recorded an out.
Paul Goldschmidt led off with a single up the middle and Paul DeJong followed with a double down the left-field line. After falling behind 0-2, Yairo Munoz battled back to single past the diving Kris Bryant at third, making it 3-0 and chasing Cubs lefty starter Jon Lester from the game.
After falling behind 0-2 against reliever Derek Holland, Matt Wieters hit a 2-2 pitch to right for an opposite-field homer that stretched the Cardinals lead to 6-0.
Kolten Wong followed with a single, giving the Cardinals five straight hits to begin the inning.
Up 1-0, the home team added to its lead in the fourth. With one out, Paul DeJong singled up the middle and Yairo Munoz followed with a hit-and-run hit that sent DeJong to third.
After another out, Kolten Wong singled to right, driving in DeJong. The inning ended when Cubs' centerfielder Jason Heyward came up with a diving grab of a drive into the right-center field gap by pitcher Jack Flaherty.
Tommy Edman led off the home half of the first inning with an opposite-field ground-rule double to right. An out later, Jose Martinez lined a single up the middle, driving in the game's first run.
The Cubs didn't record their first hit against Flaherty until Cubs' newcomer Nicholas Castellanos singled to right with two outs in the sixth inning. That inning, Flaherty struck out the side and has eight strikeouts through six innings.
Flaherty was nothing short of masterful in getting his record to 5-6. He allowed just one hit, a two-out single in the sixth to Nicholas Castellanos, over seven innings. He struck out nine and walked two.
The Cardinals outhit the Cubs 14-1 getting three singles and an RBI from Kolten Wong, three hits from Paul DeJong and two hits and two RBIs from Yairo Munoz. Matt Wieters added two hits, including a three-run homer to highlight the four-run sixth inning that broke the game open.
Tyler Webb and Mike Mayers each pitched 1-2-3 shutout innings of relief for the Redbirds.
Lefty Jon Lester started and took the loss, seeing his record slip to 9-7.
Castellanos had the lone Cubs' hit.
