The Cardinals blasted four home runs en route to an 11-6 victory over the Braves in Atlanta.  Kolten Wong, Paul DeJong , Harrison Bader, and Yadier Molina each left the yard for St. Louis, which reclaimed sole possession of the NL’s second wild card spot.  Wong, Bader and Molina all had three RBI.  Miles Mikolas tossed five frames of two-run ball for the win.

Tyler Webb, Dakota Hudson, and Carlos Martinez bent but never broke against three-straight innings of Braves’ rallies as Atlanta closed Cardinals’ leads of 3-0, and 6-2 to one-run games before St. Louis kept one run leads.

Bader’s three-run blast in the eighth inning gave the Cardinals enough breathing room.  Atlanta lost their third straight.

>>Cardinals Face Braves Tonight

The Cardinals face the Braves again tonight in Atlanta.  It’s the second of their three-game series.  Austin Gomber opposes Anibal Sanchez.  The Cards are five-and-a-half back in the NL Central.

>>Dodgers Dominate Rockies To Take Over First Place

(Los Angeles, CA)  —  Joc Pederson helped the Dodgers retake first place as they defeated the Rockies 8-2 at Dodger Stadium.  Pederson hit two homers and drove in three for Los Angeles, which is now a half-game ahead of Colorado in the NL West.  Max Muncy added a three-run bomb in the victory.  Hyun-Jin Ryu [[ ree-OO ]]tossed seven scoreless innings for the win.

>>Cubs Top D’backs

(Phoenix, AZ)  —  Kyle Hendricks threw eight-and-two-thirds innings of one-run ball as the Cubs beat the Diamondbacks 5-1 in Phoenix.  Hendricks allowed only three hits and struck out eight for the win.  Javier Baez and Kris Bryant hit two-run homers for Chicago, which still leads Milwaukee by two-and-a-half games in the NL Central.  The Cubs’ magic number to clinch the division is 10.

>>Brewers Beat Reds Behind Yelich Cycle

(Milwaukee, WI)  —  Christian Yelich went 4-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Brewers to an 8-0 win over the Reds at Miller Park.  Yelich became the first player in 100 years to hit for the cycle twice against the same team in the same season.  Wade Miley pitched five shutout innings for the win.