Matt Carpenter went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Paul DeJong homered as the Cardinals beat the Cubs 5-3 at chilly Wrigley Field.  Starter Adam Wainwright allowed just four hits and an unearned run in five innings of work for his first win of the season.  Bud Norris nailed it down in the ninth to notch his fourth save.

>>Cards Close Out Series With Cubs Today

The Cardinals close out their weather-shortened, two-game series with the Cubs today at Wrigley Field, weather permitting.  Weather.com reports showers beginning in Chicagoland around 11 a.m., turning to rain, then snow by 3 p.m.  Luke Weaver puts his 2-and-0 mark on the line for St. Louis, while Chicago counters with 1-and-0 Jon Lester.  First pitch is set for 1:20 p.m.  The Cards are second in the NL Central at 10-and-7, one game behind the Pirates.

>>Cardinals’ Gregerson Back Healthy, But No Longer Closer

Cardinals reliever Luke Gregerson is back healthy with the team and available but is no longer considered the club’s closer.  He signed a two-year deal in the offseason but missed the first 16 games of the season with a hamstring issue.  The Cards signed former All-Star Greg Holland in his absence and have also used Bud Norris.

Carlos Martinez struck out 11 over seven innings of two-hit shutout ball and the Cardinals held on to beat the Reds 3-2 in Cincinnati.  Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer in the second and Yadier Molina singled in another run in the seventh for St. Louis, which swept the four-game series.

>>Cardinals At Cubs Tonight

Weather permitting, the Cardinals head to Chicago to begin a three-game series with the rival Cubs tonight at Wrigley Field.  Adam Wainwright will take the mound for St. Louis and Tyler Chatwood for Chicago.  Both are off to 0-and-2 starts.  The Cards are second in the NL Central at 9-and-7, two-and-a-half games behind the Pirates.   The Cubs are 7-7.

>>Molina Passes Bench On Career Innings Caught List

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is moving past a Hall of Famer on the career innings caught list.  He now ranks 13th in baseball history after passing longtime Reds star Johnny Bench during Saturday’s game against the Reds.  Molina has more than 14,500 innings caught.  Former Cardinal Ted Simmons ranks 12th.

Jose Martinez went 4-for-5 with a home run and six RBI as the Cardinals crushed the Reds 13-4 in the opener of a four-game set at Great American Ball Park.  Marcell Ozuna, Paul DeJong and Yadier Molina also went deep for St. Louis, which scored seven runs in the seventh inning.  The Cards are 6-and-7.  Michael Wacha made it through five innings to improve to 2-and-1 with the win.  Mike Mayers pitched the final three frames to earn his first save.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says they hit the ball hard.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says starter Michael Wacha pitched well.

>>Cards Continue Series In Cincinnati

The Cardinals and Reds continue their four-game series tonight in Cincinnati.  Luke Weaver will get the ball for the Redbirds.  The Reds will counter with right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Matt Carpenter connected for a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Cardinals outlasted the Brewers 5-3 at Busch Stadium.  Tommy Pham scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to tie it at two and Greg Garcia singled in a run in the 10th to tie it at three as St. Louis rallied twice late to keep the game going.

Watch the wild comebacks, courtesy MLB.com

>>Molina Suspended One Game For Lovullo Incident

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and Arizona manager Torey Lovullo [[ lo-VELL-oh ]] are each suspended one game after their heated exchange on Sunday.  While arguing a third strike, Lovullo implied Molina got favorable calls behind the plate.  Molina took offense and had to be restrained.  He’s appealing his suspension.

>>Cardinals Battle Brewers Again Today

The Cardinals and Brewers finish their three-game series at Busch Stadium this afternoon.  Adam Wainwright will take the mound for St. Louis, with first pitch at 12:15 p.m.  The Cardinals will open a seven-game road trip tomorrow against the Reds in Cincinnati and then play three against the Cubs next week at Wrigley Field.

It was a rough Cardinals debut for new closer Greg Holland.  He walked four batters (one intentionally) to force in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as the Cards lost 5-4 to the Brewers at Busch Stadium.  Dexter Fowler’s sac-fly in the bottom of the ninth got St. Louis even to force extra innings.

Orlando Arcia walked with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to give the Brewers the lead.  Arcia also had an RBI double for Milwaukee, which moved above the .500 mark at 6-and-5.  Matt Albers gave up a run in the ninth to blow the save, after Dexter Fowler’s sac-fly in the ninth got the Cards even.  Albers pitched the tenth for the win.

Holland threw 19 pitches and only six were strikes.  Bud Norris came on the end the Brewers rally.

Holland talks about his outing.

Cardinals hitters struck out ten times, including eight in the final four innings.  After a leadoff walk in the seventh, Josh Hader struck out the side.  In the eighth, the Cardinals went down on three straight strikeouts.  After tying the game in the ninth, St. Louis went quietly in the tenth with two more strikeouts against Albers.

The Cardinals fall to 4-6.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo originally left the dugout in the second inning to stick up for his player who was called out on a third strike looking.  Center fielder A.J. Pollock was the third of the D-backs’ first four batters to strike out when home plate umpire Tim Timmons rung him up to begin the inning on a pitch that appeared to be below the strike zone.

Once Lovullo stepped out of the dugout he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, but the incident escalated when Lovullo pointed at Molina and used a profanity in reference to Molina, prompting Yadi to lose his cool. Both benches and bullpens cleared, but no punches were thrown and there were no other ejections, other than Lovullo.

The trigger word that set off Molina?   “You can’t let that motherf—er make balls into strikes!”

After the game, Lovullo tried to explain he has respect for Molina.

Molina believes that Lovullo should receive additional punishments for his conduct towards him on the field.

Jose Martinez broke the game open with a three-run homer in the third inning as the Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks 5-3 in chilly St. Louis.  Martinez’s homer broke a two-all tie and put the Cards up for good.  He also had a one-run single in the first and Matt Carpenter plated a run on a sac-fly.  Michael Wacha picked up the win with five innings of work as the Cards tied the three-game set at a win each.  Zach Greinke gave up nine hits and five runs over five frames to take the loss for Arizona.  Micah Owings plated two runs in defeat.

Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez says he was able to get the best of Greinke.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says Martinez continues to shine at the plate.

Watch Martinez put the Cards on top.

The Cardinals managed just two hits in a 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks in the home opener at Busch Stadium.  Adam Wainwright started and allowed all three runs in less than four innings to take the loss.  Robbie Ray struck out nine over six innings for the D-Backs.  Yadier Molina doubled in the St. Louis run in the fourth.   St. Louis dropped its first home opener since 2015.

Wainwright struck out three and walked four. He had been slowed since pulling his hamstring late in spring training.

Wainwright walked the lead-off hitter in the first two innings, but made it out of the first.  In the second, Arizona scored two runs after a one-out double and intentional walk loaded the bases.  Arizona starting pitcher Ray hit a sac fly, and David Peralta singled home another run.  Peralta added an RBI-double in the fourth inning, ending Wainwright’s short night.  Wainwright discussed his struggles.

Wainwright’s fastball started at 92 in the first inning, but by the third was topping out at 87-88.  Wainwright explained the drop in velocity.

The Cardinals are off Friday.  They resume their three-game series with the Diamondbacks tomorrow afternoon.  Michael Wacha will start for St. Louis and Zack Greinke for Arizona.  First pitch from Busch Stadium is at 1:15 p.m.  The Cardinals are 3-4, 2 1/2 games back in the NL Central.

Carlos Martinez struck out 10 while pitching four-hit ball into the ninth inning as the Cardinals blanked the Brewers 6-0 at Miller Park.  Yadier Molina homered and drove in two and Marcell Ozuna had two hits and an RBI as St. Louis took two-of-three from Milwaukee.  The Cardinals are now 3-and-3 on the year.

The Cardinals jumped on Jhoulys Chacin with a 4-0 lead in the first four innings and after Martinez allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in the first and second innings, Martinez mowed down 16 straight before a single in the seventh inning.  Martinez left with one out in the ninth after Yairo Munoz, misplayed grounder at third to put runners on first and second.  The Brewers loaded the bases against reliever Sam Tuivailala, but Bud Norris ended the game by getting Manny Pina to hit a soft bouncer in front of the mound for a 1-2-3 double play.

Adam Wainwright will be on the mound when the Cardinals play their home opener today against the Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.  The team activated the veteran right-hander from the 10-day disabled list.  Wainwright has been out with a strained left hamstring.  Jack Flaherty is being set back to Triple-A to make room.