March 28, 2024

Homers help Cards stall Cubs for now

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Moss broke out of a lengthy slump with a tiebreaking home run and Aledmys Diaz connected in his return to the starting lineup, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs 4-2 Tuesday night.

The Cardinals ensured that the runaway Cubs won’t clinch the NL Central at Busch Stadium. Chicago’s magic number is three, and the series in St. Louis wraps up Thursday.

St. Louis remained a half-game behind the New York Mets for the second wild-card spot.

Moss entered the game mired in a 1-for-41 skid. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Jason Hammel (14-9).

Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run against Jaime Garcia.

Alex Reyes won with 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Kevin Siegrist got the save.

Hammel allowed four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.