Cards hold off Rox, tie for 2nd Wild Card

DENVER — Carlos Martinez powered himself to his career-high 15th win with a fourth-inning double, as the Cardinals topped the Rockies, 5-3, at Coors Field on Monday and moved into a tie for the second National League Wild Card spot.

The Cards joined the Giants — who lost to the Dodgers — in a tie for the second Wild Card, while the Mets lead the top Wild Card by one game.

The Cardinals scored early against Rockies starter Tyler Anderson. Randal Grichuk launched his 23rd homer, a two-run shot, to take a 2-1 lead in the third, and Martinez doubled in two runs an inning later with his first extra-base hit of the season. Matt Carpenter singled to right to score Martinez.

Although Martinez only lasted five innings — his shortest outing since Aug. 6 — he held the Rockies to two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. The Rockies had RBI singles by David Dahl in the first and Nolan Arenado in the third, but managed little against St. Louis’ bullpen. They reached base three times against five relievers and scored once, on Ryan Raburn’s pinch-hit homer in the ninth against Kevin Siegrist, who earned his third save.

“It really helped that I was helping my cause,” Martinez said through a translator. “Not only my cause but also the team. I knew that the minute that the game was tied, we were going to come back a lot more aggressive and a lot more positive to be able to have the outcome that we had.”

Anderson regrouped after the third and lasted seven innings. He yielded eight hits, and five runs (two earned), and struck out seven against no walks. Still, it was a solid comeback from his last outings, when he gave up nine hits and six runs (five earned) in 4 1/3 innings at Arizona.

“Tonight my focus was to try to get ahead, try to throw a lot more strikes than I did last time, and stay out of hitter’s counts,” Anderson said.

Although Martinez only lasted five innings — his shortest outing since Aug. 6 — he held the Rockies to two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. The Rockies had RBI singles by David Dahl in the first and Nolan Arenado in the third but managed little against St. Louis’ bullpen. They scored once in four innings, on Ryan Raburn’s pinch hit homer in the ninth against Kevin Siegrist, who earned his third save.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDMartinez recovers quickly: Following Grichuk’s third-inning homer, Martinez was hit in the …

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