HOUSTON -- Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez ended a tough stretch in emphatic fashion Wednesday.Martinez took a no-hitter into the sixth, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Brandon Moss hit home runs and St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 8-2.Martinez (11-7) pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing a run while striking out seven. He retired 15 of the first 16 batters before giving up a leadoff double to Teoscar Hernandez in the sixth.Martinez had allowed 14 runs over his previous three starts.Hes been impressive, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. I enjoy watching guys improve. When you see him pitch like that and maintain like that, thats improvement.Martinez leads St. Louis pitchers with 11 starts of seven or more innings.Every day I go out on the hill focused on my work and ready to go through nine innings hopefully, Martinez said. Some days theres bad days, some days theres good days like today. I stayed focused and I felt really good. I feel like its just part of the game and I went out and did the best I could.The Cardinals have won four straight and have a slim lead for the second NL wild-card spot over the Pirates and Marlins.St. Louis is averaging 7.5 runs per game during this winning streak and began its offensive frenzy Wednesday in the third inning against starter Doug Fister.Eight Cardinals batted in the three-run third, highlighted by Stephen Piscottys two-run single and Yadier Molinas RBI double.Hazelbaker bashed a 3-2 pitch from Fister in the fourth for his first home run since July 29. Moss blew it open in the seventh with a three-run homer off Tony Sipp.Moss has four home runs in the last six games and leads the Cardinals with 22 homers in just 281 at-bats. Its a nice resurgence for the 32-year-old, who hit .250 with four homers in 51 games last season after being acquired from Cleveland in July.Seems like everybody discounted everything he did before he got to us, Matheny said. That was a bunch of homers. Then he comes over smoking the ball and not getting anything for it. You could just see where he was trending and where he continues to trend. This guys got legitimate big power.St. Louis has 49 home runs since the All-Star break to lead the National League.Its good were just having good approaches and obviously were having success at the plate, Hazelbaker said. It comes from preparation and just knowing what were capable of and just being prepared every at-bat.Fister (11-8) gave up four runs, seven hits and a walk while striking three in four innings.It was a disappointing day, Fister said. Any loss is a tough loss to swallow. I felt good today. I felt strong, I felt in control, but they put a few good swings on balls, and the ball bounced their way today.Fister has allowed four or more runs five times in his past 10 starts after reaching that mark once in his first 14 outings this season.Alex Bregman drove in Hernandez with a single in the sixth. The rookie has seven RBI in the last 11 games and is batting .312 in that time.Houston has been outscored 29-11 during a four-game losing streak and surrendered eight or more runs in three straight games for the first time this season.The rollercoaster ride that weve been on is no fun when were in this portion of it, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. This game will test your character, itll test your resolve, itll test your ability to come back from adversity and this is another test for us. Weve got the better part of six weeks left in the regular season, and we need to compile some wins.UP NEXTCardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.72 ERA) starts against Philadelphia on Friday. Wainwright is looking for his eighth season with 10 or more wins and needs four to tie Dizzy Dean (134) on the Cardinals career list.Astros: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 1.47 ERA) starts against Baltimore on Thursday after getting his first major league win against Toronto on Friday. 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Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. NEW YORK -- A first-time All-Star at age 31, Steven Wright traveled across the country and never got to pitch.That gave the AL ERA leader an early start to the second half, and the knuckleballer pitched the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 5-3 Friday night.Wright originally was slated to pitch Saturday, but Red Sox manager John Farrell called him at 3 p.m. Thursday and asked him to start the second-half opener.I wasnt expecting it, but I had a feeling there could be a good chance because I didnt throw in the All-Star Game, Wright said.Pitching on eight days rest, Wright (11-5) won for the eighth time in nine decisions. Ryan Hanigan, Travis Shaw and Xander Bogaerts homered off Michael Pineda (3-9) as Boston won its fifth straight.When Wright arrived in San Diego, AL manager Ned Yost informed the pitcher he likely would not appear.Its definitely a bummer, Wright said. I was going to be the emergency, because they didnt want to end in a tie, and I was the only guy that was capable of going multiple innings. And I was like, fine.He needed just 39 pitches to get through four innings against the Yankees and retired his first 14 batters before Alex Rodriguez hit a slow hopper the pitcher couldnt come up with on a bare-hand try about 45 feet from the plate on the third base side.There was quite a bit of violence to the knuckleball, Farrell said.New York closed the gap with a three-run sixth, when Wright hit Chase Headley on the thigh with a pitch and loaded the bases with a walk to Jacoby Ellsbury. Carlos Beltran had a two-run single on a ball that zipped past first baseman Hanley Ramirez and down the right-field line, and Brian McCann hit an RBI grounder as Ramirez bounced his throw to second, eliminating the possibility of an inning-ending double play.I gave up one hard-hit ball the entire night. It just happened to be with the bases loaded, Wright said.He improved to 4-1 against the Yankees, allowing three runs and three hits in six innings as his ERA rose from 2.68 to 2.78.Hanigans third-inning homer was his first since last Aug. 19 off Clevelands Corey Kluber, and the ball was caught by reliever Robbie Ross Jr., who stuck out his cap to snag it in the visitors bullpen in left field.When that ball was hit, I was like, that balls going out, Im going rightt for it.ddddddddddddI got 4 1/2, Ross said of his season total. The half was the one where Brock (Holt) hit it off the top of the fence and I caught it.Shaw hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Bogaerts made it 5-0 with a two-run drive in the sixth.It kind of looked like we needed a time through the order to get back in sync after the break, Farrell said.Brad Ziegler and Ross followed Wright with an inning apiece, and Koji Uehara finished the four-hitter for his fifth save, his third since closer Craig Kimbrel hurt a knee.Pineda (3-9) gave up five runs and five hits in five-plus innings, leaving him with a 5.56 ERA and 18 home runs allowed in 18 starts this season. New York (44-45) is under .500 after the All-Star break for the first time since 1995.Its one game, guys, Beltran said. We have to focus on winning series, especially against teams that are in our division.IN THE SEATSIndiana Gov. Mike Pence, announced by Donald Trump as his pick for Republican vice presidential nominee, was in the crowd of 47,459, the Yankees fourth home sellout this season.WHAT, ME WORRY?David Ortiz laughed at the notion his comments this week that Boston should sign Edwin Encarnacion to replace him next season could be construed as improper.Tampering? I dont write no paycheck, Ortiz said. I can say whatever I want. Im not a GM or a team owner. If I say tomorrow that I want to play with LeBron James, am I tampering, too?TRAINERS ROOMRed Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa, on the disabled list with a right shoulder impingement, threw a 25-pitch bullpen. He has another session scheduled for Sunday and likely will be activated when he becomes eligible Tuesday. ... RHP Joe Kelly allowed a hit in two innings and struck out three for Triple-A Pawtucket against Charlotte. ... Ramirez and Holt played for the first time since July 8 against Tampa Bay, when Ramirez fouled a ball off his left shin and Holt sprained his left ankle.UP NEXTLHP CC Sabathia (5-6) is scheduled to start Saturday for New York, and LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3) for Boston following his recall from the minors on Friday. Rodriguez is 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees. ' ' '
