Miles Mikolas leads Cardinals to shutout of Padres

Miles Mikolas and four St. Louis Cardinals relievers combined to shut out the San Diego Padres 3-0 on Friday night.

Mikolas (6-7) scattered seven hits over five-plus innings. He struck out one and didn't walk a batter.

Steven Matz, Phil Maton, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley followed with one inning apiece. Helsley pitched around a single in the ninth to earn his 21st save.

Masyn Winn hit a two-run double for the Cardinals, who beat the Padres for the second straight game to move within 1 1/2 games of the final National League wild-card position.

Padres starter Nick Pivetta (10-3) allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings as San Diego lost its fourth straight game.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead during an eventful second inning. Pivetta hit leadoff hitter Willson Contreras with a pitch, which triggered a terse exchange between the two.

The kerfuffle brought players from both teams onto the field. Although the situation didn't escalate into a brawl, the umpires warned both teams against throwing retaliatory beanballs.

Nolan Arenado reached on an error by second baseman Jake Cronenworth. Winn advanced the runners with a bunt, and Yohel Pozo hit a run-scoring groundout.

San Diego stranded two runners in scoring position in the third inning. After Elias Diaz singled and went to third base on Fernando Tatis' ground-rule double, Luis Arraez flied out and Manny Machado grounded out.

A Padres baserunning error helped Mikolas escape the fourth inning. Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts hit singles to start the inning, then Gavin Sheets flied out to right field. Merrill moved to third, but Bogaerts ran into an out at second base for a double play. Cronenworth struck out to end the inning.

The Cardinals increased their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Pivetta walked Contreras and Arenado, then threw a wild pitch that allowed the runners to advance. Winn followed with his two-run double through the left-center-field gap.

--Field Level Media