Cardinals 4, Padres 2: Matt Adams and Jhonny Peralta each recorded two hits and an RBI as host St. Louis posted its third straight victory.

Kolten Wong and pinch-hitter Oscar Taveras drove in one run apiece while Jon Jay scored twice for the wild card-leading Cardinals, who remained two games behind first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central. Lance Lynn (13-8) yielded one run and six hits over six innings and Pat Neshek survived a turbulent ninth for his fourth save.

Pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal homered and Will Venable added an RBI for the Padres, who have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak and remained 6 1/2 games back in the race for the second NL wild card. Tyson Ross (11-11) had his string of four straight victories snapped as he surrendered three runs on five hits and four walks in six frames.

St. Louis took an early lead as Ross struggled with his control at the start. The All-Star began the game by walking the bases loaded before Adams drove in a run with a single and Peralta followed with an RBI groundout.

The Cardinals added a run in the fourth as Jay began the frame by getting hit with a pitch and advanced to third on two groundouts before scoring on a single by Wong. San Diego got on the board in the fifth, when Venable completed a string of three consecutive hits with an RBI double, but Taveras hit a run-scoring single in the eighth to restore the three-run advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: After serving up Grandal's solo blast with two out in the ninth, Neshek gave up a double by Chris Nelson before striking out Venable to end the game. ... Ross had allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his previous 10 starts. ... Lynn has given up two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight outings. ... San Diego 1B Tommy Medica had a night to forget, striking out in each of his four at-bats.