Cardinals 12, Mariners 2: Yadier Molina homered among his four hits while red-hot Matt Carpenter recorded three hits and drove in a pair as host St. Louis remained tied with Pittsburgh for first place in the National League Central.

Matt Adams added a two-run blast while Daniel Descalso, Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran also knocked in two for the Cardinals, who collected 19 hits in winning for the seven time in their last nine games. Rookie Shelby Miller (14-9) improved to 9-3 at home after allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits in five innings.

Seattle's Erasmo Ramirez (5-2), who entered the game with a 2.27 ERA in his last five starts, yielded five runs and eight hits in four innings. Franklin Gutierrez and Abraham Almonte drove in runs for the Mariners, who lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

Carpenter, who is hitting .393 in September, highlighted a four-run fourth inning with a two-run single. The Cardinals added four more in the fifth when Adams crushed Carter Capps' 1-0 pitch over the wall in center before Descalso's RBI double and Jay's run-scoring single made it 9-2.

Holliday, who finished with three hits, delivered an RBI double in the seventh before Beltran followed with a two-run single to finish the scoring. The Cardinals reduced their magic number for clinching a postseason berth to six.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Miller has a 1.77 ERA in 15 home starts. ... St. Louis finished 10-10 in interleague play - 5-5 at home. ... Mariners rookie SS Brad Miller did not play after leaving Saturday's game with a hamstring injury and will likely miss a few games, according to manager Eric Wedge.