ST. LOUIS (AP) — Michael Wacha escaped a pair of jams with strikeouts, and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a fifth-inning tie en route to a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Yadier Molina hit his first homer since May 24 for the Cardinals, who have won eight of nine and will go for a three-game sweep on Wednesday. David Wright hit his first homer since May 28, and Lucas Duda also connected for the Mets, who have lost 11 of 14.

Mets manager Terry Collins batted the pitcher eighth with Eric Young Jr. hitting ninth for the second straight game in an effort to stimulate the offense. During the 14-game slump, the Mets have scored two or fewer runs seven times. Daisuke Matsuzaka worked a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Mets starter Jonathon Niese.