ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tony Cruz singled in the winning run in the 13th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals moved closer to their second straight NL Central title with a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night.

The defending National League champions took two of three in a tight series that featured only 12 runs and another game that lasted 12 innings, and lead the division by 2 1/2 games with nine games to go. They begin their final home series of the year Friday night with the first of three against Cincinnati.

Aramis Ramirez and Scooter Gennett had an RBI apiece for the Brewers, who are five games back and 3 1/2 out for the second NL wild card. Jonathan Lucroy’s 45th double tied the major league record for a catcher set by Ivan Rodriguez in 1996 and was his major league-leading 52nd overall.

Cruz singled up the middle with one out for the third hit of the 13th against Jimmy Nelson and Matt Adam scored from second.