MIAMI (AP) — Matt Carpenter leaped into a high-five with Yadier Molina at home plate http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-willie-mays-jersey , trotted down the dugout steps and skipped from one end of the bench to the other, slapping hands with teammates lined up on both sides of him.It was a routine polished by practice.The NL home run leader hit a tiebreaking homer for the second consecutive night Wednesday, and the St. Louis Cardinals won their fourth series in a row by beating Miami 7-1.Carpenter put St. Louis ahead with a home run leading off the sixth inning, his 31st. His eighth-inning homer Tuesday helped beat Miami 3-2, and he has homered in five of the past six games, to the delight of his teammates.“Obviously they’re fired up and love it, and we’re winning,” Carpenter said. “We’ve played really well the last few series, so there’s a lot of excitement and energy in the clubhouse every day.”Said shortstop Paul DeJong: “If Carp doesn’t hit a home run, I don’t know if we could win.”Carpenter, who has raised his average from .140 on May 15 to .281, has resisted analyzing the remarkable turnaround.“There’s really not a lot of thought,” he said. “That’s kind of the beauty of this stretch I’m in. It has been a learning experience for me Will Clark Jersey , because when you’re struggling there’s so much thought. I just go up there, I’m looking for a pitch to hit, and I hit it and jog around the bases.”John Gant (4-4) pitched six innings and allowed one run, which scored in part because of a defensive lapse. He and three relievers combined to retire 21 batters in a row.Molina hit his 15th homer in the first and doubled home two runs in the ninth . The double came after Carpenter was intentionally walked for the 11th time this year.“It’s an option for them,” Cardinals interim manager Mike Shildt said. “We like Matt hitting, and we have no problem with Yadi hitting.”Marcell Ozuna doubled home a run in the sixth and went 6 for 11 in the series against his former team. The Cardinals improved to 13-9 under Shildt.Trevor Richards (3-7) allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings for the last-place Marlins, who have lost eight of their past nine games.“We know where we are in the standings,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “We need to identify who we want to be, and I think that starts with playing better baseball and trying to finish hard.”WORTHY OF A REPLAYDeJong hit a two-run double and made a leaping catch to rob Magneuris Sierra of a hit.“Honestly it might be one of the best plays I’ve ever made,” DeJong said. “I was pretty excited about that one.”TRAINER’S ROOMCardinals: Pinch runner Harrison Bader was shaken up on a headfirst slide in the eighth inning, but stayed in the game and scored. Afterward he said he was fine.Marlins: Rookie CF Lewis Brinson (right hip) is expected to begin taking live batting practice next week, and the Marlins hope he can return for another 100 at-bats or so before the end of the season, manager Don Mattingly said.UP NEXTCardinals: Following a day off Barry Bonds Jersey , the Cardinals open a three-game series at Kansas City, with LHP Austin Gomber (1-0, 4.10 ERA) scheduled to pitch Friday.Marlins: Miami opens a three-game series at home Friday against the Mets, with RHP Jose Urena (3-11, 4.66) scheduled to start the series opener. CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs are closing in on the NL Central championship and have their sights set on another deep playoff run.It sure would help if Kyle Hendricks keeps pitching like this. They’ll take a few more big home runs from Kris Bryant, too.Hendricks went eight innings in another strong start, Bryant connected and the Cubs moved closer to the division title while dealing another hit to St. Louis’ playoff hopes, beating the Cardinals 8-4 on Friday.“This is what you look for,” Hendricks said. “These are the games you want to play in, games that have meaning like this. That’s why we play the game. Hopefully, we’ve got a lot of these left.”The Cubs came into the final weekend of the regular season with a franchise-record fourth straight trip to the postseason assured and their third division title in a row in sight. They remained one game ahead of Milwaukee, which beat Detroit 6-5 on Friday night.The Cubs can clinch the NL Central on Saturday — and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs — with a win and a Brewers loss.St. Louis matched a season high with its fourth straight loss, after being swept by Milwaukee this week. The Cardinals trail Los Angeles by two games for the second NL wild card after the Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco late Friday night.With two games remaining http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-madison-bumgarner-jersey , one more St. Louis loss or Los Angeles win would eliminate the Cardinals from postseason contention.“Clearly the back is completely against the wall,” manager Mike Shildt said.Hendricks (14-11) gave up two runs and seven hits . The right-hander is 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his past seven outings and has thrown a career-high 199 innings.“He’s pitched with his best stuff since I’ve known him,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “There’s not many strikeouts, not a lot of swing-and-misses. But the velocity on the fastball, he’s back to the weaker contact in general. He looks strong. … I just see a stronger version of Kyle.”Bryant made it 3-0 with a long solo drive to center against Adam Wainwright in the fourth.That gave the 2016 NL MVP just two homers in 27 games and 13 total in a season marked by injuries. Bryant missed the previous two games because of a bruised left wrist after getting hit by a pitch and was on the disabled list two times this year because of left shoulder inflammation.Daniel Murphy had two hits, two runs and an RBI. He singled and scored in a two-run first, doubled and came around in the fifth, and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.Anthony Rizzo had an RBI single and sacrifice fly.Albert Almora drove in two with a single against Dominic Leone to cap a three-run eighth, making it 8-2, and the Cubs won their third in a row after losing four of six.“We’ve been here before,” Bryant said, referring to three straight appearances in the NLCS and a World Series championship in 2016 that ended a drought dating to 1908. “We’ve been under pressure situations. I think we know how to handle it.”Wainwright (2-4) is now 11-3 lifetime at Wrigley Field. He lasted five innings, allowing four runs and five hits Juan Marichal Jersey , in what could be his final start for the Cardinals. Though he didn’t sound like a player ready to walk away, the three-time All-Star has an expiring contract and was on the disabled list three times this season because of hamstring and elbow injuries.“If you had asked me that question about two months ago, I would have already checked out on you,” Wainwright said. “But the way I’m feeling right now, if that is my last start, it would be kind of hard to walk away knowing the way I’m feeling right now.”TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: Manager Joe Maddon said he wasn’t sure if reliever Pedro Strop (strained left hamstring) will pitch this weekend. The right-hander still feels some discomfort on the landing throwing off the mound. Strop has been sidelined since Sept. 13, when he was hurt running to first on a double-play grounder at Washington. … The Cubs activated C Bobby Wilson, who was acquired Aug. 30 from Minnesota on Friday. The Twins placed him on the 10-day disabled list Aug. 24 because of a sprained right ankle.UP NEXTCardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (17-4, 2.94 ERA) looks to win his fifth straight start, after holding San Francisco to two runs and two hits in seven innings on Sunday.Cubs: LHP Cole Hamels (4-2, 2.47) tries to shake off back-to-back losses after going 4-0 in his first nine starts for Chicago following a trade from Texas. He homered against Pittsburgh on Monday but got outpitched by Jameson Taillon.