Wong’s walk-off HR lifts Cardinals past Cubs in the 10th

ST. LOUIS » For the St. Louis Cardinals, there’s more importance to their early season games with the Chicago Cubs this year than most seasons. The games are about St. Louis putting to rest any leftover doubts after a dismal 5-14 record against its rival a year ago.

The Cardinals showed on Saturday they aren’t about to just lie down and let the Cubs cruise to a third straight National League Central title. Kolten Wong hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to cap an 8-6 win, one which had all the backand-forth of a postseason affair.

Wong’s game-ending blast put the finishing touch on a game in which St. Louis trailed 4-0 after one inning and by two runs entering the bottom of the ninth.

“I’ve never (played) in the World Series or those kinds of games,” St. Louis outfielder Marcell Ozuna said. “This feels like more than a regular game.”

Ozuna tied the game in the ninth inning with a two-run double off Chicago closer Brandon Morrow. PADRES 7, DODGERS 4 » San Diego Padres rebounded nicely from Los Angeles’ combined no-hitter, using two-run homers by Eric Hosmer and Raffy Lopez to beat Los Angeles in Mexico. MARLINS 6, REDS 0 » Caleb Smith Smith gave his third straight impressive performance, and Starlin Castro drove in three runs with a homer and a double, leading Miami . BREWERS 5, PIRATES 3 » Ryan Braun hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning, helping Milwaukee top Pittsburgh. GIANTS 11, BRAVES 2» Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen each had three of San Francisco’s 18 hits and the hot-hitting Giants rolled over Brandon McCarthy and Atlanta. ROCKIES 2, METS 0 » Chad Bettis pitched seven innings, Nolan Arenado homered early, and Colorado shut down slumping New York. RAYS 5, BLUE JAYS 3 » Denard Span drove in his team-leading 24th run to help surging Tampa Bay beat Toronto. TIGERS 3, ROYALS 2 » Jordan Zimmermann allowed two hits over five scoreless innings, Nicholas Castellanos had three extra-base hits and Detroit beat Kansas City. YANKEES 5, INDIANS 2 » Shortstop Francisco Lindor’s double error led to a pair of runs in a four-run fifth inning off previously unhittable Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray won for the first time in a month and New York beat Cleveland.