Cardinals shut out Cubs and are all alone in first

Jack Flaherty struck out nine in seven strong innings and Matt Wieters hit a threerun homer as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the visiting Chicago Cubs 8- 0 Thursday in a matchup of NL Central leaders.

The Cardinals won two games in the three-game set and claimed first in the division, a game ahead of Chicago. The Cubs have lost four of six overall and 11 of their last 16 on the road.

Flaherty (5- 6) allowed just one hit and walked two in recording his first win since May 14, a span of 79 days and 12 starts. The right-hander held the Cubs without a hit until newcomer Nicholas Castellanos singled to right with two out in the sixth.

Wieters capped off a fourrun, sixth inning with a threerun homer off Derek Holland.

Jon Lester (9-7) gave up five earned runs on nine hits over five-plus innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. ASTROS 7, INDIANS 1 » Gerrit Cole pitched one-run ball over seven innings and extended his winning streak to nine games as host Houston beat Cleveland.

Cole (13-5) gave up four hits, all in the first four innings, and struck out four.

Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez drove in two runs apiece, while George Springer hit his MLB-leading eighth leadoff home run and scored three times. MARLINS 5, TWINS 4, 12 INNINGS » Newly acquired Minnesota reliever Sam Dyson blew a threerun lead in the ninth inning, then Harold Ramirez hit a leadoff homer in the 12th to make Miami a winner at home.

Dyson, acquired from San Francisco on Wednesday, faced four batters and didn’t retire any of them, allowing two walks and two hits before being pulled.

The Marlins tied it with three runs, and Ramirez homered in the 12th, connecting off Cody Stashak (0-1).