ADAM WAINWRIGHT

Clayton Kershaw reached 200 victories this past week.

Trea Turner homered twice to give him a tournament-leading four, and the defending champion United States romped over Cuba 14-2 to reach its second straight World Baseball Classic final.

All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado will not exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the Cardinals.

Adam Wainwright will pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals next season, choosing to return for an 18th with the franchise while longtime teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina head into retirement.

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina have played their final games with the Cardinals, who were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League wild-card series.

Aaron Nola pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning, Bryce Harper’s homer gave Philadelphia an early lead, and the Phillies held off the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 to sweep their National League wild-card series.

The Phillies scored six times in the ninth inning off the stingy St. Louis bullpen, highlighted by a bases-loaded single by Jean Segura, and Philadelphia beat the NL Central champion Cardinals 6-3 in the opening game of their National League wild-card series.

Albert Pujols slammed his 702nd career home run and drove in three runs in the Cardinals' 7-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made history with the first pitch of the game, then the record-setting battery helped the St. Louis Cardinals extend their NL Central lead by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina have made their 325th career start together, setting a major league record for most as a battery.

Yadier Molina homered twice on a day he paired with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright to tie the major league record fof 324 starts by a battery in an 11-6 loss to the Washington Nationals.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina have made their 324th career start.

Javier Assad pitched four scoreless innings in his major league debut and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter as the Chicago Cubs cooled off the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Albert Pujols hit career homer No. 693, Jordan Montgomery pitched a one-hitter and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 for their season-high eighth straight victory.

Albert Pujols launched a pinch-hit grand slam and drove in five runs, Adam Wainwright pitched seven sharp innings and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Colorado Rockies 13-0 for a three-game sweep.

Jordan Montgomery blanked his old teammates over five innings and Nolan Arenado drove in the lone run as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees 1-0.

Adam Wainwright pitched seven spotless innings with longtime catcher Yadier Molina back behind the plate, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0.

The Juan Soto sweepstakes come down to the wire, with baseball’s trade deadline fast approaching at 6 p.m. EDT.

When it comes to defense, Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman says he is "going all out always to make every play.”.

Hanser Alberto hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers climbed out of a huge hole in a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The last time Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Kyle Gibson faced the St. Louis Cardinals, they hit four consecutive home runs off him in the first inning.

Nolan Arenado sparked a record barrage of four straight home runs by St. Louis in the first inning, then hit a tiebreaking drive in the ninth that sent the Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6.

Major League Baseball will certainly soon be handing out penalties after the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels got into a huge brawl at Anaheim.

American League powerhouses square off when Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees host Yordan Álvarez and the Houston Astros in the opener of a highly anticipated four-game series Thursday night.

Austin Riley and the Atlanta Braves aim for their 15th straight win, which would tie for the longest streak in franchise history in the post-1900 era.

Paul Blackburn continued his road success by pitching sharply into the sixth inning, Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run single and the Oakland Athletics held off the Boston Red Sox 4-3 for just their second victory in 15 games.

Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning for the first walkoff RBI of his major league career, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals over Cincinnati 5-4 in yet another Reds bullpen collapse.

Yankees pitching has been overwhelming early in games recently, and Jordan Montgomery will try to extend their dominance in an early tilt against the Tigers.

Noah Syndergaard pitches in New York for the first time since leaving the Mets during the offseason, starting the Los Angeles Angels’ series opener at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

Josh Hader escaped a ninth-inning jam in his 37th straight scoreless appearance and the Milwaukee Brewers held off the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 for their third straight win.

Minus injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the ailing New York Yankees open a four-game series at Tampa Bay — the first meeting this year between the heated AL East rivals.

Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina set a major league record for wins by a starting battery as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the San Francisco Giants 15-6 in a game that ended with longtime slugger Albert Pujols on the mound.

Phillies star Bryce Harper is scheduled to get a platelet-rich plasma injection to help with a small tear in his right elbow, causing him to miss the series finale at Dodger Stadium.

Dakota Hudson and a quartet of relievers combined to help the St. Louis Cardinals stop San Francisco’s six-game winning streak, blanking the Giants 4-0.

Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis will serve as the team’s acting manager when the coronavirus-hampered Guardians start a three-game series against the Twins at Target Field.

Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Rylan Bannon became just the third Baltimore player since 2000 to get a hit on the first pitch of his big league career, Jorge Mateo and Anthony Bemboom homered and the Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2.

Adam Wainwright pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, Nolan Arenado hit a three-run shot and finished with five RBIs, and the Cardinals beat the Royals 10-0 to take their four-game season series.

Bobby Witt Jr. hit his first major league home run, Brad Keller pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 to end a four-game losing streak.

The New York Mets’ hit-by-pitch frustrations boiled over when reliever Yoan López threw a pitch near Nolan Arenado’s head, sparking a benches-clearing brawl that led to Arenado’s ejection in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 10-5 victory.

The Chicago White Sox likely will have an update on Eloy Jiménez after the slugging outfielder hurt his right hamstring during Saturday’s 9-2 loss at Minnesota.

Albert Pujols homered for the first time since returning to St. Louis and Andrew Knizner hit a three-run shot as the Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-5.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred gave major league players Bose headphones on opening day as a peace offering after a bitter 99-day lockout that delayed the start of the season.

Adam Wainwright pitched six scoreless innings, Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run homer and drove in five, and the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated Albert Pujols’ return with a 9-0 season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Winners of the Roberto Clemente Award will wear his No. 21 on the back of their caps for the rest of their major league careers.

Cubs veteran Kyle Hendricks is set to deliver the first pitch of the season against Corbin Burnes and Milwaukee at Wrigley Field just past 2:20 p.m. EDT, the first of seven games still on the calendar amid rainy forecasts across the country.

There's a lot to catch up on from a bizarre baseball offseason before the 2022 season officially begins with first pitch at Wrigley Field.

Albert Pujols will be in the starting lineup for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he begins his final big league season Thursday in what should be an emotional return to Busch Stadium.

Rob Manfred and major league players agree on at least one thing: the commissioner has failed in fostering their icy relationship.

There are no more bargaining sessions on the calendar.

That record winning streak in September meant little for the St. Louis Cardinals in a postseason that ended with one hanging slider.

Chris Taylor hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in a scintillating NL wild-card game.

The 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers put their season on the line in the NL wild-card game against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals.

Neither the St. Louis Cardinals nor the Los Angeles Dodgers wanted to be playing in the NL wild-card game.

The 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers put their season on the line in the NL wild-card game against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals.

All these years later, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are set to meet again at Fenway Park in an all-or-nothing game Tuesday night.

The pairings for the baseball playoffs are all set.

Clayton Kershaw starts at Dodger Stadium against Milwaukee to begin a season-ending, three-game series in a possible playoff preview.

Zack Wheeler pitches Tuesday night for Philadelphia in the opener of a pivotal three-game series at Atlanta.

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their second NL Central title in four years, beating the sloppy New York Mets 8-4 behind Willy Adames’s two-run homer and three RBIs.

Make it a very sweet 16 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Oakland right-hander Chris Bassitt promised to return to the mound by season’s end following a frightening 100 mph line drive to the face on Aug. 17.

Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill homered as the St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th straight game, extending their lead for the second NL wild-card spot and beating the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers 10-2.

Oakland right-hander Chris Bassitt promised to return to the mound by season’s end following a frightening 100 mph line drive to the face on Aug. 17.

Max Scherzer has dominated since being traded to the Dodgers, and tries to extend his success streak when he pitches at Cincinnati on Saturday in a matchup with playoff implications.

Adam Wainwright won his fifth straight start in a rare matchup of 40-year-old pitchers, and the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the New York Mets 7-0.

Mets 41-year-old left-hander Rich Hill is set to face Cardinals 40-year-old righty Adam Wainwright in a showdown of veterans who still got it.

Albert Pujols rewarded an adoring crowd by hitting a home run in his return to Busch Stadium, sending the Los Angeles Dodgers toward a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Yankees host the Red Sox in a day-night doubleheader as the longtime rivals jostle for playoff position.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays are set to play their final home game in Buffalo when they host the Red Sox.

Cody Bellinger had a grand slam and six RBIs as the Dodgers scored their most runs in one inning of a regular-season game since moving to Los Angeles, piling up 11 in the bottom of the first during a 14-3 blowout over the St. Louis Cardinals.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa wound up a winner in his first game against the team that ensured his Hall of Fame induction as Chicago beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 behind Lance Lynn’s arm and Andrew Vaughn’s bat.

The birds-on-the-bat uniforms, the players in the other dugout, the opposing manager, it all looked familiar to Tony La Russa.

Major League Baseball is full of huge numbers.

Joe Musgrove got through five innings for his first victory since throwing a no-hitter on April 9, and San Diego beat St. Louis 5-4 in the first meeting between the teams since the Padres eliminated the Cardinals from the playoffs last year.

Adam Wainwright came off the COVID-19 injured list and hung tough, St. Louis got a lights-out performance from its bullpen and the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-5 for their fifth straight win.

Zack Wheeler took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Rhys Hoskins homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1.

Nolan Arenado hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning of his home debut with the Cardinals, lifting St. Louis over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 as fans returned to Busch Stadium for the first time since 2019.

Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, stetting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6.

Matt Harvey gets another fresh beginning in Boston on Saturday when he’s scheduled to take the mound for the Baltimore Orioles.

Matt Harvey gets another fresh beginning in Boston on Saturday when he’s scheduled to take the mound for the Baltimore Orioles.

The Padres said Tatis had discomfort in his non-throwing left shoulder and would be re-evaluated on Wednesday. Corbin Burnes turned in 4 2/3 innings, striking out six while allowing two runs on three hits. Jon Lester allowed one run and three hits in 3 2/3 innings in his second start of the spring for Washington. He gave up five hits, hit two batters and struck out three. PADRES 5, REDS 4MacKenzie Gore worked 3 2/3 innings in his third start for San Diego, allowing two runs on three hits.

New York starter Jordan Montgomery gave up two hits in three scoreless innings. Brubaker allowed two hits over two scoreless innings and Chase De Jong followed with two shutout innings. MARLINS 4, METS 4Miami starter Pablo Lopez gave up a hit and a walk over three scoreless innings. German Marquez scattered three hits and a walk over three scoreless innings for Colorado. Kansas City starter Jakob Junis pitched three innings and gave up one hit, a leadoff homer to Trent Grisham.

The two-time AL Central champion Twins are hoping Happ can give them a veteran presence at the back of their rotation. Ian Anderson pitched two scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk. Houston piggy-backed a pair of starters with Framber Valdez yielding McNeil's homer in the first two innings, striking out two. AdBLUE JAYS 4, PHILLIES 2 (6)Steven Matz allowed a hit in two scoreless innings, striking out three without a walk. CUBS 3, ROYALS 2 (7)Outfielder Rafael Ortega, who signed a minor league deal with Chicago after playing 34 games for Atlanta last season, hit a bases-loaded triple.

Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina reacts after tagging out Venezuela's Ali Castillo during the first inning of a Caribbean Series baseball game at Teodoro Mariscal Stadium in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals signed catcher Yadier Molina to a one-year, $9 million contract Tuesday, keeping the nine-time Gold Glove winner with the only organization for which he's played for an 18th season. The 38-year-old Molina hit .262 with four home runs in 42 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, his last under a $60 million, three-year deal. He is third on the franchise list in games played behind Hall of Famers Stan Musial (3,026) and Lou Brock (2,289). Molina is a career .281 hitter with 160 home runs, and he's played in at least 110 games every season but his first and this past season, which was shortened by the pandemic.

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, file photo, Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado warms up before a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)DENVER – Nolan Arenado hasn't expressed this much optimism since signing his $260 million contract with Colorado two years ago. Ad“They really care about winning,” Arenado said of the Cardinals. He wanted to move on.”The Cardinals acquired Arenado for what some considered a steal: left-hander Austin Gomber and four minor leaguers. Ad“I’m going to miss some of the boys on the Rockies," Arenado said.

A person familiar with the swap tells The Associated Press that the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to acquire All-Star third baseman Arenado from the Rockies in a trade needing approvals before it can be finalized. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals finalized their blockbuster trade to acquire All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. St. Louis dealt left-hander Austin Gomber and four minor leaguers to the Rockies: infielder Elehuris Montero, right-hander Tony Locey, infielder Mateo Gil and right-handed pitcher Jake Sommers. As part of the trade, Colorado will send cash to St. Louis to offset part of the money Arenado is due in his contract. AdMost recently, the Cardinals acquired Goldschmidt, a six-time All-Star, from Arizona prior to the 2019 season, and he signed a $130 million deal to stay with St. Louis through 2024.

FILE - Cardboard cutouts rest in seats at Oracle Park as the San Francisco Giants play the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, in this Wednesday, July 29, 2020, file photo. What wasn’t odd in 2020, when the coronavirus was the commissioner of all sports? And, before long, the odd became the new normal. Masked coaches patrolled the sidelines looking as if they had been lifted from the set of a cheesy cops-and-robbers movie. But with no fans in the park -- in Oakland and San Francisco -- and plenty of balls landing in the seats, AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley had an idea.

NEW YORK – Longtime St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has won the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually by Major League Baseball for community involvement and philanthropy. The effort provided more than 4 million meals to prevent childhood hunger during the coronavirus pandemic and nearly 8 million meals in all. Let’s go there even more now.’”A 39-year-old right-hander, Wainwright is a free agent after spending all 15 of his big league seasons with the Cardinals. The award usually is announced during the World Series but was delayed this year until Monday because of the pandemic. Wainwright thought back to gathering donors at the ballpark back in 2013 when the foundation was just starting.

Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Brett Phillips arrives for batting practice before Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. Hey, bases loaded, two outs and you’re down by one in the World Series. So, sure they regret it a little bit, but I by no means got upset.”CLOSED ROOFThere could be a lid on the rest of this World Series. It was the second time during the World Series that the retractable roof at the new $1.2 billion stadium was closed for a game. That homer came as part of his fifth three-hit game this postseason, already a MLB record, as were his 59 total bases.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Fernando Tatis Jr. had been waiting for a breakout game, and boy did “El Niño” get it. Wil Myers also homered twice and Manny Machado connected, but Tatis — with his signature exuberance and flair — was the one who carried the party at empty Petco Park. It was the 23rd comeback win of 2020 for the close-knit Padres, who have pushed each other all year. “I feel like we needed that big swing for the entire team to get us going," Tatis said of his first homer. It was the Padres’ first postseason win at Petco Park, which opened in 2004.

The Marlins are hoping center fielder Starling Marte can play through a broken bone in his left hand as they try to eliminate the Cubs at Wrigley Field. To do it, the Braves might need to make a whole lot more contact at the plate than they did Wednesday while beating the Reds 1-0 in 13 innings — the first postseason game to be scoreless after 11. They’ll be up against Luis Castillo (4-6, 3.21), who makes his first career playoff start for the Reds. He was out for a second straight playoff game because of a sprained right foot that kept him out of the final three games of the regular season. Wainwright closed out the Padres at Petco Park in their previous postseason appearance in 2006.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Given a chance to catch their breath after a crazy month and a half, the St. Louis Cardinals settled into the playoffs with yet another win against the San Diego Padres. San Diego native Tommy Edman singled and Goldschmidt homered to left. Dylan Carlson doubled, 38-year-old Yadier Molina hit an RBI single and Paul DeJong doubled before Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly. Kim allowed Eric Hosmer’s sac fly in the first, Aaron Nola’s sac fly in the second and Tommy Pham’s RBI single in the third. Dexter Fowler hit an RBI single in the ninth off Trevor Rosenthal, who started his big league career with the Cardinals.

The .245 big league batting average was the the lowest since .237 in 1968 and down from .252 last year. LeMahieu hit .364 for the New York Yankees, the highest for an AL batting champion since Minnesota’s Joe Mauer hit .365 in 2009 and well ahead of 2019 AL batting champion Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox, who finished second at .322. LeMahieu won the NL batting title with Colorado in 2016. “You've got to just roll with it.”Soto batted .351 for Washington and at 21 years, 11 months, 2 days became the youngest NL batting champion. Bieber and the Chicago Cubs’ Yu Darvish tied for the major league lead in wins with eight.

(AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)A look at what's happening around the majors on Saturday:PLAYOFF CHASEAfter manager Don Mattingly’s Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds clinched postseason spots, two NL playoff slots are still open with two days left in the regular season. They are hoping to get back on track heading into their playoff appearance since 2008, but the health of Jiménez is a concern. Acquired last month in a big trade with Cleveland, Clevinger left his start against the Angels on Wednesday after just one inning. “We have not ruled out anything for next week and the first round of the playoffs,” Padres general manager A.J. If Clevinger can’t pitch the playoff opener, Dinelson Lamet could start.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer delivers in the seventh inning of the baseball team's game against the Cleveland Indians, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)CLEVELAND – Kansas City rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — and flirted with baseball history while leading the Royals to a 11-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night. Singer gave up a one-out walk in the first but then retired the Indians with relative ease. Olivares staked Singer to a 4-0 lead in the sixth with his third homer, a shot into the empty bleachers in left field. Indians: Open key three-game series at Minnesota with ace Shane Bieber (7-0, 1.25 ERA) starting against Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda (4-1, 2,77).

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright delivers during the first inning of a baseball game Cleveland Indians, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)ST. LOUIS Adam Wainwright turned back the clock with a complete game on his 39th birthday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 Sunday. St. Louis had mustered just three runs in the past 28 innings before the outburst. He was very sharp.PITCHING CYCLEWith the start against the Indians, Wainwright has made at least one versus every team except the Cardinals. Cardinals: RHP Dakota Hudson (0-2, 3.32 ERA) begins a three-game series in Cincinnati when he faces RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-1, 5.71) on Monday night.

Playing its first game since July 29, St. Louis looked much sharper than Chicago while improving to 3-3 on the season. Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright (2-0) pitched five innings of one-run ball in his second start of the year. The White Sox finished with just three hits two for Danny Mendick and never recovered after Lucas Giolito (1-2) got off to a shaky start. White Sox: RHP Reynaldo Lpez (shoulder soreness) threw Friday and is scheduled for another session Monday. Cardinals right-hander Dakota Hudson (0-1, 8.31 ERA) and White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel (2-2, 3.04 ERA) get the ball for the series finale Sunday.