Martinez cruises, Molina homers as Cards beat Brewers 6-0

Carlos Martinez pitched into the ninth inning and struck out 10, Yadier Molina homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the error-prone Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 on Wednesday night.

Leadoff batter Dexter Fowler scored twice in the first three innings for the Cardinals, who beat their NL Central rivals a night after losing on a game-ending homer by Ryan Braun. St. Louis took two of three in the series.

A 4-0 lead after four innings was more than enough cushion for the hard-throwing Martinez (1-1). The two-time All-Star rebounded from a rough opening-day start last week against the New York Mets by cruising through the Brewers' dangerous lineup at hitter-friendly Miller Park.

Martinez allowed four hits and two walks. He retired 16 straight before Domingo Santana laced a one-out single in the seventh. The right-hander's fastball still registered 93 mph in the ninth.

He left with one out after Yairo Munoz, who entered as a defensive replacement at third base, mishandled a sharp grounder by Santana to put runners at first and second.

The Brewers loaded the bases against reliever Sam Tuivailala, but Bud Norris ended the game by getting Manny Pina to hit a soft bouncer in front of the mound for a 1-2-3 double play.

Molina hit a solo shot to left field in the fourth off Jhoulys Chacin (0-1). The right-hander, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, allowed seven hits and six runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Only three runs were earned because of three Milwaukee errors, including two by second baseman Jonathan Villar. His wayward throw to third trying to get Paul DeJong advancing on an infield single eluded Travis Shaw.

DeJong scored to make it a six-run lead.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (left hamstring) will be activated from the disabled list Thursday to start the home opener against Arizona. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said the team decided Wainwright was ready after running him through a final checkup Wednesday morning.

"I think they invented tests for me to try and pass to prove to them that I was ready," Wainwright said.

Brewers: LHP Wade Miley (left groin) might be able to start throwing off a mound next week, manager Craig Counsell said. ... LHP Boone Logan (left triceps) could start throwing off a mound by the end of next week. ... C Stephen Vogt (right shoulder) will likely start throwing early next week.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Wainwright will pitch in his 345th career game when he starts Thursday, which would leave him three behind Todd Worrell for eighth place on the team's career list.

Brewers: LHP Brent Suter opens a four-game series at home against the Cubs. He is 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA over 12 innings in his last two starts against Chicago.