ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and Griffin Canning earned his first win as the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium III. San Diego snapped a two-game skid against St. Louis, scoring three times in the ninth to break open a 3-1 game. Merrill’s homer to right field scored Samad Taylor, who had reached on a fielder’s choice. Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in a run earlier in the inning with a single. The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the first on Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly. Xander Bogaerts singled home Machado in the fourth, and Tatis doubled in Will Wagner in the fifth. St. Louis scored its lone run in the bottom of the fifth on Alec Burleson’s single. Canning (1-5) allowed one run on six hits over six innings. Kyle Leahy (5-4) took the loss. San Diego outhit St. Louis 14-6. Attendance was 29,859. Time of game was 2:52. San Diego improved to 38-35; St. Louis fell to 40-32.

ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and the San Diego Padres broke open a close game with three runs in the final frame to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium III. Attendance was 29,859, and the game lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes. The Padres avoided a three-game sweep after losing the first two games of the series by scores of 3-2 and 3-0. San Diego improved to 38-35, while St. Louis dropped to 40-32. Griffin Canning earned his first win of the season, allowing one run on four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two. Canning entered the game with an 0-5 record and had been tagged for seven earned runs in his previous start at Baltimore on June 12. He kept the Cardinals off balance for much of his outing, departing after throwing 63 pitches. Kyle Leahy took the loss for St. Louis, falling to 5-4. He pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking one. Leahy was efficient but lacked offensive support. San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Samad Taylor walked, advanced to third on a single by Merrill and scored on a sacrifice fly by Manny Machado. The Padres added a run in the fourth. Machado led off with a double and scored on a single by Xander Bogaerts. San Diego made it 3-0 in the fifth when Will Wagner singled, moved up on a groundout and crossed the plate on a double by Fernando Tatis Jr. St. Louis’ only run came in the bottom of the fifth. Blaze Jordan walked and Nathan Church singled. After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, Iván Herrera’s fielder’s choice cut down Jordan at the plate. Alec Burleson then singled to left, scoring Church and cutting the deficit to 3-1. The Padres threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs, but Ty France lined out to left field to end the inning. San Diego broke the game open in the ninth against the St. Louis bullpen. Sung-Mun Song led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout. Tatis followed with a sharp single to right field, scoring Song. Tatis was thrown out trying to advance to second on the play. Samad Taylor singled, and then Merrill crushed an 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall for his eighth home run of the season, scoring Taylor and giving San Diego a 6-1 lead. Merrill finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Tatis also went 3 for 5 and drove in two runs. The Cardinals had chances but hit into two double plays and left five runners on base. San Diego hit into two double plays as well but outhit St. Louis 14-6. Kyle Hart relieved Canning and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits with one strikeout. Jason Adam, Bradgley Rodriguez and Adrian Morejon each threw a scoreless inning to close out the game. St. Louis had the potential tying run at the plate in the fifth after scoring its only run, but Jordan Walker grounded into a forceout to end the inning. The Cardinals also failed to capitalize on a leadoff walk in the sixth and a hit batter in the eighth. Lars Nootbaar, Masyn Winn and Iván Herrera each had one hit for St. Louis. Burleson drove in the Cardinals’ lone run with his single. The series was the third meeting between the teams this season. St. Louis had won four of the previous six head-to-head games, including a four-game split in San Diego in early May. San Diego travels to Texas for a three-game series against the Rangers starting Friday. St. Louis heads to Kansas City for a three-game set beginning Thursday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of St. Louis 7, San Diego 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave St. Louis a 51.30 percent probability to win. San Diego was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 7 went over the over/under line of 10.

ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — The St. Louis Cardinals aim for a series sweep Wednesday evening against the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium III. The forecast calls for 76-degree temperatures with rain. The Cardinals (39-31) have won two straight in the series, including a 3-0 shutout Monday in which right-hander Dustin May threw a complete game, allowing one hit and striking out nine in a 96-pitch masterpiece. The teams played to a scoreless draw Tuesday in a game that was suspended. St. Louis leads the season series 3-2, having split a four-game set in San Diego in May. San Diego (37-34) sends right-hander Kyle Leahy (5-3) to the mound. The Padres look to avoid a third consecutive loss after dropping the series opener. Leahy will face a Cardinals lineup that scored three runs Monday on five hits, with catcher Jimmy Crooks driving in two runs and first baseman Alec Burleson adding an RBI. A player to watch for the Padres is left-hander Kyle Hart, who pitched two scoreless innings of relief Monday, allowing one hit and striking out one. Hart has been effective in a bullpen role for San Diego, which won two of three in Baltimore over the weekend before arriving in St. Louis. For St. Louis, May is a pitcher to watch after his dominant outing. Over his last five starts, May has allowed eight earned runs with 40 strikeouts in 33 innings. He has struck out nine or more in four of those outings, throwing complete games against San Diego and holding the New York Mets scoreless over six innings. The Cardinals have won seven of their last 10 games, while San Diego has split its last 10. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-5 St. Louis victory. After the game, St. Louis travels to Kansas City for a three-game series starting Thursday. San Diego heads to Texas for a three-game set against the Rangers beginning Friday. The Padres’ next 10 games include series at Texas, home against Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a trip to Chicago. The Cardinals’ next 10 include games at Kansas City, home against Arizona and Miami. Rain could affect the start of the game or cause delays during the contest.