Cardinals 3, Rockies 0
ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright almost one-upped Shelby Miller.
St. Louis' No. 1 starter took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Saturday before Nolan Arenado of Colorado broke it up, and Wainwright settled for a two-hitter in 3-0 victory at sold out Busch Stadium.
After second baseman Matt Carpenter's diving stop of Todd Helton's grounder to start the eighth kept the no-hitter alive, Arenado lined a 1-and-0 pitch into center field for a single.
As the ball was returned to Wainwright, the crowd of 43,050 stood and applauded Wainwright.
Dexter Fowler added a two-out single in the ninth, but Wainwright got a first-pitch groundout from Carlos Gonzalez to finish his the 13th complete game and sixth shutout of his career.
Wainwright (5-2) wasn't as overpowering as Miller, who struck out 13 and walked none in Friday night's blanking of the Rockies. But the veteran right-hander was just as much in control, mixing a fastball, cutter and curve.
Wainwright retired the first 13 batters until missing high with a 3-and-2 fastball to Helton with one out in the fifth. The walk snapped a streak of 40 straight men retired by Cardinals pitching.
Miller set down the last 27 batters after allowing a leadoff hit to Eric Young the night before.
It would have been the first no-hitter in the eight seasons of Busch Stadium III. St. Louis hasn't had a no-hitter at home since Bob Forsch did it to Montreal on Sept. 26, 1983.
The Cardinals (23-12) won for the ninth time in 10 games and maintained the best record in the majors. Colorado (19-17) dropped its fourth straight game.
St. Louis got on the board in the fifth with two runs against Jhoulys Chacin (3-2). Allen Craig lined a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to score Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams singled into right field with two out, plating Jon Jay.
Yadier Molina's RBI single in the seventh scored Matt Holliday with the final run. The Cardinals collected 13 hits, but stranded 12 baserunners.
NOTES: Right-hander Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals took another step forward in his comeback bid Friday, throwing 75 pitches in a bullpen session and pronouncing himself pain-free. Carpenter, who thought in February that his career might be over because of nerve damage in his right shoulder, plans to throw in the bullpen again on Monday. ... When Todd Helton hits his next double, it will tie Charlie Gehringer for 19th in major-league history with 574. ... Shelby Miller's one-hit shutout Friday night was the lowest-hit game by a Cardinal rookie pitcher since Bud Smith's Labor Day no-hitter in 2001 at San Diego.
