Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola’s first start after returning from the injured list didn’t last long.

The Chicago Cubs bolstered their pitching staff ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline by adding right-handers Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals and Andrew Kittredge from the Baltimore Orioles.

Framber Valdez pitched seven no-hit innings and Jose Altuve hit a game-ending RBI double in the ninth to lift the Houston Astros to a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Houston’s Framber Valdez has not allowed a hit through seven innings Friday night against the Kansas City Royals.

Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer as the Kansas City Royals caught Cleveland atop the AL Central by beating the Guardians 6-1 in a game delayed more than two hours by rain.

Spencer Turnbull has not allowed a hit through six innings for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Chicago White Sox.

Paul Goldschmidt hit a go-ahead RBI single that chased Chicago starter Marcus Stroman in the fourth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cubs 7-5 to earn a split of their weekend series at London Stadium.

Willson Contreras hit two three-run homers, Nolan Gorman also homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals went deep seven times in a home game for the first time in 83 years to power past the Los Angeles Dodgers 16-8.

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.

Blake Snell held St. Louis hitless until Albert Pujols beat the shift for a single with two outs in the seventh inning and the San Diego Padres beat the NL Central-leading Cardinals 1-0.

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.

Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols blasted two more homers, pushing his career total to 692 and helping St. Louis beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 16-7.

Nolan Arenado and Paul DeJong both homered and drove in four runs to help the St. Louis Cardinals outlast the New York Yankees 12-9, completing a three-game sweep.

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.

Nolan Arenado hit three doubles and a single, Paul DeJong homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2.

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

The St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record with their 15th straight win, boosted when catcher Yadier Molina and center fielder Harrison Bader helped pull off a wild double play in an 8-5 win over the Chicago Cubs.

The surging St. Louis Cardinals emphatically matched a team record with their 14th straight win, pounding the Chicago Cubs 12-4 in the second game of a doubleheader behind Tyler O’Neill’s three-run homer and a pair of solo shots by Lars Nootbaar.

Six St. Louis relievers combined to allow three runs in seven innings, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the Cardinals hung on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6, completing a three-game sweep.

Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5.

Joc Pederson homered and drove in three runs, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras went deep and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 on Friday afternoon.

Chris Taylor drove in three runs with a tiebreaking double that capped a 14-pitch at-bat in the sixth inning, rallying the Los Angeles Dodgers past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 to snap a three-game skid.

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.

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.

Taijuan Walker allowed one hit in seven innings, the Mets scored three runs on bases-loaded walks and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 on Thursday.

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.

Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left shoulder.

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.

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 completed 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: infielders Elehuris Montero and Mateo Gil along with right-handers Tony Locey and 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. Arenado is the latest established star acquired by St. Louis in his prime.

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)The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to acquire All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies in a trade needing approvals before it can be finalized, a person familiar with the swap tells The Associated Press. Wainwright is returning for his 17th season with St. Louis, matching Bob Gibson (1959-75) for the second-most seasons with the Cardinals among pitchers, one behind Jesse Haines (1920-37). Arenado would be the latest established star acquired by St. Louis in his prime. Most 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.

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., center, celebrates with teammates after the Padres defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in Game 3 of a National League wild-card baseball series Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in San Diego. San Diego became the first team in baseball history to use eight or more pitchers in three straight postseason games. The Padres rewarded their long-suffering fans by winning one of the most meaningful games of any kind in San Diego in a long time. The city’s only major professional championship remains the San Diego Chargers’ 1963 AFL title. The Padres lost 4-1 to the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series and were swept by the New York Yankees in the 1998 Fall Classic.

(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.

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, remains quiet Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)CHICAGO St. Louis' series opener against the Chicago White Sox has been postponed to Saturday, giving the Cardinals an extra day to recover from a coronavirus outbreak. But the series opener was pushed back to a doubleheader on Saturday, the beginning of an extended stay in the Windy City for the Cards. Two people with direct knowledge of the situation also confirmed the postponement of the series opener against the White Sox. St. Louis, the defending NL Central champions, has played just five games, winning two.

FILE - This is a July 4, 2020, file photo showing the Miami Marlins running drills during a baseball workout at Marlins Park in Miami. Marlins Park will have a new look for its 2020 season debut Friday, thanks to cozier dimensions and a switch to artificial turf. Also, there will be a first-place team in the home dugout when the Marlins (8-4) host Atlanta. Miamis season was suspended for a week and the schedule scrambled, including the postponement of eight games at Marlins Park. The Cardinals season has been derailed by the coronavirus.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)A look at what's happening around the majors on Thursday:OFF BASEStar hitters Christian Yelich, Gary Sanchez, Hunter Pence and others are slumping badly in a season where hitters across the majors are struggling to find base hits. The sides decided Tuesday that rosters will remain at 28 through the World Series, instead of dropping to 26 on Aug. 20 as initially planned. He said his hamstring problem first showed up a week ago, went away, then showed up again Tuesday when he was sprinting. The Nationals already are missing World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, who has a nerve issue in his pitching hand. CATCH-UP CARDSThe Cardinals expect to have another workout at Busch Stadium while getting ready to resume their virus-interrupted season.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)A look at what's happening around the majors today:OFF BASEStar hitters Christian Yelich, Gary Sanchez, Hunter Pence and others are slumping badly in a season where hitters across the majors are struggling to find base hits. Its the lowest mark ever, below the .237 average posted in 1968, despite the addition of the designated hitter to the NL. The Nationals already are missing World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, who has a nerve issue in his pitching hand. The Miami Marlins, thats who. St. Louis hasnt played since June 29 -- at 2-3, its next game is scheduled for Friday night at home against the Cubs.

FILE - In this Friday, July 24, 2020, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, right, celebrates a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in St. Louis. Molina says hes one of the players on his team who has tested positive for the coronavirus. The Cardinals had returned 13 positive tests in their traveling party, seven of them players, forcing them to suspend their season. They were finally cleared to travel back to St. Louis late Tuesday, when they returned negative tests for the second straight day. Among the players that confirmed they tested positive for COVID-19 were a pair of All-Stars in catcher Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong.

FILE - In this Friday, July 24, 2020, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, right, celebrates a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in St. Louis. Molina says hes one of the players on his team who has tested positive for the coronavirus. St. Louis has been out of action since Friday at the onset of an outbreak, postponing series against the Brewers and Tigers. SOTO A GONationals slugger Juan Soto could return to the starting lineup a day after being activated following a stint on the COVID-19 injured list. Cleveland is scheduled to open a two-game series at home with the Reds.

FILE - In this Friday, July 24, 2020, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, right, celebrates a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in St. Louis. Molina says hes one of the players on his team who has tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)ST. LOUIS St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina says hes one of the players on the team who tested positive for COVID-19. Soon afterward, the Cardinals issued a release naming six of the players who have tested positive. I am saddened to have tested positive for COVID-19, even after adhering to safety guidelines that were put in place, Molina said in a release issued by the team.