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The St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to a majors-leading nine games on Monday night, topping the Philadelphia Phillies by a 3-2 final (box score). 

The Cardinals received another sturdy outing from left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who surrendered just two runs over 5 ⅓ innings of work. He struck out four batters and walked just one. His seasonal earned run average did increase to 3.11 through his first eight starts. Three Cardinals relievers then combined to hold the Phillies scoreless over the remaining 3 ⅔ innings.

Offensively, the Cardinals were paced by, among others, Lars Nootbaar (two hits) and Masyn Winn (a hit and a walk). Ivan Herrera, for his part, launched his fifth home run in just his ninth game of the year. Herrera had missed about a month of action because of left knee inflammation. 

The last time the Cardinals suffered a defeat was on Friday, May 2 against the New York Mets. That loss dropped them to 14-19 on the season. The Cardinals have since closed in on the division lead, all the while improving from fourth to second place in less than a fortnight. Monday's game marked the fourth decided during this streak by a single run. 

Overall, the Cardinals are now 6-5 this year in one-run games.

St. Louis entered Monday tied with the Minnesota Twins for the longest active winning streak in the majors. The Twins, winners of eight consecutive, had Monday off. Minnesota will resume its schedule on Tuesday, beginning a series against the struggling Baltimore Orioles.

The Cardinals are now 23-19 on the season. Their plus-25 run differential is the second best in the National League Central, behind only the first-place Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals will continue their series against the Phillies on Tuesday.