ST. LOUIS (AP) — Thrilled with the results Trevor Story Jersey , the St. Louis Cardinals thanked Mike Shildt.The Cardinals took off the interim tag from Shildt’s title and promoted him to full-time manager through 2020, a reward for steering the team back into postseason contention after replacing the fired Mike Matheny.“Why now? We could have waited but we feel like the time is right,” President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said Tuesday at Busch Stadium. “As we stated from Day One, we would use this time to really see how he handled the job. We just felt like we could not do better. Mike has shown he can do the job. Mike checks a lot of boxes along the way.”“It made sense to do it now. Everything is going well, and more importantly momentum is building behind our players. Having Mike Shildt as manager is a tremendous story. I hope the next chapter is even better,” he said.The story got off to a good start when the Cardinals scored a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates to give Shildt his first win without the interim tag.“It’s great,” said Jedd Gyorko about Shildt’s promotion. “He deserves it. We’re playing really good baseball and he’s leading the charge behind that. We’re pumped for him. He definitely deserves it.“Behind closed doors, he’s a great guy to play for and he’s an even better person.”Jose Martinez belted a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Cardinals the lead and they never looked back.“I’m actually happy for him,” Martinez said about Shildt. “He’s a guy who’s been working hard his whole career as a manager and a coach and everything. He’s really professional in everything he does.“I’m going to try to keep hitting homers to try and make him happy 100 percent.”Rookie pitcher Jack Flaherty picked up the win to improve to 8-6.“Everybody in here is excited,” Flaherty said. “I think his biggest thing is for everybody to be themselves and he’s done the same thing. I’m just happy for him.”In danger of missing the playoffs three straight years for the first time since the late ’90s, the Cardinals have gone 26-12 since July 15 — the most wins in the majors during that span. A 19-5 mark in August has put them into the top spot in the NL wild-card standings.“I have been given a lot of credit for what’s happened in the past six weeks,” Shildt said. “I appreciate it, but I cannot accept it. The players make the plays and run the bases. They are a special group and I’m glad to be a part of it.”The Cardinals were 47-46 when Matheny was fired a day before the All-Star break. They’ve cut their deficit in the NL Central from 7 1/2 games to 4 1/2 behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs.“The team’s focused Ian Desmond Jersey , high-level style of play under Mike is a standard that his teams consistently displayed during his prior years in the minors, and it has continued here at the major league level,” Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “We’ve won, certainly, but he’s got great relationships with the players. We all watch the games and my observation is, I think his game strategy is excellent.”The Cardinals made the move before hosting Pittsburgh. St. Louis has won five of six, all on the road, and have won each of their last nine series overall.“What a privilege and honor it is to be the field manager of the St. Louis Cardinals,” Shildt said. “Mo had a vision for my career far greater than my own and I’m very grateful for that.”The 50-year-old Shildt, who never played in the minors or majors, joined the Cardinals organization in 2004. He spent most of that time managing in the minors and was a member of the major league coaching staff the past two seasons.Shildt became the 50th manager in franchise history when he was given the job on an interim basis.St. Louis missed the playoffs the last two years. Matheny reached the postseason in his first four years since following Tony La Russa, who guided the Cardinals to the 2011 World Series championship.An organization that has longed prided itself on playing the game right — “the Cardinal Way,” the team says — St. Louis has done well in all phases since Shildt took over.“I think there’s a different energy here now http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-greg-holland-jersey ,” general manager Mike Girsch said. “There’s a different energy around everything in the clubhouse.”With veterans Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter provided a steadying presence and an influx of rookies and newcomers, the Cardinals are back in position as October contenders.Second baseman Kolten Wong has seen the difference, especially since the switch in the dugout.“Shildt’s been really good at letting us play our own game and letting us play the way we want to play. That’s the biggest thing,” Wong said last week after a sweep at Dodger Stadium. “We have so many different personalities and different guys in this clubhouse. You just have to allow people to be themselves and eventually people are going to mesh together.”Cardinals closer Bud Norris said Shildt is an easy guy to play for.“Most guys are comfortable with him,” Norris said. “He has a relationship with every last person on this team and even around the clubhouse on a personal level, and he can communicate with everybody. The fact that he cares about you personally off the field, and he cares about you on the field is a big part of that. You just feel warm when you’re around him.”In his minor league managing career, his teams went 471-432. The North Carolina native managed for eight seasons in the Cardinals farm system where his clubs won league championships in 2010 and 2011 with Johnson City of the rookie Appalachian League and in 2012 with Springfield of the Double-A Texas League. DENVER (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez waited patiently as Trevor Story finished his postgame interviews, a beer in hand to congratulate his Colorado teammate on his huge night.More games like that from Story, and Gonzalez will be pouring champagne all over him at the end of September.Story homered in his first three at-bats, including one projected at more than 500 feet , and the Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 5-3 on Wednesday in a game delayed 68 minutes by rain at the start.“That was awesome,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “Trevor took the game over.”The All-Star shortstop had a chance to tie the major league record of four homers in a game but struck out in his final at-bat in the eighth inning.“Everybody’s expecting a home run David Dahl Jersey ,” Gonzalez said. “I was like, ‘Just hit something.’ When you’re having that kind of night, I guarantee he wasn’t trying to hit the ball over the fence, and it was just clicking.”Story powered Colorado to its fifth straight win, and the Rockies increased their NL West lead to 1 1/2 games over Arizona and Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks were off and the Dodgers lost to the New York Mets.Colorado has been to the postseason four times but has never won a division title in its 26-year history.“I’m more excited about the win at this point,” Story said. “Every win from here on out is huge.”It was the first three-homer game of Story’s career and his fifth multihomer game this season. The outburst came at the expense of Giants starter Andrew Suarez (6-10).Story’s first home run, a 459-foot shot to left field, according to Statcast, gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead in the first inning.He topped that with another solo homer in the fourth that traveled an estimated 505 feet onto the concourse beyond the left-field stands. It was the longest homer in franchise history and the longest since Statcast began tracking distances in 2015. It just edged out the 504-foot drive Giancarlo Stanton hit in Denver when he played for Miami.“As soon as it came off the bat I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s going to hit the scoreboard. It’s going to go straight to my Lamborghini in the parking lot,'” Gonzalez said.Story’s last home run — his 31st of the season — soared a projected 416 feet and gave Colorado a 4-3 lead. He popped out of the dugout for a curtain call as the crowd of 24,790 cheered.“When you have a night like tonight it’s hard to explain http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-bryan-shaw-jersey ,” Story said. “You kind of get these feelings, these intuitions, and you try to act on them, not outthink yourself.”Suarez wasn’t unhappy with his outing despite the big night from Story.“It’s crazy how baseball works,” he said. “I threw well and one guy beat me.”Harrison Musgrave (2-3) got the win and Adam Ottavino pitched the ninth for his sixth save.Aramis Garcia went deep for San Francisco, which has lost five in a row.RAW POWERStory’s first home run had a little twist to it. After he connected, he lost his balance and fell to the ground as the ball landed on the concourse in left field.“That first one was a little different,” he said. “I’ve never fallen down like that. Maybe on a swing and a miss.”DANGER AVERTEDRockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon gave his team a scare when he was hit in the helmet on a line drive off the bat of teammate Antonio Senzatela in the third inning. Blackmon was on deck when the ball hit him near the team logo in the front of his helmet. He was looked at by a trainer and Black but was able to stay in the game. Blackmon received a loud ovation when he came to bat.ROAD WOESSan Francisco has struggled away from home lately and at Coors Field all season. The Giants have lost six straight in Denver and nine of their last 11 on the road overall.“It’s been a rough time in Colorado,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It has been a tough place the last couple of years.”TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: SS Brandon Crawford was out of the lineup with a sore knee. Bochy said the knee has bothered Crawford recently and with San Francisco having an off day on Thursday, he should be able to return Friday.UP NEXTGiants: LHP Derek Holland (7-8, 3.56 ERA) will get the start when San Francisco opens a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday. Holland is 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his last eight starts.Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (11-7, 4.70) faces Clayton Kershaw when Colorado begins a crucial three-game series against the Dodgers on Friday night.