PHOENIX (Interstat) — The St. Louis Cardinals overcame a two-run deficit in the eighth inning and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Friday night at Chase Field.

The Cardinals improved to 51-45, while the Diamondbacks dropped to 49-48 in front of an announced crowd of 29,931. The game lasted 2 hours, 49 minutes.

St. Louis jumped ahead early, scoring two runs in the first inning on a two-run single by Masyn Winn. Iván Herrera reached on a fielding error by second baseman Ketel Marte, then Alec Burleson singled to put runners at first and second. Jordan Walker walked to load the bases. After Lars Nootbaar struck out, Winn laced a ground-ball single to center field, scoring Herrera and Burleson for a 2-0 lead.

Arizona responded in the second. Gabriel Moreno singled, Max Kepler bunted for a single and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Moreno. The Diamondbacks tied the game in the third when Tim Tawa led off the inning with his fourth home run of the season, a fly ball to left field.

The score remained 2-2 until the fifth. JJ Wetherholt led off with his 14th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center field, giving St. Louis a 3-2 lead.

Arizona threatened in the fifth when Ketel Marte singled and Geraldo Perdomo walked, but Corbin Carroll grounded out to end the inning. The Cardinals loaded the bases in the sixth but failed to score, stranding runners on the corners.

In the seventh, the Diamondbacks mounted another threat. Ildemaro Vargas tripled to center field with one out, but Tim Tawa grounded out and Ketel Marte struck out to keep St. Louis ahead 3-2.

The pivotal moment came in the eighth. St. Louis added an insurance run when Alec Burleson walked, moved to second on a Jordan Walker strikeout and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Masyn Winn. Winn’s fly ball to left field gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

Arizona answered in the bottom of the eighth. Geraldo Perdomo walked after a challenge overturned a called strike. Corbin Carroll then crushed his 14th home run of the season, a two-run blast to right field, tying the game 4-4. The Diamondbacks put the tying run in scoring position but could not take the lead. After a groundout by Moreno and a strikeout by Kepler, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. popped out to end the inning.

The most important part of the game came in the top of the ninth. José Fermín singled on a ground ball deflected by pitcher Paul Sewald. Jimmy Crooks walked. JJ Wetherholt then singled to left-center field, loading the bases with no outs. Iván Herrera delivered a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Fermín and giving the Cardinals a 5-4 lead. Alec Burleson struck out and Jordan Walker grounded into a force out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Nolan Arenado drew a leadoff walk off Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien. Ildemaro Vargas flied out to left field. Tim Tawa doubled sharply to left field, putting runners at second and third with one out. But Ketel Marte was called out on strikes for the second out, and O’Brien induced a pop-up from the next batter to secure his 25th save of the season.

Luis Gastelum earned the victory, improving to 1-0. Gastelum pitched one inning, allowing two runs on one hit and one walk with one strikeout. Paul Sewald took the loss, falling to 2-5 after allowing one run on two hits and one walk in one inning of relief.

Key contributors for Arizona included Ketel Marte, who singled and reached on an error; Geraldo Perdomo, who walked twice; Corbin Carroll, who homered; Tim Tawa, who homered and doubled; Ildemaro Vargas, who tripled; and Gabriel Moreno, who singled and doubled. Nolan Arenado, Max Kepler, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and the Arizona bullpen also appeared in the game.

For St. Louis, JJ Wetherholt homered and singled; Masyn Winn had two RBIs; Iván Herrera scored twice; José Fermín singled twice; Jimmy Crooks walked and singled; and Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbaar each reached base.

The Cardinals won despite being the pregame underdog according to betting lines. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Arizona Diamondbacks 6, St. Louis Cardinals 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Arizona a 53.60 percent probability to win. St. Louis had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5.