From third base, Willson Contreras raised four fingers toward the Cardinals' dugout. The Athletics, having just narrowed the Cardinals' lead down to two runs, walked Lars Nootbaar ahead of Contreras in the eighth inning Wednesday to get the matchup they preferred for right-hander Tyler Ferguson.

Willson Contreras had three hits and four RBIs, Nolan Gorman homered and Matthew Liberatore pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-1 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday night. Liberatore (7-11) struck out seven. Gorman hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, his 14th of the season.

Following a recent game at home, the media huddled around A's All Star shortstop Jacob Wilson to discuss the month that was, the heat in Sacramento, and some other topics. When the scrum was over, we asked Wilson about the autograph. The A's shortstop then told us of the collection he's started. "He's one of those guys that I've respected for a long time, so just to be able to add him to the collection is pretty cool."

The Athletics now have captured back-to-back AL Player of the Month honors.

Athletics (64-76, fifth in the AL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (69-71, fourth in the NL Central) St. Louis; Wednesday, 7:45 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Jeffrey Springs (10-9, 4.17 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 122 strikeouts); Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (6-11, 4.32 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 102 strikeouts) BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals and Athletics play on Wednesday with the three-game series tied 1-1. St. Louis is 69-71 overall and 38-33 at home. The Cardinals have a 50-25 record in games when they record eight or more hits. The Athletics are 64-76 overall and 35-36 on the road. The Athletics are 54-32 in games when they record eight or more hits. Wednesday's game is the third time these teams