Padres manager Andy Green is trying not to get too excited about San Diego’s run of success. His players seem to be enjoying it http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-matthew-stafford-jersey , though.

Eric Lauer carried a shutout into the sixth inning, Manuel Margot had three hits and the Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Wednesday night to win their fifth straight series.

San Diego has won 11 of 15 games, including five of its last seven. It’s the first time the Padres have won five consecutive series since 2010.

”It means we’re playing good baseball and that’s the most important thing,” said shortstop Freddy Galvis, who sparked the attack with a two-run double in the first inning.

Marcell Ozuna homered for the Cardinals, who have lost three of four.

Green warned his players about staying on an even keel heading into a four-game series in Atlanta.

”I don’t want to make too much out of the streak,” Green said. ”Over the course of a season, every team has some hot streaks and cold streaks. You can’t get caught up in those moments. It doesn’t serve the purpose.”

The Padres took two of three in a stadium where they had struggled. St. Louis had won 30 of its previous 42 home games against San Diego.

Lauer (3-4) gave up two runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. He’s 3-0 when getting two or more runs of support.

”I felt a lot more comfortable out on the mound as far as not pressing,” Lauer said. ”I think I did a good job. I was out there just throwing my game.”

Lauer gave up six runs to St. Louis on seven hits during a 9-5 loss on May 11. The Cardinals hit four homers off him in a short 2 1/3 inning stint.

”I pretty much had the same game plan, I wanted to attack hitters,” Lauer said.

Brad Hand recorded his 21st save in 23 opportunities. He got Jedd Gyorko to ground into a double play after hitting Yadier Molina to start the ninth.

San Diego reliever Jose Castillo struck out all four batters he faced. The Padres pitching staff did not walk a batter in the three-game series.

St. Louis starter Luke Weaver (3-6) gave up four runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. He has just one win over his last 11 starts.

”I didn’t think it was a terrible start,” Weaver said. ”They just capitalized on the moments they needed to. I’ve just got to go back to the drawing board.”

Margot, who singled in the second and fourth, stretched the lead to 3-0 with a run-scoring triple in the sixth. Raffy Lopez followed with a broken-bat single off reliever Austin Gomber for a 4-0 lead.

Margot has hit safely in his last six games, going 9 for 20. He had two hits in a 4-2 win Tuesday.

Ozuna, who leads the team with 21 multihit games, has hit safely in 11 of his last 12.

St. Louis came into the series having won three of four.

”Sometimes we do our best with a real good team and sometimes – well I don’t know,” Ozuna said. ”It’s baseball and in baseball anything happens.”

SHARP DEFENSE

The Cardinals have not allowed an error in their last six games. It is their longest errorless stretch since Aug. 3-8 last season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: C Austin Hedges began a rehab assignment with Class A Lake Elsinore on Tuesday. He went 1 for 2. Hedges was placed on the DL on May 1 with right elbow tendonitis. He has missed 38 games.

Cardinals: INF Jose Martinez will be out on paternity leave for the upcoming weekend series against the Chicago Cubs.

UP NEXT:

Padres: RHP Tyson Ross (5-3, 3.43) will open a four-game series at Atlanta against RHP Anibal Sanchez (2-0, 2.37) on Thursday. The Padres are in 10-3 when Tyson starts and have won the last six.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (8-1, 2.47) face LHP Jon Lester (7-2, 2.22) in the first of a three-game home series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Wacha has won his last eight decisions against the Cubs.

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Dak Prescott couldn’t duplicate his remarkable rookie year even when fellow first-year star Ezekiel Elliott wasn’t suspended.

Now the quarterback-running back combo for the Dallas Cowboys will have to figure out how to get back to the playoffs in what could be a critical season for the future of coach Jason Garrett.

The Cowboys (9-7) missed the postseason a year after being the top seed in the NFC when Prescott had one of the best rookie seasons for a quarterback in NFL history and Elliott led the league in rushing.

Dallas can blame a slow start while Elliott used the courts to fight his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations , and the three straight losses after he finally ran out of legal options.

All along Golden Tate Jersey White , Prescott often struggled, throwing more than three times as many interceptions with a passer rating nearly 20 points lower for an offense that dropped to 14th in the NFL from fifth.

”If you want to call it that,” Prescott said, still refusing as he had before the season to acknowledge the term ”sophomore slump” after a season-ending 6-0 win over Philadelphia with the Cowboys already eliminated from the playoffs.

”I think I played some of my best ball of my career this year and obviously I played some of my worst ball of my career this year. So you can call it what you want. But like I said, I learned from it and call it a growing year.”

Garrett has missed the playoffs in five of his seven full seasons, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones reiterated on his radio show Tuesday that Garrett will return.

Jones also said he planned to bring back offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli while suggesting there will be changes to the coaching staff.

But Jones has said he believes the Cowboys have the pieces to end a nearly 25-year run without a trip to the Super Bowl, or even an NFC championship game. A second straight season without the playoffs could be the end for Garrett.

”He certainly has the mentality of doing things differently,” Jones said. ”Again, not just to be doing them differently, but basically recognizing that we have got some things we need to do differently.”

Offseason story lines for the Cowboys, who have alternated between making and missing the playoffs the past four seasons:

ALL IN WITH DAK: Jones and Garrett still speak about Prescott in terms of a franchise quarterback. He’s an extreme bargain as a fourth-round pick, and next offseason will be the first time they have to think about his second contract. If the Cowboys flop again, it will be an interesting dilemma. ”We think he’s an awfully good quarterback to have leading your franchise,” Garrett said.

ELLIOTT OFF THE FIELD: With the NFL investigation that led to a suspension still looming last offseason, Elliott had trouble keeping his name out of the headlines. He was caught on video pulling down a woman’s shirt during a St. Patrick’s Day parade – an incident that was referenced in the league’s letter detailing his punishment, although it wasn’t a factor in the ruling.

A quiet offseason will be an important step in putting the suspension behind him. ”I think he’s aware how difficult it was this year in terms of things off the field,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said on his radio show Tuesday. ”I’m more convinced than ever that he wants to be a great player in this league.”

DECLINING DEZ: There’s no question that receiver Dez Bryant is trending downward since his All-Pro season in 2014, which earned him a $70 million, five-year deal. He hasn’t come close to a 1,000-yard season and probably has one year left to prove he’s worth the big contract. Bryant said he battled knee tendinitis and frustration over his role in the offense.

CLASS OF 2014: The top three topics on contracts during the offseason are the Cowboys’ top three picks in 2014: right guard Zack Martin; defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who tied for second in the NFL with 14+ sacks; and linebacker Anthony Hitchens. The Cowboys want to get an extension done with Martin even though the two-time All-Pro has the fifth year on his rookie deal remaining. Lawrence could get the franchise tag.

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Corrects previous version with Tuesday for comments from Jerry Jones, not Monday.

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