PHOENIX — Twenty-one outs. Give the team a chance to win.

That’s what the Arizona Diamondbacks ask of their starting pitchers, and on most nights that’s enough to win the game. Just not Wednesday.

Adam Wainwright bested Zack Godley and the D-back 4-3 as the St. Louis Cardinals evened the three-game series in front of 23,188 at Chase Field Wednesday.

Jedd Gyorko and Yadier Molina each had two RBI.

Wainwright (8-5) snapped a two-start winless streak pitching into the seventh inning. He limited the D-backs to two runs, scattering eight hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

Chris Owings and Daniel Descalso each drove in a run. Owings and Rey Fuentes each had two hits.

Gyorko drew a bases-loaded walk and Molina plated a pair with a single in a three-run fourth, the first — and only — time the Cardinals scored off Godley.

The 27-year-old right-hander was perfect through the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. He settled down after Molina’s at-bat and retired 11 of 13 before giving way to the bullpen.

Godley (3-2) went seven innings for the second straight start, holding the Cardinals to three runs on only two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. He did hit two batters and uncork a wild pitch.

Godley has not allowed more than three runs in any of his 10 starts this season.

The D-backs put the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth but could not come up with yet another memorable moment. They had won four straight and 15 of their last 17 at home.

THE GOOD

Nine up, nine down. Godley faced the minimum through three innings, recording three strikeouts, all swinging. The closest any Cardinals batter came to reaching base was Randal Grichuk. He put a charge into a 2-2 offering only to be denied by David Peralta who made a leaping catch at the fence, perhaps robbing Grichuck of extra bases. Peralta landed awkwardly on his left leg, but he waved away trainers upon his return to the dugout.

Back-to-back doubles to open the fourth inning got the D-backs on the scoreboard. Jake Lamb hit a long fly ball to center field that bounced off Tommy Pham’s glove, and then Owings ripped a two-bagger into the left-center field gap. Lamb scored easily to make it a 3-1 ballgame. For Owings, who saw his career-high 12-game hitting streak end the night before striking out as a pinch-hitter, he has now hit safely in 12 consecutive starts.

Great hustle by Daniel Descalso in the seventh inning. With one out and runners on the corners, he grounded a ball up the middle for what appeared to be an inning-ending double play. Descalso, though, beat the throw to first by a half-step allowin Fuentes to cross home plate with the D-backs second run of the game. Descalso was credited with a fielder’s choice RBI, his eighth run driven in over his last nine games and 28th overall this season.

THE BAD

After a perfect first three innings, Godley allowed the first five batters to reach base safely in the fourth. Three of them scored. Godley walked in a run, and then Molina plated two with a single just past Owings into left field. Molina swung at the first pitch to drive in his 30th and 31st runs of the season. He also extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors.

Two batters after Brandon Drury had issues with getting called out on strikes in the fourth inning, Jeff Mathis voiced his displeasure with the strike zone. It got him tossed, as well as manager Torey Lovullo who came out to support his player and added his own two cents to what was an animated conversation with home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn. They were the first ejections of their D-backs careers.

Three times — in the third, fourth and seventh innings — the D-backs had the first two batters reach base safely. Twice they scored — one run in both the fourth and seventh — but it’s not all the damage that could’ve been done. Wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity. In those three frames, the D-backs went a combined just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.

Called upon to pitch the eighth inning of a one-run game, Braden Shipley allowed a leadoff double to Matt Carpenter and three batters later a two-out RBI double to Gyorko. That put the Cardinals ahead 4-2. Molina was then intentionally walked before Grichuk struck out to end the inning. For what it’s worth, Shipley struck out the side. But on the season, he has allowed eight earned runs in 11.1 innings pitched.

STAT OF THE GAME

1-for-13: A night after going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position, the D-backs finished 1-for-13

HE SAID IT

“We put the pieces in place, and what these guys do is build innings and the majority of the time we close the deal. Today we couldn’t,” Lovullo said, referring to leaving the tying run 90-feet away at third base in the bottom of the ninth inning.

NOTED

Mathis had never been thrown out of a game before; and this was Lovullo’s second career ejection

Godley threw a first-pitch strike to 14-of-27 batters faced; plus, he reached a 3-ball count six times

Paul Goldschmidt did not reach base safely, ending his club-record at 42 consecutive home games

Six security guards chased down and tackled a fan who ran onto the field at the start of the seventh

With a first-pitch temperature of 107 degrees, the game was played with the roof and panels closed

Phoenix Mercury and WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi threw out the ceremonial first pitch

UP NEXT

Play hooky from work and watch the D-backs and Cardinals battle it out in the series-finale on Thursday, June 29. A pair of left-handers, Patrick Corbin and Lance Lynn, will be on the mound.

First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.

Corbin (6-7) is coming off a tough-luck loss to the Phillies in which he limited the visitors to only one run on eight hits in 6.2 innings. It was his second straight quality outing and eighth overall this season.

For his career, Corbin is 1-1 in three starts versus the Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Lynn (5-5) has never lost to the D-backs. He’s a perfect 3-0 in nine games, including seven starts.

Recently, Lynn has struggled.

Looking at his last two appearances, at the Orioles and against the Pirates, Lynn has allowed a total of 14 earned runs in 10.1 innings pitched; and among the 15 hits surrendered, six have been home runs.

Lynn has not reached the seventh inning in any of his previous six starts.

Follow @CraigAZSports