ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tyler Locklear went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, Brandon Pfaadt pitched six solid innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-6 on Thursday.
Arizona had 16 hits in the makeup of the teams’ June 25 rainout a day after having a season-high 17 hits at home against the Athletics.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals after a baseball game, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Tim Tawa throws out St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker at first base in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Tyler Locklear celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Tyler Locklear hits a two-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Pfaadt (5-1) allowed two first-inning runs on four straight hits leading off the game but settled in to allow just three more hits. Arizona who has won three straight and nine of 11.
The Cardinals scored four two-out runs off Ryan Thompson in the ninth inning.
Locklear lined an RBI single up the middle off Matt Svanson in the eighth inning after hitting a two-run homer, his first of the season, off Michael McGreevy (4-8) in the fourth inning.
Arizona sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth inning and scored five runs off Svanson and Justin Bruihl.
McGreevy (4-8) allowed four runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings for St. Louis. The Cardinals have lost 11 of 16.
Jordan Walker received a standing ovation before his first home plate appearance since winning the 2026 Home Run Derby and lined an RBI double on the first pitch he saw to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.
Ketel Marte was scratched less than an hour before first pitch with back stiffness after originally being slated to leadoff and play second base for Arizona.
Iván Herrera had the day off for St. Louis after starting each of the club’s first 101 games.
Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3, 2.62 ERA) will face Nationals RHP Zack Littell (7-7, 5.34) to open a three-game series in Washington on Friday night. ... Cardinals RHP Dustin May (5-7, 4.78) was set to oppose Reds RHP Rhett Lowder (3-7, 5.75) at home Friday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
The Arizona Diamondbacks celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals after a baseball game, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Tim Tawa throws out St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker at first base in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Tyler Locklear celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Tyler Locklear hits a two-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
OGUNQUIT, Maine (AP) — Giant metal roosters are popping up on lawns in and around a community in southern Maine and as far away as New Zealand in support of a 6-year-old autistic girl and her love of the colorful creations.
David and Sara LeBlanc had a rotating display of the roughly 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) ornaments decorating their Ogunquit lawn until officials in the small coastal town deemed them to be impermissible advertising for their attached restaurant, The Omelette Factory.
The couple initially resisted the town's removal order, insisting the roosters were meant to comfort their daughter Pyper, not advertise their business.
“Roosters don’t lay eggs,” David LeBlanc told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
But they eventually came to an agreement with the town allowing them to keep two of the roosters in front of their home.
As for what to do with the others? That's where friends, neighbors and complete strangers came in.
The LeBlancs took in Pyper as a foster child and later adopted her. She arrived with a stuffed rooster, and roosters became her favorite animal, her parents said. When her father took her to a Tractor Supply Store to play with baby chicks last year, she noticed a large rooster sculpture for sale and asked her dad what it was saying.
“I think he wants to come home,” David LeBlanc said he told her.
Eventually, their collection grew to more than two dozen roosters, which they set up in batches for seasonal and holiday displays. Pyper took to hiding behind one each morning while waiting for the school bus, which her parents said helps her regulate her emotions and navigate transitions.
But the couple ruffled feathers when they added a rooster to their restaurant’s logo, which is featured on its shirts and other merchandise. Although the LeBlancs said they view the rooster as a “family crest,” the town saw their lawn statues as advertising.
A code enforcement officer, Tyler McOsker, issued the LeBlancs $450 in fines and ordered them in April to "remove all unpermitted signage, including but not limited to rooster statues."
McOsker didn't respond to an email requesting comment. But he told the Zoning Board of Appeals in June that he had no idea the roosters were connected to Pyper’s autism diagnosis until the couple appealed the fines. He also pointed to a May 2025 article in a local weekly newspaper that described the roosters as a “fun and unconventional way to announce that The Omelette Factory is officially open for business.”
“That, to me, is the definition of a sign. You’re announcing you’re opening,” McOsker told the board.
David LeBlanc said the reporter misinterpreted a customer’s joke about the roosters serving as an “Open” sign.
“We never said that,” he said.
The zoning board discussed the issue last month. At one point, board member Jay Smith voiced frustration at the lack of medical proof that the roosters were necessary.
“I’m inclined to think there may be some merit to a comfort animal on the front lawn … but the point is, how many does it take?” he said.
Autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental condition that affects different people in different ways, and comfort objects are frequently incorporated into therapy for autistic children to help manage transitions, support emotional regulation and provide a sense of familiarity, Beverley Cush Evans, a professor of special education at Lesley University, told the AP.
“It’s part of who they are and what they need," she said.
Eventually, the board decided it lacked the authority to rescind the fines but tried to accommodate the family by granting a disability variance that essentially deemed two roosters necessary for Pyper’s access to the home.
“I want to emphasize we’re talking about two roosters. If they have babies or multiply in the night — no,” another board member said.
The variance requires the roosters to be part of a railing, however, and for now, they are just bolted to the steps. The couple has been fined another $500 for noncompliance.
David LeBlanc said he is moving on from the dispute and is focusing on the good that has come from it. The family has given roosters to others to “foster” and show their support for autism acceptance, starting with a man named Sam who lives up the road. Though Pyper was sad to see them go, she understands the adage about making lemonade, LeBlanc said.
“She understands that the roosters being taken away were the lemons, and Sam and his friends, fostering them, are the lemonade,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Thanks to news coverage and a Roosters of Ogunquit Facebook page, the story has spread far and wide. One supporter wrote in from New Zealand sharing pictures of his children with a rooster statue in their yard.
Hetal Patel, who owns a motel in nearby Wells and has a relative with autism, wanted to buy a rooster after hearing about Pyper. They were sold out in the Ogunquit area, though, so she and her son went to New Hampshire last week to get one.
“We found the last one,” she said. “We couldn’t wait to put it out. People were so supportive, they were honking. It was so nice to see all the love for Pyper.”
Breakfast is served at The Omelette Factory, a restaurant whose owners are in dispute with the town over large tin roosters, in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Pyper Leblanc examines a pair of tin roosters after they were set up at the Hilton Winn Farm in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Pyper Leblanc plays by two tin roosters displayed at the Hilton Winn Farm in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Large tin roosters decorate the entrance to the home of David and Sarah Leblanc, which is attached to their breakfast restaurant, The Omelette Factory, at left, in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Pyper Leblanc shows her favorite tin rooster, one of dozens that now can be seen all over Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Pyper Leblanc kisses a tin rooster goodbye after a visit to the Hilton Winn Farm in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A large tin rooster stands alongside Main Street as a sign of solidarity for a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A tin rooster stands outside the Wells Moody Motel in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A small rooster stands outside a home as a sign of solidarity for a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
David LeBlanc sets up a rooster in front of the Memorial Library in Ogunquit, Maine, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Tin roosters flank Rte. 1 in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Beach-goers pass by a large tin rooster set up outside a motel in solidarity with a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
