St. Louis, MO – Carlos Beltran and Matt Carpenter hit solo homers, Shelby Miller tossed seven solid innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-2, on Saturday.
Beltran went 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Cardinals, who have won four in a row. Matt Holliday knocked in two runs and scored once, while Yadier Molina had an RBI.
Miller (12-8) allowed one run on three hits while striking out six.
"My main goal tonight was to just keep my focus the entire game and just attack the zone," said Miller. "That's kind of what I've been lacking a little bit."
Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer for the NL East-leading Braves, who have dropped the first three contests of this four-game series. Gerald Laird had an RBI.
Atlanta starter Julio Teheran (10-7) gave up four runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking five over six-plus frames.
"It's a combination of tough pitching and we're not swinging it well right now really well," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "Sometimes you run into a hot team, like they are right now."
The score was 1-1 after Freeman and Carpenter homered for their respective teams in the first inning.
Beltran homered to right with one down in the third to make it 2-1 St. Louis and give the hosts the lead for good.
Miller retired 10 straight batters before giving up a two-out single to Andrelton Simmons in the seventh. B.J. Upton grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
The Cardinals tacked on three more runs in the bottom half of the frame. Pinch-hitter Shane Robinson and Carpenter singled to put runners on the corners. Holliday's two-run double to right-center field and Molina's run- scoring single up the middle made it 5-1.
Beltran's RBI single in the eighth made it a five-run contest.
Randy Choate started on the mound for the Cardinals in the ninth. Brian McCann hit a two-out single before Seth Maness came in from the bullpen. Simmons singled before Laird's RBI double to right plated McCann. Edward Mujica came in to record the final out of the game for his 34th save of the season.
Game Notes
The season series is tied 3-3 ... The Cardinals went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine, while Atlanta went 1-for-2 with RISP and left six men on.
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