Six-Run Sixth Pushes Braves Past Cardinals to Even Series

The Braves seemed to be on their way to another frustrating defeat, but a six-run sixth gave them the lead they needed, evening up the series with a 8-6 win.

The Cardinals put two on with two outs in the second, and Chris Carpenter singled in one. After Nate McLouth hit a solo homer in the home half, the Cardinals went ahead again in the third on a two-run home run by Matt Holliday, and Carpenter added a solo homer in the fourth, his second career shot, for a three-run lead.

Brian McCann singled in a run in the fourth to cut the lead to two, but the big runs came in the sixth. Jason Heyward singled in a run, Martin Prado doubled in the tying run, McCann sac flied a run in and a second run scored on an error on the play, Derrek Lee singled in a run, and Melky Cabrera sac flied a run in for a 8-4 lead. Brooks Conrad led off the inning as a pinch hitter and wound up batting again in the inning.

The Cardinals attempted a small comeback in the seventh by scoring on a wild pitch and RBI single by Holliday, but they fell short by two.

Prado went 2-4 with two doubles and an RBI. McCann recorded two RBIs, Lee went 2-4 with an RBI, Melky picked up an RBI, and Heyward did as well. McLouth made my Twitter joke look bad for one at bat by hitting a solo homer. Of the 11 Braves hits, only three were for extra bases, but they made the most of scoring opportunities and piled it on when they could.

Chris Carpenter cruised through five innings with only two small runs allowed, but the bottom dropped out in the sixth, and he ended up allowing eight runs total on eight hits in five innings. Because he was so efficient early, he left after just 79 pitches and the Cardinals did all they could to let him work out of the jam. However, he never recorded an out in the sixth.

Mike Minor did not pitch that bad, giving up three of the four runs on home runs, and the other on a two-out rally that resulted in an RBI single by the pitcher. Of the seven hits allowed, two were for extra bases – the two homers – and he walked just one in five innings while striking out four. Four home runs allowed in six starts is not great, but he is doing well enough in the other areas.

Peter Moylan pitched a scoreless sixth and earned the win. Jonny Venters dealt with bad defense and allowed two runs in an inning. Takashi Saito pitched a perfect eighth for a hold, and Billy Wagner did the same in the ninth for a save.

Back-to-back wins would be great here. Jake Westbrook and Tommy Hanson face off Saturday at 4:10. The Phillies beat the Mets, holding on to their one-game lead. The Giants and Padres are battling out west.