ST. LOUIS, May 5 (UPI) -- Greg Maddux, recovering from a pair of shaky starts and beating the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time in more than two years, pitched with an inflamed nerve in his lower back Sunday and still had six scoreless innings to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 4-2 victory.
The win was the fourth in five games for the Braves while the Cards lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Maddux (3-2) threw just 65 pitches, 47 of which were strikes, and allowed four hits before departing. He struck out six and walked one in earning his first win against the Cardinals since throwing a three-hitter in a 4-1 victory on Sept. 6, 1999.
The four-time Cy Young Award winner has not pitched more than six innings in six starts this season. In his previous two starts, Maddux allowed 10 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings with seven walks.
Known for his impeccable control, Maddux walked 12 in April, eight shy of the 20 he allowed in the 1997 season. He led the National League with a one-walk-in-nine-innings ratio last year.
Gary Sheffield went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and Andruw Jones hit his ninth home run of the season for the Braves.
John Smoltz pitched the final two innings and allowed a run, but recorded his 11th save in 12 opportunities.
After Fernando Vina, who went 4-for-5, doubled home a run to pull the Cards within 4-2 in the ninth, Smoltz retired Placido Polanco on a comebacker with runners on second and third to end the game.
St. Louis' Darryl Kile (1-2) pitched six innings and yielded three runs and nine hits.
