MLB: St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 3

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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Lance Berkman homered and delivered an RBI single Monday and the St. Louis Cardinals helped their playoff chances with a 4-3 win over Philadelphia.

Berkman's solo shot in the first inning gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead and his run-scoring single in the next frame put St. Louis up 3-1.

Rafael Furcal went 3-for-4 with a run scored and Albert Pujols added an RBI double as the Cards took three wins in a four-game series with the Phillies.

St. Louis moved to 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the National League wild card chase with the victory. The Braves lost to Florida Monday.

Kyle Lohse (14-8) registered the crucial win, allowed only one unearned run over 7 1/3 frames while yielding seven hits, walking one and striking out five.

Jason Motte allowed a pair of runs in the ninth but Octavio Dotel earned his second save by retiring Hunter Pence for the final out.

Roy Halladay (18-6) absorbed the loss, allowing four runs on six hits over eight innings.

Jimmy Rollins smacked an RBI triple and Carlos Ruiz went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the National League East champion Phillies.