ST. LOUIS, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Jamie Garcia held Atlanta to three runs over six innings Saturday and the St. Louis Cardinals rode an early lead to a 4-3 win over Atlanta.
Garcia (12-7) surrendered eight hits but didn't issue a walk and struck out four en route to the victory, which allowed the Cardinals to clinch their three-game series over the Braves.
Albert Pujols and David Freese produced a 2-0 first-inning lead with run-scoring hits while Lance Berkman and Yadier Molina added RBI in the third for a 4-0 bulge.
The Braves got two of the runs back on Freddie Freeman's two-run homer in the fourth and Brian McCann added an RBI single in the fifth, but that's all the closer Atlanta could come.
The Braves saw their National League wild card lead narrow to 5 1/2 games over St. Louis with the loss.
Derek Lowe (9-14) absorbed the defeat, going yielding four runs on nine hits over six frames.
