ST. LOUIS _ Carlos Martinez righted himself after a bumpy start and the Cardinals used two two-run homers in the third inning to beat the Brewers 4-3 at Busch Stadium on Friday night.
Martinez, the most dependable pitcher on the Cardinals staff in recent weeks, gave up three runs in the first three innings after having allowed just five total in his previous four starts. And while he didn't keep the Brewers without a baserunner until his final inning, the seventh, he got three double-play balls to keep him out of jams and the Cardinals played well defensively for a change to keep things close. Martinez came out after seven, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out one. In his two previous starts against the Brewers this season, he had strikeouts in the double digits.
After the third, Martinez gave up singles in the fourth, fifth and sixth, along with a hit batter in the sixth. It was his fourth straight win and seventh in his past eight decisions as he improved to 14-7.
After a scoreless inning from Kevin Siegrist in the eighth, Seung Hwan Oh came on in the ninth and got his 17th save.
Matt Carpenter and Stephen Piscotty homered in the third as the Cardinals took the lead. Carpenter's homer came immediately after Martinez had become the first baserunner of the game for the Cardinals, singling up the middle with two outs in the third. That cut the Brewers' lead to 3-2, and two batters later, the Cardinals were on top. Kolten Wong walked and Piscotty then homered to right center. It was the 19th home run for Carpenter, the 21st for Piscotty.
The Brewers had gotten a run in the first without a hit, parlaying a walk, a hit batter and an error by Jedd Gyorko into a run. They left a runner on third in the second and then went up 3-0 on a two-run homer by Scooter Gennett in the third. The Brewers followed that with two more hits, but an inning-ending double play started by Wong, with a nice backhand stop and a no-look flip from his glove to Gyorko, started the play.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with two out in the fifth but Brandon Moss' fly ball to right died on the warning track.
