ST. LOUIS _ When the Braves finally beat the Cardinals on Sunday, they did it by scoring multiple early runs and getting a strong performance from their starting pitcher, two elements sorely lacking during their recent slide from realistic hopes for wild-card contention.
R.A. Dickey didn't give up a run until the seventh inning and Brandon Phillips hit a two-run homer for the Braves in a 6-3 series-finale win at Busch Stadium, where the Braves avoided being swept for the series and the season with their first win in six games against the surging Cardinals.
They built a 5-0 lead through 6 { innings and then hung on, the Cardinals getting a run in the seventh and two in the eighth before Jose Ramirez _ the third Braves reliever in the inning _ got out of a bases-loaded jam.
Ramirez struck out Greg Garcia and got pinch-hitter Yadier Molina on a ground-out to silence a crowd of 44,534 that was on its feet and roaring from the time Molina strode to the plate.
Dickey also worked out of a jam in the seventh, striking out pinch-hitter Dexter Fowler with two on for the second out and getting Matt Carpenter on a ground out to end the inning.
Ender Inciarte had three hits for the Braves, who snapped a five-game losing streak and ended the Cardinals' eight-game winning streak. It was only the seventh win in 25 games for the Braves, who had slipped during that stretch from a high-water mark of 45-45 to a season-worst 12 games under .500 before Sunday.
Pitching on eight days' rest _ twice the usual amount _ Dickey (8-7) didn't face more than four batters in an inning until the seventh, by which point the Braves had built a 5-0 lead. The 42-year-old knuckleballer allowed seven hits, one run and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.
Recently demoted closer Jim Johnson started the eighth inning for the Braves with a 5-1 lead and retired only one of four batters he faced, giving up a Paul DeJong homer and consecutive singles before manager Brian Snitker brought in left-hander Sam Freeman to face Kolten Wong.
Wong hit an RBI single and Ramirez replaced Freeman, nicking the first batter he faced (Carson Kelly) with a pitch to load the bases and raise the decibel level among a crowd of 44,534, which was ready to see their beloved Cardinals, who had moved into a first-place tie in their division Saturday, complete a sweep of the series and a seven-game homestand that began with them taking four from the Royals.
But Ramirez had other ideas, retired Garcia and Molina and got the game to closer Arodys Vizcaino, with the Braves adding a run to the lead in the top of the ninth when Jace Peterson had a pinch-hit leadoff triple and scored on a wild pitch. Vizcaino pitched a perfect inning for his sixth save including four in as many attempts since taking over the closer job at the beginning of August.
The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on a bases-loaded RBI single from Danny Santana and a sacrifice fly from rookie Ozzie Albies. Dansby Swanson followed with the fourth single of the inning off Cardinals starter Michael Wacha (9-5), but the line drive got to right field too quickly for the Braves to try to score and Dickey grounded out to end the inning with bases loaded.
Inciarte led off the Braves' fifth with a single and Phillips homered on the next pitch, his 10th of the season and second in as many nights before large Cardinals crowds that boo him lustily from his many years with the National League Central rival Cincinnati Reds.
The Braves had a 4-0 lead and the most runs they'd scored in the first five innings of a game since July 13, when they got nine in the first five innings against Alex Wood and the Dodgers in a 12-3 win at Dodger Stadium that seems a long time ago.
Inciarte almost singlehandedly manufactured another run in the seventh when he hit a leadoff single, collected his 15th stolen base and went to third on a Phillips groundout. After Freddie Freeman was walked intentionally, Nick Markakis hit a comebacker to the mound and reliever Sam Tuivailala threw to second base to try for the inning-ending double play. He got the out at second but Markakis was safe at first and Inciarte scored for a 5-0 lead.
The Cardinals, who scored eight runs or more in six consecutive wins before settling for a 6-5 win Saturday, didn't get on the board Sunday until the seventh inning when Wong tripled with one out and scored on Carson Kelly's single. After Dickey walked Garcia, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez came out for a chat and left Dickey in to try to get out of the inning without further damage, which he did by striking out Fowler looking and inducing a Carpenter grounder.
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