St. Louis, MO

Chris Carpenter was not as sharp as expected but the Cardinals bullpen picked up their ace and made the early lead stand in St. Louis's 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers for a 2-1 lead in the NL championship series Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.

Carpenter, coming off a brilliant outing in the Game 5 clincher of the NLDS, did not make it past the fifth inning and was forced to hand over a one-run lead to the Cardinals relievers who proved to be the difference in taking the lead in the best-of-seven series.

The former Cy Young Award winner Carpenter got an early boost with a four-run first inning, but he saw that advantage cut in half in the next inning and was clinging to a one-run margin by the end of the third frame.

Carpenter, who entered Wednesday's tilt having beaten the Brewers the last two times he faced them and was 6-2 with a 2.94 ERA in the postseason, battled through two more innings before the bullpen took over.

Though not effective, Carpenter (1-0) got the win. He was charged with three runs over six hits and struck out three in five frames.

The four Cards relievers combined for four perfect innings. They got the last 12 outs in order in the victory.

Albert Pujols went 2-for-2 with two walks and a run scoring double off Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo during a four-run burst in the opening stanza. David Freese provided the deciding RBI double in the first.

Gallardo (0-1), who also did not made it past the fifth frame, was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits and five walks while fighting his way through five innings.

St. Louis will look to solidify its bid Thursday with Kyle Lohse taking the mound. Lohse will square off with Randy Wolf.

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