St. Louis waited out a rain delay of almost three hours and beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-3, at Turner Field on Tuesday.
Chris Carpenter (7-4) earned the win for five solid innings, but the delay — which struck in the top of the sixth — forced the right-hander from the game.
It was the Cardinals’ best-played game in almost three weeks.
“I was kind of hoping to play five and go, but it turned out nice,” manager Tony La Russa told mlb.com.
Carpenter sat down 10 of the final 12 batters he faced, with two strikeouts and one walk. He said he was just getting sharp when the rain hit the ballpark.
“It was unfortunate, because I felt like I was struggling a little early on, and I felt like the last few innings, I started getting going. My curveball got better. My location got better. I felt like I was getting into a groove.”
The Cards have a chance to win their first series since mid-June at 6:35 p.m. tonight in the rubber game of the three-game series. The Cards then take on the Houston Astros in a three-game series before the All-Star Game break.
