Cardinals 6, Marlins 3
Lance Berkman belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to snap a tie and lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 home triumph over the Florida Marlins on Thursday afternoon.
Matt Holliday had two hits and two RBIs, Colby Rasmus scored three runs and Albert Pujols went 3-for-3 for the Cardinals, who earned a split of the four-game series.
Holliday forged a 3-3 tie in the eighth with the third consecutive one-out single off Florida starter Josh Johnson (3-1), who was lifted in favor of lefthander Mike Dunn. Berkman promptly deposited Dunn's first pitch over the left field wall for his 10th blast of the season.
Berkman, who lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth, collected nine RBI in the series and leads the National League with 32.
Jason Motte (1-0) notched the win after tossing a scoreless eighth and Eduardo Sanchez walked two in the ninth before recording his third save in as many opportunities.
Johnson, who entered with a 0.88 ERA, was tagged for five runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. Florida's ace walked four and struck out seven.
Omar Infante went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Marlins.