Chris Carpenter was just what the doctor ordered.
A season-long 5-game losing streak starting with Carpenter on the mound, ended with him as well as he tossed 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
Carpenter outdueled two-time reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. The Cardinals knocked out Lincecum in the sixth inning.
With Cincinnati's loss to the Dodgers, the Cardinals only trail the Reds by 3 1/2 games in the NL Central. This win was crucial for the Cardinals with their losing streak coinciding with the Reds 7-game win streak.
Luckily for the Cardinals, Lincecum hardly looked like a Cy Young winner last only 5 1/3 inning, giving up four runs, six hits, two walks, and only four strike outs.
Randy Winn got the Cardinals on the board in the fourth with a leadoff homer to give the Cardinals their first lead in the last 47 innings.
Newly acquired Pedro Feliz recorded his second consecutive multihit game since coming to the Redbirds with a RBI triple to score Yadier Molina in the fifth and an RBI single in the 8th.
After Feliz's RBI triple in the fifth, Brendan Ryan followed with a double to drive in Feliz.
Jon Jay drove in Albert Pujols one inning later, and Molina finally knocked out Lincecum with another single.
The Cardinals put three runs on the board for the first time in three games, and the Cardinals had lost the last three games despite their starters only giving up three runs in each game.
The Cardinals averaged a meager 3.2 runs per game during the streak. They struggled to get any runners home on Friday night, going 2-9 with runners in scoring position, while stranding 10 baserunners.
The Cardinals will look to close up the homestand with a victory, sending Jaime Garcia to the mound against fellow southpaw Barry Zito.
With a victory, the Cardinals would finish just 3-5 on their current homestand.
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