(AP) - Carlos Beltran and David Freese each hit two-run homers and the St. Louis Cardinals held on to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 Sunday night in Game 1 of the NL championship series.
The wild-card Cardinals took an early 6-0 lead and made it stand up.
Two days earlier, St. Louis overcame a 6-0 deficit to beat Washington in the deciding Game 5 of the division series.
After starter Lance Lynn struggled, the St. Louis bullpen delivered with 5 1-3 scoreless innings.
The Giants dropped to 0-3 at home so far during this postseason, outscored 20-6 at AT&T Park.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night. Chris Carpenter pitches for the Cardinals against Ryan Vogelsong.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKTVO