St. Louis Cardinals Felipe Lopez (3) greets Ryan Ludwick at home plate as the two score on a Matt Holliday double. UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt

St. Louis Cardinals Felipe Lopez (3) greets Ryan Ludwick at home plate as the two score on a Matt Holliday double. UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt

Matt Holliday’s two-run double sparked a three-run second inning as the Cardinals beat the Marlins, 4-2, at Busch Stadium on Thursday to split a brief two-game series. With the Reds loss to Atlanta, the Cardinals are back in first by 1/2 game.

Ryan Ludwick had an RBI double, and David Freese drove in a run with a first-inning single of Marlins starter Nate Robertson who then kept the Cards down for the remainder of his six innings, but the early runs were enough for Adam Wainwright who earned his sixth win by striking out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs, both in the first, on six hits and three walks.