St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright delivers a pitch to the San Francisco Giants. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Adam Wainwright improved to 10-10 on the season after pitching seven strong innings to hold off the San Francisco Giants in a 3-1 final, Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.  Wainwright was backed by Carlos Beltran’s 27th homer of the season, as his two run shot put the Cardinals on top in the first inning. Allen Craig, who missed Wednesday night’s game with sore ribs, drove in a run with a sac fly in the sixth off Giants starter Madison Bumgarner.

Wainwright allowed five hits and three walks while striking out seven and allowed one earned run. The Cardinals won despite being held to just four hits.  Jon Jay had two of those four hits, raising his average to .308.  Jay is 14 of his last 33 and hitting .424 in the last nine games.