St. Louis Cardinals Carlos Beltran watches his two run home run leave the park in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on September 23, 2013. The home run was good for two runs.      UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Carlos Beltran watches his two run home run leave the park in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Carlos Beltran ended a 24 game drought without a home run. His tie-breaking two-run shot in the fifth helped lead the Cardinals to a 4-3 win, eliminating the Washington Nationals from playoff contention. The Cardinals hold a two-game lead over Cincinnati (who beat the Mets) and Pittsburgh (who beat the Cubs) with five to play. All three teams are headed to the postseason. The Reds and Pirates clinched at least a wild-card berth when Washington lost.

Adam Wainwright picked up his 18th win, allowing three runs on seven hits over seven innings. Wainwright struck out five and settled down after giving up two, first-inning runs.