The offense is not giving the Cardinals bullpen any opportunity to make mistakes as the Cardinals win 7-2 for their third straight win.  Albert Pujols came up big again in the clutch and Chris Carpenter fared well in his first start in 16 months.

Pujols broke a 2-2 tie with two outs in the 7th when he doubled in Adam Kennedy.  Pujols continues his tear in Atlanta where he is 5 for 9 in this series with 5 RBI and 6 runs scored.  The Cardinals added on against the Braves bullpen with two runs in the 8th and 9th innings.

As far as Carpenter, I thought he was pretty lucky to get out of the first four innings with just one run.  He gave up five hits and walked two and got out of a bases loaded jam.  It looked like he had good movement on his pitches, but threw a lot of balls.  In his 68 pitches on the night, he threw just 36 strikes. 

Regardless, it was a good first step for Carpenter and with the trade deadline at 3pm Thursday, it appears the team is banking on Carpenter giving the starting rotation a boost.

The Cardinals have tied the Brewers for the NL Wild Card and remain four back behind the Cubs.