Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter came up big on a night when the bullpen was shorthanded. He scattered seven hits for his second complete game of the season and Colby Rasmus homered on consecutive nights to help the Cardinals win 5-1 Wednesday night over the Baltimore Orioles.
Carpenter (3-7) won his second straight start by striking out five, walking one and giving up just one extra-base hit, an RBI double to Nick Markakis in the third inning.
Rasmus hit a two-run shot in the second giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead. It was his third in five games and No. 8 on the year. St. Louis made it 4-0 in the third. Nick Punto doubled and scored on a double by Skip Schumaker, who then scored on a sac fly from Lance Berkman. David Freese added insurance in the fifth with an RBI single.
