Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter, already six for 10 with a homer against Cubs righthander Kyle Hendricks in his career, quickly put the Cardinals ahead 1-0 with a 412-foot homer to the center-field greenery to start the bottom of the first in Game 2 of the National League division series Saturday at Busch Stadium.
Hendricks had finished the regular season with 13 consecutive scoreless innings before Carpenter, who had a club-high 28 homers for the season, smacked his fifth in the last two post-seasons and the Cardinals' their in their last two innings.
Rookies Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscottry both homered in the eighth inning of Friday's 4-0 Game 1 win.