By Chris Duncan
Associated Press
HOUSTON ó The St. Louis Cardinals are tied with Atlanta for the NL wild-card lead, getting a tiebreaking two-run triple from Ryan Theriot in the seventh inning of a 13-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
The sliding Braves lost 7-1 to Philadelphia, sending the race for the NLís final playoff spot to the final day of the regular season. If the teams are tied after Wednesdayís game, St. Louis will host a one-game playoff on Thursday night.
The Cardinals trailed 5-0 early and appeared to be headed for a second straight loss to the Astros. But St. Louis scored five times in the fourth and erased a 6-5 deficit with a four-run seventh.
Lance Berkman hit a two-out single and scored on Allen Craigís tying double. Craig entered the game in the third inning when Matt Holliday departed with discomfort in his right hand.
Yadier Molina walked before pinch-hitter Theriot delivered his clutch triple to make it 8-6.
Nick Punto, who had four hits, doubled in Theriot in the seventh and had a solo homer in the ninth.
Craig padded the lead with a three-run homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field in the eighth.
Eduardo Sanchez (3-1) struck out two in 1 1-3 innings for the win in a game that included seven Cardinals relievers following an early exit by Jake Westbrook.
Skip Schumaker drove in three runs in the fourth, and Berkman had three hits and scored three times. The crowd booed loudly when Berkman, the longtime Astros star, scored the tying run in the seventh.
The Astros jumped on Westbrook for seven hits and five runs in 2 1-3 innings to take the early lead.
Enerio Del Rosario (0-3) yielded two hits and three runs for the loss.
Brian Bogusevic singled to start the Astrosí fifth before consecutive walks loaded the bases. Bogusevic scored when Jimmy Paredes grounded into a double play, giving Houston a 6-5 lead.