Cardinals blast three HRs in first win of season

PHOENIX -- Matt Holliday, Pete Kozma and Jon Jay homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 on Tuesday night to even their season-opening series at a game apiece.

Jaime Garcia (1-0) gave up two hits, one of them a solo homer by Miguel Montero, in 5 2-3 innings for the Cardinals. Holliday's two-run home run off Trevor Cahill broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth.

Kozma added a leadoff homer and Jay a two-run shot off the right field foul pole, both off reliever Heath Bell in the seventh.

Kozma's homer came on Bell's first pitch with the Diamondbacks. Matt Carpenter doubled twice for St. Louis.

Cahill (0-1) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings.

The slimmed-down Arizona right-hander struck out seven, walked two and hit a batter.

After getting 15 hits in their 6-2 season-opening victory on Monday night, the Diamondbacks managed just three on Tuesday. Montero had two of them.

Garcia struck out four and walked four, including three in a row with two outs in the sixth, bringing an end to his outing. Three St. Louis relievers allowed one hit in 3 1-3 innings.

Garcia and Cahill were locked in a 1-1 game through five before Jay was hit by a pitch to start the sixth. Carpenter flew out to bring up Holliday, who hit Cahill's 2-2 pitch a couple of rows into the seats in left field and St. Louis led 3-1.

Arizona got its first home run of the season when Montero hit Garcia's first pitch in the second into the opposite field seats in left to put the Diamondbacks up 1-0.

St. Louis tied it in the fourth. Matt Carpenter led off with a double into the right field corner. He took third on Holliday's ground out to second and scored when Allen Craig bounced out to short.

The Diamondbacks got the potential go-ahead run to third in the fifth. The third baseman Carpenter threw wild to first, allowing batter Cliff Pennington to reach second. Pennington advanced to third when Cahill bounced out to the pitcher, but Gerardo Parra grounded out to second to end the threat.

After getting the first two outs of the sixth, Garcia walked three in a row to load the bases and was lifted for right-hander Edward Mujica. Jason Kubel, pinch hitting for A.J. Pollock, was caught looking on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.

Bell, the former closer acquired in a trade with Miami in the offseason, allowed three runs and four hits and a walk in just one-third of an inning.

After Kozma's first-pitch homer, Shane Robinson walked, then Jay's soaring drive bounced high off the right field foul pole for a two-run home run to make it 6-1. Carpenter doubled and Bell struck out Holiday, then Craig singled and the reliever's rough Arizona debut was over.