ST. LOUIS (WTVA/AP) - Carlos Beltran hit the last two of St. Louis' four homers and the Cardinals chased an ineffective Jordan Zimmermann early in a 12-4 rout of the Washington Nationals on Monday night that tied their NL Division Series at one game apiece.
Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso also went deep to help the Cardinals build a big lead and compensate for a two-inning start from Jaime Garcia. Craig hit his fifth career postseason homer and scored three times.
Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche hit consecutive homers in the fifth inning for the Nationals, who won't pitch All-Star ace Stephen Strasburg - shut down for the year early last month.
For the second time in the first two games of the series, an area player had a significant impact on the game.
In Monday's game, former Ole Miss Rebel Lance Lynn got the win. Lynn gave up a pair of solo home runs, but struck out five batters in 3.0 innings pitched.
Lynn follows former Mississippi State Bulldog Tyler Moore's heroics in Sunday's Game 1. Moore had a two-RBI single late in the game to put the Nationals ahead for good.
Game 3 of the best-of-5 series is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. That game will be the first home playoff game for the Nationals since the franchise relocated from Montreal.
