<p>David Eckstein hit a grand slam off Chris Reitsma with one out in the ninth inning, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.</p><p>Eckstein hit his first career grand slam and the second game-winning home run of his career on a 1-0 pitch from Reitsma (3-3), who had entered the game with nine straight saves. The drive over the left-field wall gave the Cardinals two of three in a series matching NL division leaders and the teams with the two best records in the league.</p><p>Abraham Nunez and So Taguchi singled and pinch-hitter Hector Luna reached on an infield hit to start the ninth. Pinch-hitter Scott Seabol popped up before the game-winner from Eckstein, the 5-foot-7 leadoff hitter who won two games in July with squeeze bunts. Eckstein also doubled, walked twice and stole a base.</p><p>Ray King (3-2) got the last out in the top of the ninth in relief of 16-game winner Chris Carpenter, who allowed two runs and four hits in eight innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks.</p><p>The winning grand slam was the Cardinals' first since Tommy Herr beat the New York Mets on April 18, 1987, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.</p><p>Braves starter Jorge Sosa allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings and the Braves got home runs from Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur, who drove in another run with a ninth-inning double off Jason Isringhausen.</p><p>Albert Pujols added his 31st homer for the Cardinals, who completed a 4-3 homestand.</p><p>Carpenter, who hasn't lost in 10 starts since June 8, gave up only one hit in his last six innings. He allowed two homers in a start for only the second time this season, and the first since May 2 at Cincinnati.</p><p>Johnson hit his eighth homer on a 3-2 pitch with one out in the first and Francoeur hit his eighth in only 22 major league games leading off the second.</p><p>The Cardinals were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position during Sosa's stint, with Pujols stranding two runners in the first and leaving a man on third with one out in the third on a pair of popups. Pujols took out his frustration on Kyle Farnsworth with a homer to straightaway center in the eighth, cutting the gap to one.</p><p>Notes:@ Francoeur is 16-for-39 during a nine-game hitting streak with three homers. ... A crowd of 47,714 was the Cardinals' 28th sellout and their 21st straight crowd of more than 40,000. They drew 318,389 for the seven-game homestand. ... Chipper Jones, out since Tuesday with a strained right rotator cuff, missed his fifth straight game. ... Before Sunday, Reitsma had earned a save or a victory in 11 of 12 outings.</p>
