ATLANTA — Tommy Pham hit two homers, including a two-run drive in the 14th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals recovered after blowing a four-run lead to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Sunday and complete a three-game sweep.
Pham's long home run in the 14th off Josh Collmenter (0-1) drove in rookie Magneuris Sierra, who reached on second baseman Jace Peterson's fielding error. Recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Pham had a career-high four hits and drove in three runs.
Freddie Freeman's 11th homer off Brett Cecil in the eighth tied the game, completing Atlanta's comeback from a 4-0 deficit.
Matt Carpenter had a first-inning homer for St. Louis. He went deep in all three games during the series, giving him seven home runs this season.
Sam Tuivailala (1-0), the Cardinals' seventh pitcher, allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. Kevin Siegrist worked the 14th for his first save.
The Braves used nine pitchers and the Cardinals eight in a game that lasted 4 hours, 6 minutes.
Atlanta loaded the bases against closer Seung Hwan Oh in the 11th but couldn't score. With two outs, Carpenter fielded Ender Inciarte's grounder behind first base before flipping the ball to Oh. A review confirmed the on-field call that Oh barely beat Inciarte to the bag.
The Cardinals escaped more trouble in the 12th when Tuivailala struck out Kurt Suzuki to end the inning with runners on second and third.
Cardinals right-hander Jonathan Broxton fanned Matt Kemp with runners on first and third to end the 10th.
Michael Wacha allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings. He gave up four straight hits in the sixth, including a run-scoring double by Freeman and a single by Kemp that drove in another run.
Atlanta knuckleballer R.A. Dickey gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings. The Braves began the game ranked last in the majors with their 4.91 ERA.
The 21-year-old Sierra started in center field after being promoted from Class A Palm Beach before the game. He was hitting .272 at Palm Beach. Sierra had a one-out single in the sixth and was picked off first by Dickey. Sierra showed his speed when he caught pinch-hitter Emilio Bonifacio's drive to the left-center gap in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: OF-1B Jose Martinez was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a groin strain. Martinez got hurt trying to beat out a grounder Saturday night. He was sent to St. Louis for an examination to determine the severity of the injury. ... CF Dexter Fowler did not start for the third straight game due to a sore shoulder. He popped out to center field as a pinch hitter in the 12th.
Braves: RHP Mauricio Cabrera was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett after being activated from the 10-day disabled list. He had been sidelined with a right elbow strain. Cabrera made two rehab appearances with Gwinnett last week, allowing two runs in three innings.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (1-3, 3.75 ERA) looks for his second straight victory in Monday night's series opener at Miami.
Braves: Following an off day, RHP Bartolo Colon (1-3, 6.27) pitches Tuesday night at Houston.
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