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Braves edge Cardinals on Conrad's walkoff

May 1, 2011 - 9:52 PM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Brooks Conrad's pinch-hit run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth inning was the difference, as Atlanta edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game set at Turner Field.

Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and scored the winning run for the Braves, who dropped the first two games of the series and have split their last six overall. Martin Prado and Brandon Hicks also knocked in a run each.

Atlanta starter Derek Lowe allowed four runs on six hits, walked two and struck out five in five innings, but did not factor in the decision. It was a tough week for the veteran right-hander, who was arrested Thursday night on a charge of DUI. Lowe was also charged with reckless driving and making an improper lane change.

Matt Holliday had a pair of doubles and drove in two, while Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols had an RBI apiece for St. Louis, which had a four-game winning streak halted.

Jaime Garcia went six-plus innings and did not get a decision. The left-hander allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits. He fanned six and walked one.

Jonny Venters (1-0) worked a perfect top of the ninth and Gonzalez reached first when Ryan Theriot dropped a pop up to start the home half off Ryan Franklin (0-3). Joe Mather moved Gonzalez up to second with a bunt and Nate McLouth walked before Conrad's single to right scored the winning run.

"It feels great," Conrad said about the winning hit. "We had a tough series, just close games every single day. It's a big win for was today."

St. Louis jumped on Lowe for three runs in the first on a two-run double by Holliday and RBI two-bagger from Berkman.

Lowe settled down over the next three innings, but gave up an run-scoring single to Pujols in the fifth to make it a 4-0 game.

Meanwhile, Garcia retired the first 12 batters before yielding a solid single to Brian McCann to start the bottom of the fifth. Then two batters later, Gonzalez launched a fastball into the left-field seats to cut the Braves' deficit in half, but they weren't finished.

With runners on the corners and still only one out, pinch-hitter Hicks brought in another for his first big league hit.

"I felt really good today," Garcia said. "I was able to keep the ball down the first couple of innings. I was doing a really good job of that. In that inning where I got hurt, I threw a couple pitches up and got hurt. It's part of the game."

Dan Uggla led off the seventh with a double high off the center-field wall and chased Garcia from the game. Jason Motte entered and Gonzalez hit a hard grounder that couldn't be handled by Pujols at first, allowing the tying run to score.

Later in the inning, with men on first and second and two away, Prado served an RBI single to right to put the Braves in front 5-4. However, Yadier Molina's sacrifice fly off Cory Gearrin scored Holliday to tie things up in the eighth.

Game Notes

Earlier on Sunday, Major League Baseball suspended and fined Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell for his alleged homophobic and threatening conduct toward fans before a game in San Francisco...He was suspended for two weeks without pay retroactive to April 29, when the Braves placed him on administrative leave...St. Louis won six of eight meetings with Atlanta a year ago and split four matchups at Turner Field...St. Louis second baseman Nick Punto exited after the bottom of the second inning with a left hamstring strain...Cardinals third baseman David Freese left the game after getting hit by a pitch on the hand in the top of the sixth...Pujols moved to third base to start the eighth. It was the first time he played the position since September 23, 2002 against Arizona.