It wound up becoming a six-single, four-run inning, and the Cardinals rallied for the win that gave them a series victory over the Braves.

Once given the lead, Adam Wainwright, who again walked on the wild side (he issued five free passes), got the biggest out of the game in the Braves' fifth. Atlanta had the bases loaded before Wainwright caught David Ross with a 3-2 curveball to end the inning.

"When he's good, he's very good," manager Tony La Russa said. "When he's not, he finds a way."

Wainwright is 3-0 but has walked 18 batters in five starts and needed 110 pitches to finish six innings Wednesday. "There's no doubt I'm not pitching my best yet," he said.

La Russa thought that Wainwright, pitching in his home state, was more animated than usual, but Wainwright said his actions spoke more of frustration than excitement.

"I think I was getting kind of ticked off," he said. "I let it get the best of me."

CARDINALS 5, BRAVES 3: RHP Ryan Franklin, a reluctant closer last year when he had 17 saves but seemed more comfortable as a setup man, knocked off his seventh save in seven tries as he completed his first four-out save of the season. The Cardinals bunched six of their eight hits in the fifth inning, with singles by RHP Adam Wainwright, 1B Albert Pujols, LF Chris Duncan and CF Rick Ankiel driving in runs.