Cardinals smother Nat'ls to draw level

ST. LOUIS – Carlos Beltran hit the last two of the Cardinals’ four home runs as St. Louis thrashed the Washington Nationals 12-4 on Monday to level the National League division series at one game each.

Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso also hit homers to help the defending World Series champion Cardinals build a big lead to compensate for a two-inning start from ailing pitcher Jaime Garcia. Craig hit his fifth career postseason home run and scored three times.

Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche hit consecutive homers in the fifth inning for the Nationals, who head home for the remainder of the best-of-five series. But the NL East champions are without All-Star pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who was ruled out for the rest of the season early last month to protect his surgically repaired arm.

Game 3 is Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park, where Edwin Jackson starts for Washington against longtime Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, who made only three starts during the regular season because of injury.

Game 2 of the American League division series between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles was due to start later Monday after a rain delay. (AP)