"For three months, Chris Carpenter couldn't catch a break.

Sometimes the Cardinals failed him in the field, booting ground balls. Sometimes their offense failed to support him with enough runs. Sometimes the bullpen let him down.

Sometimes Carpenter just wasn't good enough himself. Sometimes a combination of all four factors got him down.

"You can get beat if your offense doesn't score or your defense doesn't play, even if you do your part," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told reporters during his postgame news conference. "It's happened to him a lot."

It all added up to a 1-7 record and a 4.47 earned-run average through the better part of three months.

Yet Carpenter soldiered on, determined to give his team the hard-nosed starts he is known for. With the Cards reeling heading into Thursday night's game, he wanted to be the "stopper" -– the pitcher who put a stop to his team's slide.

And stop he did. His effort was overshadowed by an offensive onslaught in the 12-2 Cardinals victory, but it was compelling nonetheless.

"He's very special," La Russa said. "Well-deserved win."

Carpenter delivered his breakthrough game at a most opportune time. The Cards had lost nine of their previous 11 games. Albert Pujols suffered a broken forearm that could sideline him until August.

With David Freese and Nick Punto still injured, La Russa has had to lean on some Memphis recalls that never expected to be in the majors this season.

The starting pitching went through a rough patch. The bullpen burst into flames Tuesday night as five consecutive Cards relievers failed in relief of poor Kyle McClellan. "