Cardinals win Giant series with 4-run 6th

ST. LOUIS — One night after blasting their way out of a mid-game deficit, the Cardinals generated a come-from-behind victory in contrasting fashion on Sunday. Pushing home the game-tying and go-ahead runs with groundballs in the infield, the Cardinals mustered a four-run sixth that lifted them to a 6-3 win over the Giants at Busch Stadium.

“To take a series away from those guys when they’re playing well was big for us,” said Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter, whose club handed the Giants their first series loss since May 9-11. ” I think we’re trending upwards anyways, but hopefully this will be a series that gets us on a roll.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy rotated through four pitchers before he found one who could record an out in the bottom of the sixth, which opened with back-to-back doubles by Matt Carpenter and Aledmys Diaz to pull the Cardinals to within one. After a walk and hit batsman loaded the bases, an infield single by Matt Adams and a groundball off Yadier Molina’s bat that shortstop Brandon Crawford couldn’t corral allowed St. Louis to inch in front.

“I just didn’t secure it into my hand to flip it or anything,” said Crawford, the National League’s reigning Gold Glove-winning shortstop. “That’s not going to happen very often.”

The bullpen’s trouble cost Giants starter Jake Peavy, who left with the lead but took his sixth loss of the season. Opposing starter Carlos Martinez allowed three runs over six innings. Two of those runs came on a Jarrett Parker home run that the outfielder poked over the left-field wall.

“I didn’t really understand how he was able to make such contact or why he did, but he did,” Martinez said of Parker, whose homer traveled an estimated 363 feet. “I was really shocked. It was a nasty pitch. I’m not sure how he was able to get it over.”

Martinez, who had a 14-inning scoreless streak snapped by that homer, struck out …

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