Garcia fans 11, drives in only run of Cards’ win

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ST. LOUIS — Jaime Garcia snapped a string of short starts from the Cardinals’ rotation with a performance that registered as among the most dominant by a St. Louis starter this season. Garcia stymied the Braves over eight scoreless innings and drove in the game’s only run as the Cardinals opened a six-game homestand with a 1-0 victory at Busch Stadium on Friday.

Garcia, who struggled pitching on short rest in his previous outing, rolled through an Atlanta offense that ranks last in runs scored. He notched his fourth career double-digit strikeout performance, finishing with 11. Freddie Freeman struck out four times — three times against Garcia — and Jeff Francoeur struck out three times. He completed eight innings on 89 pitches and retired the final 11 batters he faced.

The veteran left-hander provided himself with all the necessary support, too, by helping the Cardinals take advantage of one of the five free passes issued by Braves starter Joel De La Cruz. De La Cruz walked Matt Holliday to open the second and extended the inning with a walk to Jeremy Hazelbaker. Garcia lined a single to right to drive in …

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