Chris Carpenter pitched a two-hitter and the St. Louis Cardinals rode a five-run first inning to win the National League wild card with an 8-0 victory over the host Houston Astros on Wednesday.

The Cardinals wrapped up the playoff berth when the Atlanta Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in 13 innings on Wednesday.

St. Louis, which trailed Atlanta by 8½ games on Sept. 5, will meet Philadelphia in an NL Division Series beginning Saturday.

David Freese recorded three hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Cardinals, who wasted no time jumping out on top. The first five batters all recorded hits off Brett Myers (7-14).

That would be plenty for Carpenter, who struck out 11 while allowing only two hits and walking one in his second shutout of 2011. The ace righthander set down the first 10 batters and the last 10 batters he faced.