St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Matt Holliday homered and scored twice to back seven innings of one-run ball from Kyle Lohse as the St. Louis Cardinals downed the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

Lohse (10-2) scattered six hits and a walk with four strikeouts to win his fourth straight decision. Jason Motte tossed a perfect ninth to record his 21st save of the year.

Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and Lance Berkman also knocked in a run for the Cardinals, who had dropped five of their last six.

Ryan Dempster (5-4) surrendered all four runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings to snap a six-start win streak.

Darwin Barney knocked in the lone run for Chicago, which had won seven of its last nine.

Dempster entered the game with a 33-inning scoreless streak dating back to June 5, but the Cardinals quickly ended it in their first at-bat with three straight one-out singles by Allen Craig, Holliday and Beltran, scoring Craig.

Molina followed with a base hit to plate Holliday before Berkman's grounder to first scored Beltran to hand St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

The Cubs answered with a run in the second when Bryan LaHair worked a leadoff walk, advanced to third on Steve Clevenger's single and came home on a sacrifice fly to center field by Barney.

The Cardinals, though, got that run back in the third inning on Holliday's tape-measure home run to left field that went an estimated 469 feet to make it a 4-1 game.

St. Louis would later leave the bases loaded in the third, but those runs would not prove necessary as Chicago failed to advance a runner past first base until Alfonso Soriano's two-out double off Mitchell Boggs in the eighth inning.

However, Marc Rzepczynski entered next and fanned pinch-hitter Jeff Baker to end the frame, and Motte needed just six pitches to retire the side in the ninth.

Game Notes

Lohse improved to 3-4 in 15 career starts against Chicago...Dempster fell to 8-9 in 49 career meetings -- 23 starts -- against the Cardinals...The Cubs hit 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base...St. Louis went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine...The Cardinals now lead the season series, 5-4.

07/20 23:06:39 ET