Cardinals’ Offense Awakens; Nationals Drop Game 2 in 12-4 Loss

Angry Birds? Angry Birds.

One day after letting a late 2-1 lead slip through their hands, the St. Louis Cardinals' offense awakened, crushing four home runs -- including two big ones by Carlos Beltran -- as they defeated the Washington Nationals 12-4 to tie the teams' National League Division Series at 1-1.

Beltran, Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso all went yard for St. Louis, who hammered Jordan Zimmermann early and often until he was mercifully pulled after three innings.

Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche hit back-to-back homers in the fifth, but even then, the Nationals still trailed 7-3. Beltran's first home run put the Cardinals up 8-3 and his second gave them a commanding 11-4 lead in the eighth. Both teams combined for six home runs Monday after not hitting any Sunday. The 12 runs allowed by Washington are the most in Nationals/Expos postseason franchise history.

The series now shifts to D.C. for Game 3 Wednesday at Nationals Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on MLB Network.