Cardinals 8, Nationals 0: Chris Carpenter worked 5 2/3 strong innings and Pete Kozma backed him up with a three-run homer as visiting St. Louis grabbed a 2-1 lead in the National League Division Series.

Matt Holliday drove in two and Allen Craig doubled in a run for the Cardinals, who will try to close out the best-of-five series behind Kyle Lohse in Game 4 on Thursday.

Washington was hosting its first postseason game since 1933 but fell behind early as Edwin Jackson (0-1) struggled. Craig put St. Louis on top with an RBI double in the first and Kozma struck in the second, coming up with runners on the corners and launching a first-pitch fastball into the front row in left for a 4-0 lead.

Carpenter (1-0) allowed seven hits and walked a pair but managed to keep the Nationals off the board. The right-hander struck out two and worked out of his biggest jam in the fifth, getting Michael Morse to fly to right with the bases loaded.

Jackson, who earned a World Series ring as a member of the Cardinals last season, was charged with four runs on eight hits in five innings. The bullpen was not much better, as Craig Stammen and Christian Garcia each allowed one run before Ryan Mattheus surrendered Holliday’s two-run single in the eighth.

The Nationals left 11 men on base in Game 3 and have stranded 30 in the series. They will try to even things up behind Ross Detwiler on Thursday.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nationals rookie CF Bryce Harper, who wore red-tinted contact lenses instead of sunglasses for the afternoon start, went 0-for-5 and is 1-for-15 in the series. … The attendance of 45,017 was the largest crowd ever at Nationals Park. … The Cardinals removed LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder) from the roster on Tuesday’s off day and replaced him with RHP Shelby Miller. Should St. Louis advance, Garcia would not be eligible to return until the World Series. … Carpenter added a pair of hits and is now 4-for-7 in his career against Jackson.