ST. LOUIS -- Allen Craig is starting to feel comfortable and the St. Louis Cardinals are hoping that continues for a long time. Craig, batting cleanup, had three hits, drove in a run and scored twice and Lance Lynn allowed two runs over seven innings to lead the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. After batting.315 with 97 RBIs in 134 games in 2013, Craig has struggled to find his stroke. He was hitting .192 on April 29, but his average has risen slowly but steadily since. He was up to .231 after Fridays game. Craig said he is feeling better and better at the plate, even if the results have not been readily apparent. "Guys know when theyre feeling good in the box," Craig said. "The results may not be there, but you can still feel good and feel like good things are going to happen. Its just a matter of time and being patient. I feel like Im at that point." Nevertheless, Craig was happy with the multihit game. "Im definitely excited because I dont take success for granted," Craig said. "This games tough and a lot goes into having a good game." Lynn (5-2) allowed seven hits walked two and struck out three. He seemed to get stronger as the game went on. "It was just one of those things where everything clicked and all of a sudden I was throwing the ball where I wanted to," Lynn said. "I was throwing the ball in the strike zone and when that happens, its fun to pitch." Carlos Martinez retired the Braves on four pitches in the eighth and Trevor Rosenthal set down the side in order for his 12th save in 13 opportunities. Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong had two hits each and scored a run for St. Louis. Matt Holiday, Matt Adams and Yadier Molina all drove in a run for the Cardinals. St. Louis finished the game without manager Mike Matheny and centre fielder Peter Bourjos, both of whom were ejected by home plate umpire Sean Barber at the end of the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes. "I loved to see the fire and the fight that Peter showed there," Matheny said. "Frustrated and knew a couple of pitches didnt get called to what he thought was the strike zone in big situations. You cant take the emotions out of these guys." The Braves Chris Johnson went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Johnson is batting .377 (20 for 53) in May. While Johnson has been hot, his teammates have not. The Braves, who have lost 11 of 16, were held to two or fewer runs for the 18th time. "We get one or even two guys hot and theyre so far apart in the lineup that we dont get it going," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Sooner or later well start swinging like were capable of." Ervin Santana (4-1) took his first loss as a member of the Braves. Santana lasted five innings and allowed five runs and 10 hits with one walk and three strikeouts. St. Louis broke open a 2-2 tie by scoring three times in the fifth. With one out, Carpenter and Wong singled. Holliday followed with an RBI double down the right field line to score Carpenter. Wong scored on Craigs single to left and Molina made it 5-2 with a sacrifice fly. The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the second on a two-out RBI single by Tyler Pastornicky, but the Cardinals tied it in the bottom of the inning on Adams RBI double. After the Braves took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Andrelton Simmons 6-4-3 double play ball, the Cardinals tied it in the bottom of the frame when Craig scored from third on Santanas wild pitch with two outs. NOTES: Jhonny Peralta stole second in the fourth inning for his first stolen base as a member of the Cardinals. ... Santana had two wild pitches, giving him a total of five, one behind Arizonas Wade Miley for the most in the National League. ... Atlantas Aaron Harang (4-3) will oppose Shelby Miller (5-2) in the second game of the series Saturday. ... Friday was the first time that Santana has allowed five or more earned runs since Aug. 9, 2013, in a 9-6 win over Boston when he was with Kansas City. Air Max 90 Black Buy . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Air Max 90 Mens . Huntelaar also had a penalty saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. The two goals brought Huntelaars total for the season to 18, level with Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez for most in the league. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/ . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. Fake Air Max 90 Ultra Essential . -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday. Fake Air Max 90 Mens . Chelsea ripped apart Hull inside 25 minutes at Stamford Bridge, with the early goals from Oscar and Frank Lampard securing a 2-0 victory. While Lampard had earlier missed a penalty, Roberto Soldado had no such trouble from the spot for Tottenham, scoring on his debut to clinch a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Ryan threw for 322 yards and the Atlanta Falcons maligned defense rose to the occasion in a season-saving 30-14 victory over New Orleans that dropped the erratic Saints out of the NFC South race. Entering this critical divisional showdown ranked at the bottom of the NFL in total defense, pass defense and sacks, the Falcons put forth their best effort of the year on that side of the ball to set up a winner-take-all matchup with Carolina for the NFC South crown next Sunday at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta (6-9) held the Saints to 328 total yards and came up with five sacks and four takeaways, including a pivotal fumble from Jimmy Graham at the goal line early in the fourth quarter and Osi Umenyioras 86-yard fumble return touchdown on the final play. Im so proud of the effort they gave and the way they executed out there, said Ryan of the defense. They were the reason we got it done today. Ryan did his part as well, completing a sharp 30-of-40 passes with a touchdown and no turnovers. Julio Jones racked up 107 yards on seven catches after not practicing the entire week due to a hip injury. Drew Brees finished 30-of-47 for 313 yards and a touchdown to Graham, but was intercepted twice in the loss, the fifth straight at the Superdome for New Orleans (6-9). You have to be able to convert third downs. You have to go make some plays, said Brees. I know we missed some big-play opportunities in the passing game. You just have to sustain drives. We just havent been able to do that at home those two times. Brees second pick all but sealed the Saints fate. After New Orleans got the ball back at its own 10-yard line down just 20-14 with 2:40 left, Falcons cornerback Robert McClain jumped a route and snared the quarterbacks short pass intended for Nick Toon to place Atlanta deep in enemy territory. The turnover led to Matt Bryants third field goal of the day, a 32-yarder with 1:56 to go. It was a big-time play, said Falcons head coach Mike Smith of the interception. (McClain) got a great jump on the ball. Roberts continued to improve all season long. I know that some people had talked about him not making plays. He made the play when we needed the play made. The Saints managed to move inside the Atlanta 10 with time winding down, but the last-ditch effort turned into disaster when Kroy Biermann jarred the ball loose from Brees and Umenyiora scooped up the fumble before taking it the other way right as the clock expired. Atlanta also was able to withstand a brutal start to the game, as the Saints Jalen Saunders returned the opening kickoff 99 yards to the 1-yard line and Mark Ingram powered across the goal line on the next play, giving New Orleans a 7-0 edge a mere 20 seconds in. Those were the Saints lone two highlights of the first half, as the offense generated a paltry 78 yards over the initial ttwo quarters with the Falcons dominating the line of scrimmage.dddddddddddd. Brees was intercepted once and sacked three times, one on a second-quarter blitz from safety Dwight Lowery that took the team out of field goal range. Atlanta countered Ingrams quick score with Bryants 44-yard field goal on its first possession, set up by Ryans 36-yard strike to Devonta Freeman on a wheel route out of the backfield. The Falcons went three-and-out on their next two series, but a pair of Roddy White catches totaling 26 yards on Atlantas subsequent trek led to Bryant booting a 50-yard field goal that cut the lead to 7-6 early in the second quarter. Following another New Orleans punt, the Falcons put together their longest drive of the season -- a 15-play, 89-yard march in which Ryan completed nine passes and converted three third-down situations. The last, a 24-yard delivery to Jones on 3rd-and-10, put the ball on the 3- yard line with eight seconds on the first-half clock. Ryan then hit Eric Weems with a shovel toss on the ensuing snap to send Atlanta into the break owning a 13-7 advantage. An 86-yard drive that took just seven plays extended the Falcons margin in the third quarter, with Freeman capping the sequence by side-stepping a defender near the line of scrimmage and taking off for a 31-yard touchdown with 5:42 left in the period. Brees got the Saints into the red zone on the following possession, which came up empty as well when Graham was stood up by Dezmen Southward at the goal line on a 12-yard reception and Kemal Ishmael ripped the ball out of the star tight ends hands. Did I think it was a score? Yes, said Saints head coach Sean Payton of the play. The one look we had as they continued to show it looked pretty clear, and yet, it is what it is. They go back to New York now with that and its disappointing. New Orleans did put up points on its next series, driving nearly the entire length of the field and trimming the deficit to 20-14 when Graham came down with Brees 4-yard back-shoulder throw with 5:48 left to play. Game Notes The Falcons came in just 1-5 against New Orleans at the Superdome under Smith, while Brees owned a 7-1 mark versus Atlanta at home ... The Saints had won a franchise-record 11 straight home games prior to its present slide ... Atlanta running back Steven Jackson did not return from a quad injury sustained in the second quarter, with safety William Moore (shoulder) exiting for the Falcons in the third quarter ... Saints running back Pierre Thomas was forced from the contest in the second quarter with a foot injury ... Atlanta entered the game having recorded just 16 sacks through its first 14 outings ... Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards and three touchdowns in the teams Week 1 meeting, a 37-34 Atlanta victory in overtime. ' ' '