Brad Davis hit a grand slam in the second inning and Chris Volstad turned in one of the best starts of his young career as the Florida Marlins shut out the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, on Monday afternoon.

Dan Uggla doubled and scored and rookie Gaby Sanchez added a single and a run scored for the Marlins (73-75), who snapped a six-game slide.

Chris Carpenter (15-8) started for the Cardinals and ran into trouble just once. Uggla led off the second with his double and Sanchez drew a walk before Chad Tracy’s deep flyout pushed the runners up to second and third.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa then elected to intentionally walk rookie Mike Stanton to load the bases in front of Davis, who made him pay for that decision by driving a 2-0 pitch deep into the left field stands.

That would be all Volstad (10-9) needed as the right-hander allowed just five hits while walking two and striking out three in the second shutout of his career.

Volstad had not pitched since Sept. 12 due to a six-game suspension imposed by Major League Baseball for his role in a brawl with the Washington Nationals.

The Cardinals fell to 77-71 on the season.