Cardinals 6, Braves 3: Matt Holliday homered and scored twice as visiting St. Louis took advantage of a slew of errors and a controversial call to sneak past Atlanta and into the National League Division Series.

Kyle Lohse (1-0) was strong through 5 2/3 innings and Allen Craig chipped in two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who will take on the top-seeded Washington Nationals in the Division Series.

Chipper Jones went 1-for-5 with a strikeout in his final game and made the key error in the fourth inning, throwing a possible double-play ball into right field to start a three-run rally for St. Louis. Dan Uggla and Andrelton Simmons also committed errors that led to runs.

Down 6-3 in the eighth inning, Atlanta appeared to be mounting a comeback with a walk and a single when Simmons sent a high fly to medium-depth left field. The ball dropped between Holliday and shortstop Pete Kozma but left field umpire Sam Holbrook called an infield fly, making Simmons out and robbing the Braves of a bases-loaded situation.

The fans took out their frustrations at that point, hurling debris onto the field and causing a lengthy delay. Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez placed the game under protest.

The Braves grabbed a 2-0 lead on David Ross’ two-run homer in the second and Kris Medlen (0-1) did not allow a run through the first three innings. Carlos Beltran led off the fourth with a single for the Cardinals before Holliday sent a sharp grounder to third that Jones fielded cleanly before firing over the head of Uggla at second.

Craig immediately made Atlanta pay for the error with an RBI double and Yadier Molina followed with an RBI groundout before David Freese’s sacrifice fly put St. Louis on top. Holliday lined a solo homer to left in the sixth and Uggla and Simmons each committed errors in a two-run seventh inning that extended the lead to 6-2.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Louis closer Jason Motte came on after the delay and issued a walk to load the bases before striking out Michael Bourn to end the threat. Motte allowed a pair of hits in the ninth but completed the save. … The Braves had won a major league-record 23 straight games started by Medlen. The right-hander was charged with five runs (two earned) on three hits in 6 2/3 innings. … Simmons was called for interference in the fourth when he angled into the infield trying to beat out a bunt. The throw glanced off his helmet and allowed a run to score, but Simmons was called out and the runner directed back to the base.