Cardinals 12, Nationals 4: Carlos Beltran homered twice and Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso each added a solo blast as host St. Louis broke through early and evened the National League Division Series at one game apiece.

Jon Jay chipped in three RBIs to go along with stellar defense in center field and David Freese doubled in a run during a four-run second inning for the Cardinals, who got seven strong frames from the bullpen. The series shifts to Washington for Game 3 on Wednesday.

St. Louis turned the game in the second inning. Freese’s double tied it and Descalso put the Cardinals ahead with a single to right. Manager Mike Matheny made the decision to replace struggling starter Jaime Garcia with pinch hitter Skip Schumaker, who kept the rally going with an RBI groundout before Jay’s single made it 4-1.

Garcia allowed one run, two hits, walked three and struck out three. He was replaced by Lance Lynn (1-0), who struck out five and surrendered two runs on three hits in three innings to pick up the win.

Jordan Zimmermann (0-1) lasted only three innings for the Nationals, allowing five runs on seven hits. Craig provided the lowlight for Zimmermann, sending a third-inning solo home run off the facing of the third deck down the left field line.

Descalso added his solo shot in a two-run fifth inning and Beltran went to the same spot as Craig in the sixth, blasting a line drive off the third deck. Beltran put it away in the eighth, sending a two-run blast into the bleachers in left off Sean Burnett.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche hit back-to-back solo homers off Lynn in the fifth inning. … Neither team recorded an extra-base hit in Game 1, the first time that had happened in a postseason contest since 1999. They combined for 11 extra-base hits Monday. … Zimmermann fell to 0-3 with a 9.73 ERA in six career starts against St. Louis. … Edwin Jackson is scheduled to start for the Nationals on Wednesday opposite Chris Carpenter.