St. Louis, MO (Best E Casino) - Troy Glaus belted two of the Cardinals four solo homers, and St. Louis staved off a ninth inning rally to hold on for a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a four-game set at Busch Stadium.

Kyle Lohse (12-2) held San Diego to two runs on seven hits in seven innings for the Cardinals, who have won three of their last four overall. Lohse won his ninth straight decision, tying Arizona's Brandon Webb for the longest win streak in the majors this season. Ryan Franklin was rocky in the ninth but earned his 13th save.

Joe Mather and Rick Ankiel also homered for the Cardinals.

Edgar Gonzalez went 2-for-4, homered and scored two runs for the Padres, losers of three straight and four of their last five. Kevin Kouzmanoff went 2- for-3 and knocked in a run, while Chase Headley added a run-scoring double.

Jake Peavy (7-6) allowed all four runs on eight hits in seven frames, striking out seven and walking none. The right-hander added a pair of hits in three at- bats.

Leading 4-2, Franklin came on to try and nail down the save but immediately surrendered a double to Kouzmanoff. Headley followed with a smash of the wall in left-center to score the run and pull San Diego within one. But, Franklin recovered, striking out pinch-hitter Brian Myrow before retiring Nick Hundley and pinch-hitter Luis Rodriguez on grounders to escape with the win.

The Padres picked up a lead in the top of the first, as Gonzalez singled with one out, then later scored on Kouzmanoff's single. But, Glaus tied the game in the second, ripping a hanging slider from Peavy over the wall in left.

Gonzalez countered in the third, putting the Padres back in front with a lead-off homer.

However, back-to-back blasts in the fourth would give St. Louis the lead for good. With one out, Ankiel crushed a change-up over the fence in right-center. Glaus followed by smashing a 1-2 fastball to left for his second blast of the night.

Mather's pinch-hit blast added an insurance run in the seventh, then Ron Villone and Kyle McClellan backed up Lohse by tossing a perfect eighth.

Game Notes

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, who hasn't pitched this season while recovering from "Tommy John" elbow surgery, will begin a rehab assignment Sunday with Double-A Springfield...Before the game, the Padres traded first baseman Tony Clark to Arizona in exchange for pitcher Evan Scribner...Lohse's 12 wins are his most since 2003, when he was 14-11 in 33 starts with the Twins.