St. Louis, MO (My Sportsbook) - Jim Edmonds stroked a bases-loaded double to highlight a six-run sixth inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals rolled to a 10-7 win over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium.

Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer and Larry Walker finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI for St. Louis, which took a 1-0 lead in the best-of- seven series with Game 2 slated for Thursday night at Busch Stadium.

"You hope to get out to a quick start," Walker said. "Hopefully tomorrow we'll win another one."

The Cardinals were coming off a Division Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games.

Carlos Beltran continued to swing a hot bat this postseason with a two-run homer in the loss. Jeff Kent and Lance Berkman also belted two-run blasts for the Astros, who just defeated Atlanta in the NLDS for their first playoff series triumph in the 43-year history of the franchise.

Mike Lamb hit a solo home run in the loss -- Houston's first in the last five games versus St. Louis.

After the Cardinals tied the game with two runs in the fifth inning, they tacked on six more in the sixth to take the lead for good.

Relief pitcher Chad Qualls (0-1) was on the mound for Houston and gave up consecutive singles to Edgar Renteria and Reggie Sanders. Mike Matheny then grounded out to move both runners up a base and Roger Cedeno did the same, scoring Renteria for a 5-4 lead.

Tony Womack followed with an RBI single, stole second and crossed the plate when Astros shortstop Jose Vizcaino misfired to first on a roller by Walker. After Pujols was walked Chad Harville relieved Qualls and walked Scott Rolen in five pitches. Edmonds then sealed the win with a bases-clearing double to the wall in right field for a 10-4 advantage. Renteria was up again but grounded out to end the marathon inning.

Qualls surrendered five runs on five hits and one walk in one-plus innings of work for the loss.

Houston got two runs back in the eighth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Berkman. Beltran singled leading off and Berkman went deep one out later. Lamb then completed the scoring with a solo homer in the ninth.

Houston starter Brandon Backe, pitching on three days' rest, yielded four runs and five hits through 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Woody Williams (2-0), a Houston native, pitched the first six innings for the Cardinals and allowed four runs on four hits. Williams, who doubled and scored a run, also walked a batter and struck out five for the victory.

"He kept them in the ballgame," Astros manager Phil Garner said of Williams. "That's all you can ask from your starter."

Jason Isringhausen got the final out of the ninth inning for his first save of the postseason.

Beltran continued where he left off from the divisional round and belted a two-run homer in the first inning. Craig Biggio led off with a single to center and Beltran followed with a line-drive homer to right field. Beltran had four homers versus the Braves.

The Cardinals evened the score at 2-2 in the bottom half courtesy of Pujols' two-run shot. Walker hit a one-out triple over a diving Berkman in right and came home when Pujols sent a 2-0 pitch to the bullpen in right field. Pujols has three homers in the postseason.

"We live with the longball, but we also do the little things," Pujols said.

Kent got into the action with a two-run homer of his own, giving the Astros a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning. Jeff Bagwell drew a leadoff walk but was out at second after Berkman grounded into a fielder's choice. Kent then stepped to the plate and clubbed Williams' 1-2 offering over the wall in left.

"We hit the ball pretty well, but we didn't tack on (runs) like we were accustomed to," Garner added. "We just want to score one more run than they do."

Backe got himself out of a jam in the home half. With one out and runners on first and second, Backe induced Sanders to ground into an inning-ending double play.

St. Louis pushed a pair of runs across in the fifth to even the score again. Williams got things going with a one-out double to right and took third when Womack grounded out. Backe then lost control and Walker ripped an RBI double to left field. Pujols then walked and Qualls took over for Backe. Rolen welcomed Qualls with an RBI single, but the reliever struck out Edmonds to prevent further damage.