Cardinals drop regular season finale to Braves 2-0

ATLANTA -- Matt Wisler pitched four-hit ball over 8 2/3 innings, and the Atlanta Braves beat St. Louis 2-0 Sunday for a doubleheader sweep that sent Cardinals' batters to the playoffs with a 27-inning scoreless streak.

St. Louis was held to seven hits in the doubleheader, which included a 6-0 loss to Shelby Miller in the first game that ended Miller's 24-start winless streak. The Braves won 4-0 Friday.

Wisler (8-8) won each of his last three starts, allowing a combined three runs.

Pinch-hitter Brandon Moss doubled with one out in the ninth to become the Cardinals' first runner in scoring position off Wisler. Jon Jay hit a groundout to first, Tommy Pham walked and Edwin Jackson struck out Randal Grichuk to end the game.

St. Louis, which won its third straight NL Central title, opens the Division Series at home Friday against the Chicago Cubs or Pittsburgh.

Hector Olivera's single drove in Michael Bourn in the first off Lance Lynn (12-11), who allowed one run and seven hits in five innings.

Miller held his former Cardinals teammates to three hits through eight innings.

"As a team, we haven't been this excited in a long time," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Miller's drought was the longest in the majors since Chris Volstad's 24-game streak from July 17, 2011 to Aug. 19, 2012. It was the longest streak by a Braves starting pitcher since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.

"You don't expect to go out there and finish that well," Miller said, adding he couldn't avoid talk of his streak.

Miller (6-17) struck out seven and walked three. He had been 0-16 since winning at Miami on May 17 despite a 3.83 ERA in that span. He finished with a 3.02 ERA, best among Atlanta starters, and topped 200 innings for the first time.

"He's pitched some of the best baseball I've ever seen pitched and not get credit for it," Gonzalez said. "We got him the win today and he doesn't have to worry about answering all these questions in spring training."

John Lackey (13-10) allowed three runs over four innings in a postseason tuneup.

St. Louis started its normal lineup, but Matheny replaced four starters -- Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta and Jason Heyward -- by the sixth inning.

"I think we got the guys tuned up that we wanted to get tuned up," Matheny said. "Got the feel of the game and that's what we were hoping for."

A GOOD 100

St. Louis (100-62) had its first 100-win season since 2005, when the Cardinals finished 100-62. They won 105 games in 2004.

LESS IMPRESSIVE 100

The Braves finished last in the majors in homers. Adonis Garcia hit two homers and Andrelton Simmons added a two-run drive in the first game, giving Atlanta 100.

REMEMBERING 1990

Atlanta finished with 67 wins, under 70 wins in a full season for the first time since 1990, when it was 65-97. The Braves were 68-46 in the strike-shortened 1994 season. The attendance of 31,441 left the season total at 2,001,391, allowing the Braves to barely avoid finishing below 2 million for the first time since 1990. The 2014 total was 2,354,305.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cardinals: RF Stephen Piscotty was 0 for 4 in the first game in his return to the lineup six days after he sustained a concussion in an outfield collision with teammate Peter Bourjos.

Braves: C Ryan Lavarnway started both games because of injuries to catchers Christian Bethancourt (thumb) and A.J. Pierzynski (knee shin). Despite his injury, Pierzynski emerged from the center-field wall during the tool mascot race between the fifth and sixth innings of the second game. He leveled the paint brush and hammer characters with body blocks. Seeing this, the smallest character, "Phil the bucket," turned around and ran back to the start line in the right-field tunnel.