ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Ben Brown pitched seven strong innings and Pete Crow-Armstrong collected four hits, including a home run, as the Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Saturday at Busch Stadium III.

Brown allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out six to improve to 2-2. Crow-Armstrong went 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Nico Hoerner added two hits and an RBI.

The Cubs broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the fifth, then scored two in the sixth on an RBI single by Hoerner and a sacrifice fly by Michael Busch. Crow-Armstrong’s single in the ninth drove in two more.

St. Louis scored its only run in the fourth on an Alec Burleson single after a leadoff double.

Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy allowed six hits and one earned run over 4 1/3 innings. Ryan Fernandez took the loss, dropping to 1-1.

Attendance was 40,147. The game lasted 2:56. The Cubs improved to 32-27; the Cardinals fell to 30-26.