Jaime Garcia and Cardinals handcuff Mets 5-1

Jaime Garcia has always been a better pitcher at Busch Stadium than on the road. The New York Mets saw just how much better the lefty can be.

Garcia carried a shutout into the eighth inning and Yadier Molina got his 1,000th career hit with an infield single that started a three-run second against rookie Matt Harvey in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-1 victory Tuesday night.

For his career, Garcia is 18-11 with a 2.42 ERA at home, and 13-11 with a 4.59 ERA on the road. The disparity is more than three earned runs per game this year, 2.63 vs. 5.80.

"You don't ignore trends. Statistics are what they are, it's data," manager Mike Matheny said. "But there's no great explanation for it because he has good stuff. He has better than good stuff — he has great stuff."

Asked twice about the comforts of home after the game, Garcia had little to offer.

"It's part of the game sometimes," he said. "Sometimes, you feel good at home. But I don't know."

Daniel Descalso and David Freese had two hits and an RBI apiece for the Cardinals, who are 42-26 at home for the second-best mark in the National League.

St. Louis will go for a three-game sweep Wednesday with Adam Wainwright facing 17-game winner R.A. Dickey.

The defending World Series champions have a slim lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL's second wild card.

Descalso botched a double-play grounder in the eighth but also stole third in the sixth, putting him in position to score on John Jay's groundout against Justin Hampson that made it 4-0.

Holliday left the game with lower back tightness after walking to start the seventh. The Cardinals said Holliday, among the league leaders with 92 RBIs, was day to day.