St. Louis ? Before Saturday, Scott Spiezio’s numbers as a pinch-hitter from the left side were just as futile as the St. Louis Cardinals’ record the last few weeks.

After Spiezio’s bases-loaded triple in the eighth inning beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2, both his 1-for-20 slump and his team’s late-season swoon are on the verge of becoming footnotes. The Cardinals, who had lost eight of the previous 10, cut their magic number for clinching a third straight NL Central title to one.

“Numbers to me don’t really matter,” Spiezio said. “Anything that happens in the past doesn’t matter, and if you start thinking about your numbers it can affect the future.

“I just go up there and try to keep everything simple, and that’s what I did.”

Second-place Houston defeated Atlanta, 5-4, on Saturday night, to remain 11â2 games behind.

“Nobody got to the point where we started getting down on our team,” Preston Wilson said after getting two hits and two stolen bases. “Nobody started pointing fingers.

“We just said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get it done.”‘

The Cardinals’ had a once-imposing seven-game lead with 12 games to go shaved to a half-game on Thursday before rallying behind a pair of retreads. Jeff Weaver, who won for the first time at home on Friday, had been released by the Angels.

St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols, left, tags out Milwaukee's Tony Gwynn Jr., who was caught between first and second base. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers, 3-2, Saturday in St. Louis.

Spiezio, 34, was the starting third baseman on the Angels’ 2002 World Series championship team. But he played in only 29 games last year for the Mariners before coming to the Cardinals as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

The switch-hitting Spiezio is 8-for-36 overall as a pinch-hitter with two homers and eight RBIs. He’s been much better in the lineup, batting .271 in 61 starts.

“He just had a couple of years where I don’t think physically he was himself,” manager Tony La Russa said. “Since the first day he showed up in spring training, he’s been very impressive.”

Batting for light-hitting catcher Yadier Molina, Spiezio cleared the bases on a 1-2 pitch from closer Francisco Cordero. Pinch-hitter Jeff Cirillo’s two-run single, his 1,000th hit with Milwaukee, had put the Brewers ahead.

“He came up big for them,” Cirillo said. “He’s really turned his career around and been a huge part of their team.”

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, who’s faltered in his last two starts, will oppose Carlos Villaneuva today.

St. Louis might have to play a makeup game against the Giants on Monday if it’s necessary to decide the division. And if it’s tied after that, a one-game playoff would be Tuesday in Houston after the Astros won a coin flip.