Volstad’s arm, Davis’ slam lift Florida over St. Louis 4-0, another blow to Cardinals’ hopes

Davis, Volstad lift Marlins past Cardinals 4-0

MIAMI — Chris Volstad threw a five-hitter for his second career shutout, Brad Davis hit a grand slam off Chris Carpenter and the Florida Marlins dealt St. Louis’ dimming playoff hopes a blow by beating the Cardinals 4-0 on Monday.

The loss dropped St. Louis 6½ games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central. The Reds played later at Milwaukee.

Davis’ first career slam came in the second inning, the first surrendered by Carpenter (15-8) in 3,699 at-bats since June 12, 2004.

Volstad (10-9) struck out three for the Marlins, who lost the first six games of their current homestand. Monday’s game was a makeup following a rainout on Aug. 8, and the teams needed only 1 hour, 52 minutes to finish.

His other shutout was July 8, 2009 at San Francisco.