ST. LOUIS — Maybe it takes two Carpenters to build a second championship season in a row. If that’s the case, the Cardinals have them.

There’s Chris Carpenter, the grizzled veteran of the Cardinals rotation, and there’s rookie utilityman Matt Carpenter, who entered Wednesday’s NLCS Game 3 in right field as a replacement for Carlos Beltran, who left the game after one at-bat with a strain of his left knee. Carpenter belted what proved to be the game-winning two-run homer on a 2-2 slider from Matt Cain in the third inning.