ST. LOUIS - Carlos Villanueva worked six solid innings backed by Juan Rivera's three-run homer, the only hit in a five-run third, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the sagging St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Saturday night.

Jaime Garcia (6-3) kept his home earned-run average at a minuscule 0.88 because four of the runs in Toronto's big inning were unearned due to third baseman Daniel Descalso's two-out throwing error. But the left-hander gave up Rivera's sixth homer the next at-bat and walked three in the inning, including Jose Bautista intentionally to load the bases.

Garcia had four strikeouts and four walks, one off his season high, in seven innings.

Edwin Encarnacion homered off Ryan Franklin's first pitch in the ninth and Aaron Hill added two hits and a walk for Toronto, which clinched the series win right after getting swept at Atlanta. Reliever Frank Francisco's two-out throwing error in the ninth gave the Cardinals an unearned run. St. Louis had the tying run at the plate before Ryan Theriot grounded out.

Theriot and Jon Jay had two hits apiece for the Cardinals, who have lost 11-of-14 and are 1-4 minus injured Albert Pujols. Matt Holliday was ejected for arguing a called third strike with two on and none out in the eighth and the next batter, Lance Berkman, grounded into an inning-ending double play against Marc Rzepczynski.

Garcia got himself in trouble when he walked Villanueva, a career .078 hitter in 64 at-bats, to start the third and then also walked leadoff man Yunel Escobar. Adam Lind had a sacrifice fly to tie it 1-1 the at-bat before Descalso made a diving stop on J.P. Arencibia's smash down the line but made a throw that forced Berkman to leap high above first base to snare the throw, and Berkman appeared to land on the bag about the same time as Arencibia's foot.

Rivera had been in a 2-for-12 slump and had totalled five RBIs this month before homering on a 1-0 pitch.

NOTES: New Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith threw out the first pitch, well wide of the plate, then had the ball autographed by Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan. ... Blue Jays manager John Farrell used all of his bench players Friday night. Toronto went to 12 pitchers to add flexibility during the interleague schedule. "Given the way the eighth and ninth innings unfolded we took our shot every opportunity that arose to try to push across a run," Farrell said. ... Garcia totalled five walks his previous four starts.