LOS ANGELES - The St. Louis Cardinals played like champions in their NL division series against Los Angeles. In defeat, the Dodgers displayed the kind of class and sportsmanship seldom seen in professional sports.

Jeff Suppan settled down after a shaky start to pitch seven strong innings, Albert Pujols hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fourth, and the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 6-2 Sunday night to win the best-of-five series 3-1.

The Cardinals will play in their third NL championship series in five years, starting Wednesday night in St. Louis against Houston or Atlanta.

The Dodgers are going home for the winter, having failed in their third attempt to win a postseason series since they beat Oakland in the 1988 World Series.

When it was over, after Jason Isringhausen struck out Alex Cora for the final out, there was no immediate celebration by the Cardinals, and the Dodgers didn't walk back to their clubhouse.

Instead, while the Cardinals were quietly congratulating each other, the Dodgers went out on the field to greet them and shake their hands.

"That's the first time I've seen a team doing that to the other ballclub when they were the losing ballclub, and I think that was very special," Pujols said.

"Everybody just wanted to go out there and just wish them luck," Dodgers star Adrian Beltre said.

While common at the end of NHL playoff series, teams shaking hands on the field after a series is a rarity in baseball.

It did happen after Minnesota's 1-0, 10-inning win over Atlanta in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series - one of the most exciting postseason matchups in baseball history.

"I think it was a professional show of class between two very classy organizations," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. "To play this series the way it was played with the intensity it was played, it said a lot."

The Cardinals, a major league-best 105-57 during the regular season, are trying to become the first team with the top regular-season record to win the World Series since the 1998 New York Yankees.

"They're probably going to win the World Series," Dodgers closer Eric Gagne said. "We got beat by the world champions."

Pujols had two hits, a walk and four RBI. He went 5-for-15 with two homers in the series.

"Albert is a tremendous player, he does amazing things out there," Suppan said. "With him and everyone else, it's the best team I've been on."

The teams were tied 2-2 entering the fourth. Pujols came to the plate with runners at first and second and two outs against reliever Wilson Alvarez.

With the struggling Scott Rolen on deck, Alvarez grooved a 3-1 fastball. Pujols connected, and as his towering fly ball sailed just over left fielder Jayson Werth into the lower left-field stands, the raucous crowd of 56,268 - largest in Dodger Stadium history - went silent.

In Houston, Nothing could discourage the Atlanta Braves - not Roger Clemens, not a three-run deficit, not the frenzied crowd at Minute Maid Park.The Braves pounced on Houston's bullpen as soon as the Rocket was gone, rallying for a 6-5 victory Sunday that tied the best-of-five NL series at two games apiece.Adam LaRoche hit a tying, three-run homer in the sixth inning, and J.D. Drew singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth, handing the Astros their latest agonizing loss in October and forcing the series back to Atlanta. It will conclude Monday night at Turner Field."The odds were stacked against us on the road, in a dome and in a hostile environment," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. "But we never felt like we were ever out of the game."After two easy wins by Houston and two late-inning comebacks by Atlanta, only one game is left to determine who will advance.Jaret Wright, the Game 1 loser, starts for the Braves against Roy Oswalt, the NL's only 20-game winner. Oswalt didn't get a decision in Game 2 and will pitch on three days' rest."It's never easy for this team. So here we go," said Clemens who left after five innings with a 5-2 lead.