ST. LOUIS — Jason Motte had a lot more time than usual to get ready, learning the plan before the grounds crew took the tarp off the field. It was nice to get some advance notice before going for the first two-inning save of his career under October pressure.

The San Francisco Giants went six up and six down against the St. Louis Cardinals’ hard-throwing closer, thrust into an extended appearance by a rain delay that lasted longer than Game 3 of the NLCS. Motte needed just 19 pitches to complete a 3-1 victory that was worth the wait Wednesday night, putting the defending World Series champions up 2-1 in the series against the 2010 World Series titlists.

“I’ve never had a situation where I’ve known that far ahead of time,” said Motte, who has saved both of St. Louis’ victories in the NLCS and has three saves in the postseason. “You know, you’re usually watching the game and you prepare yourself that way.

“I went to the bullpen a little early and got my arm loose and I was able to get the job done.”

Rookie Matt Carpenter hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the NLCS after subbing for the injured Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals chased Matt Cain just before a 3½-hour rain delay in the seventh inning.

Beltran strained his left knee running out a double-play ball in the first inning and manager Mike Matheny said he was day to day. He’s had issues with the knee throughout the season, but played in 151 games and had 619 at-bats, his most since 2008.

Cardinals pitchers made the lead stand up, beginning with Kyle Lohse, who worked around a season-worst five walks in 5 2-3 innings. The 16-game winner is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA this postseason after escaping several jams,.