ATLANTA -- When the Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt, locked him up to a five-year extension and began revolving their offense around him, their intention was clear: To turn the middle of their lineup into a minefield for opposing managers to step into, a place their opponents¡¯ best-laid pitching plans could be laid to waste. October stages like Thursday¡¯s were the kind they hoped Goldschmidt would help them reach, and the kind they got him to perform on.

Both scenarios came to pass simultaneously on Thursday. Goldschmidt¡¯s first postseason moment as a member of the Cardinals was at the center of their 7-6 National League Division Series Game 1 win over the Braves at SunTrust Park. Goldschmidt¡¯s eighth-inning solo homer off Luke Jackson was the catalyst for the Cards¡¯ comeback, setting the stage for two late rallies to help St. Louis cling onto its first playoff victory in four years.

Goldschmidt¡¯s homer was the spark, trimming the Cardinals¡¯ deficit to one and awakening an offense that had spent the prior seven innings largely in a slumber.

¡°You¡¯re down 3-1, their guys are getting some outs, we¡¯re still taking some good at-bats, just nothing to show for it,¡± manager Mike Shildt said. ¡°And then Goldy gets into one and you know you¡¯re a swing away.¡±

Goldschmidt's teammates did the rest, as the Cards used big hits from Matt Carpenter, Marcell Ozuna and Kolten Wong to build a four-run cushion. They¡¯d need it when Carlos Martínez coughed up three runs in the ninth. But the fact that Mart¨ªnez was even in the game was the result of what happened when Goldschmidt stepped into the box in the eighth.

¡°You¡¯re always aware of where [Goldschmidt] is at in the lineup, and it¡¯s big,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°It actually lined up just how I wanted to.¡±

It unfolded vastly differently. Snitker called on right-hander Chris Martin to face Goldschmidt, Ozuna and Yadier Molina, the right-handed heart of the Cardinals¡¯ order. But Martin never factored in; he exited the game with a tight left oblique before throwing an official pitch. Snitker scrambled to replace him with Jackson, his at-times volatile former closer who now profiles as a secondary middle-inning option. Goldschmidt crushed Jackson¡¯s second pitch 446 feet into SunTrust Park¡¯s second left-field deck.

¡°That's a big at-bat right there. When Martin went down, I just hoped that maybe Luke could get us through three outs and get the ball to [Mark] Melancon,¡± Snitker said. ¡°Anytime you get something like that to get you a run closer, that's huge in a game like that.¡±

? Cards-Braves position-by-position breakdown

Said Martin: ¡°I¡¯d have rather just been out there. It sucks. I¡¯ve never had that happen.¡±

Carpenter¡¯s pinch-hit RBI single tied the game off Melancon later in the frame, and St. Louis tacked on four more off Melancon in the ninth.

For the Cards, it was a break that morphed into a collective boon. It also served as a snapshot of the impact a hitter like Goldschmidt can have in October, when every out and chess move -- and muscle tweak -- is magnified. When one swing can swing a series.

¡°Definitely got some life back to us, but I don¡¯t want to minimize that we didn¡¯t have life before,¡± Shildt said. ¡°But when you get down 3-1, the next thing you know, boom. 3-2, and here we go. Big swing.¡±