Ryan Lavarnway (left) is congratulated by Alex Hassan on his two-run homer on Tuesday. (Carlos Osorio/AP)

JUPITER, Fla. -- The heart of the Cardinals' lineup provided some sparks Tuesday, but a watered-down split-squad installment of the Red Sox's roster had some big innings in it, too.

Ultimately, the Red Sox won out, beating the Cards, 8-7, in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,983 at Roger Dean Stadium, on the might of Ryan Lavarnway's two-run homer in the eighth.

The offense came early and often in this one. Perhaps predictably, the Cards, fielding a lineup that was nearly Opening Day-appropriate, struck quickly against likely Double-A target Stolmy Pimentel. But Jaime Garcia had his fair share of trouble, too. In three innings of work, he was roughed up for three runs on seven hits with three walks.

Garcia had early backing when Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday ripped consecutive run-scoring hits in the first. Pujols doubled home Ryan Theriot, and Holliday singled home Pujols to make it 2-0.

But the Red Sox answered back against Garcia in the second. With one on and two out, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled on a liner to left to score Mark Wagner, and Darnell McDonald's single scored Ellsbury to even the score.

The Red Sox took the lead in the third, on an RBI single from Yamaico Navarro. But the Cards would take it back with a five-run fifth off Jason Rice.

The big inning began with a Pujols single. Holliday doubled to put two runners in scoring position, and Lance Berkman, playing his fourth consecutive game at designated hitter, capitalized with an RBI single. Backup catcher Gerald Laird followed with a single of his own to send another runner home and make it 4-3.

Rice's troubles continued when he walked Allen Craig to load the bases, and then walked Matt Carpenter, who is having a strong spring camp, to bring in yet another run. Theriot's ensuing RBI single scored Laird, and Craig came in to score when John Jay reached on second baseman Oscar Tejeda's fielding error.

It was a 7-4 game entering the eighth, but the Red Sox erupted off Brandon Dickson. With two on and one out, Alex Hassan doubled to center to score both runners. And Lavarnway followed with a towering two-run shot to left -- his first of the spring -- to make it 8-7.

The Cards had a chance to tie it in the bottom of the eighth, when Nick Stavinoha seemingly came in to score on a Laird double off Lenny DiNardo. But Stavinoha didn't touch home plate as he slid in, and Red Sox catcher Tim Federowicz tagged him out as he walked back toward the St. Louis dugout.

Up next for the Cardinals: The Cards will be packing their bags for the only overnight trip of the spring Wednesday, when they'll head north to Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to face the Braves on consecutive days. David Freese will play Wednesday, marking his third spring appearance in his return from surgery on both ankles. He had two hits and three RBIs in his spring debut Monday. Kyle Lohse will get the 12:05 p.m. CT start against the Braves.

Up next for the Red Sox: Clay Buchholz, who didn't allow a run in his first two Grapefruit League outings, will start Wednesday night's 7:05 p.m. ET game against the Orioles. Bobby Jenks and Scott Atchison will both be used out of the bullpen. Mike Cameron, who has been out the last few days with left knee soreness, will return to the lineup and serve as the designated hitter.