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| Pujols, Wellemeyer carry Cardinals past Pirates ST LOUIS 5, PITTSBURGH 4 |
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By Thad Kemlage PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Albert Pujols continues to tear up National League pitching as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pujols homered and Todd Wellemeyer tossed seven strong innings as the St. Louis Cardinals held on for a 5-4 victory over the Pirates on Friday night. Pujols has 10 hits in his last 18 at-bats, raising his season average to .364. The 2005 NL MVP's first-inning homer off Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke (2-4) gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. "My only thing with (Pujols) is, I just want to make my pitches because he can change the game, like he did," Duke said. "I didn't quite execute the pitch, and he does what he does." Pujols now is batting .550 (11-for-20) with five RBI against Pittsburgh this season. Wellemeyer (6-1), who has defeated the Pirates twice this year, allowed just one run and six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He has gone 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA this month. "The last four years in the majors, I feel more comfortable out there," Wellemeyer said. "I kind of feel like I belong out there. They gave me an opportunity, and now I'm going to make the best of it." "(Wellemeyer) continues to do a lot of good things," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "His concentration is getting better and better. " The Cardinals added two insurance runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Cesar Izturis and Joe Mather, who was making his major league debut. "It was unbelievable," Mather said. "Everything I could have asked for and more. The fans were awesome and it was very surreal." However, Pittsburgh rallied in the ninth as Freddy Sanchez's single loaded the bases for Jason Michaels, who laced a three-run double into the left-field corner with two outs. But Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin induced Nate McLouth - who homered in the first inning - to ground out, ending the threat and notching his fifth save. "We just couldn't quite get over the hump early, and it ended up costing us at the end," Pirates manager John Russell said. Duke (2-4) gave up three runs - two earned - and five hits in six innings. The lefthander fell to 0-2 with a 4.62 ERA in his last three starts. "I'm glad I kept us in the game, but at the same time, I didn't really pitch well enough to win," Duke said. |
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