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| Seven-run inning lifts Cards past Astros ST LOUIS 8, HOUSTON 4 |
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By Ted Dunnam PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals made it easy for ace Adam Wainwright on Saturday night. The hard-throwing right-hander just wishes he could have returned the favor a bit longer for his teammates. Troy Glaus and Ryan Ludwick both homered in a seven-run second inning as the St. Louis Cardinals cruised to an 8-4 triumph over the Houston Astros. Skip Schumaker, who finished a home run shy of the cycle, went 3-for-5 and also tripled in two runs in the same inning off Astros starter Shawn Chacon (2-2). Adam Wainwright (6-3), who allowed two runs and seven hits with four strikeouts, picked up his third win of the season against the Astros before leaving the game in the sixth inning with a sprained right middle finger. "It was bothering me warming up in the bullpen," Wainwright said. "I kept cracking the finger, hoping it would get better. "After that last pitch to (Darin) Erstad, I just couldn't go anymore. I hated it because I could have gone seven (innings) and saved our bullpen." Hunter Pence and Miguel Tejada had solo home runs for Houston, which lost for the eighth time in its last 10 games. Glaus led off the decisive second inning with his seventh home run of the season. Adam Kennedy then drew a one-out walk and Wainwright singled before Schumaker's triple plated both to give the Cardinals a 3-0 advantage. Brian Barton's run-scoring double gave St. Louis a 4-0 bulge. Chacon then intentionally walked Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick made the Astros pay with a three-run shot - his 14th home run of the season - to deep left-center. Schumaker had three-fourths of the cycle accomplished by the fourth inning, but couldn't complete the rare feat. "That ball I hit to center field -- that's all I've got," Schumaker said. "If I had needed a single, then I might have gotten the cycle. I can't hit it any farther than I hit that one to center." Schumaker seemed more relieved to know that Wainwright's injury didn't appear to be serious. "We've had a tough four days," Schumaker said. "It was important to get a good win today. That's our ace (Wainwright) out there, and you don't like to see your ace go down. Hopefully, it's something minor and he's out for just a couple of days." Glaus knows that the Cardinals need contributions from everyone when injuries mount and certain players aren't hitting. "You can't rely on one guy every night," Glaus said. "Pretty soon, they'll stop pitching to him. In this game, it takes nine guys every night." Pence drove in a pair of Houston's runs with a solo home run in the fifth inning and an infield single in the sixth. The Astros know that runs against Wainwright prove hard to come by. "He's got four good pitches he locates, and he never leaves a ball out over the plate," Pence said. "He can put his fastball anywhere he wants. Tejada's seventh home run of the season in the seventh pulled the Astros within three at 7-4, but a sacrifice fly by Yadier Molina plated Ludwick for the final margin in the ninth inning. Chacon was blunt about his performance. "I was leaving balls out over the plate," Chacon said. "I didn't have a good breaking ball - my slider or curve. In the second inning, you can do down the list of what not to do and I did it." |
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