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| Lohse sharp again as Cardinals pound Mets ST. LOUIS 7, NY METS 1 |
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By Jim Walsh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Kyle Lohse is quietly becoming one of the best pitchers in the National League. Lohse took advantage of some early run support and pitched well over seven innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-1 victory over the New York Mets on Monday. Signed by St. Louis just two weeks before the start of the season, Lohse (10-2) matched a career high with his seventh straight victory. The 29-year-old righthander allowed only an unearned run with five hits and two walks while striking out four. "Tonight everything felt pretty good," said Lohse, who beat the Mets for the first time in five career starts. "I had a good curveball today and kept using it." Lohse became the fourth NL pitcher to reach 10 victories this season, a mark the seven-year veteran hadn't reached since 2003 with Minnesota. "I'm just being more consistent," Lohse said. "And the guys have been picking me up, scoring a lot of early runs for me and giving me a chance to relax and find a groove." "He was very good," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "That was high quality. I think he deserves as much consideration (as an All-Star selection) as anybody out there. Everything he's done is legitimate." St. Louis' offense took the pressure off Lohse early, scoring in each of the first five innings. Albert Pujols contributed RBI singles in the first and fourth innings while Chris Duncan added a two-run homer in the fifth to give the Cardinals their 7-1 cushion. "It was a good win for us," said Duncan, who had not connected for a home run since May 16. "Kyle pitched really well, we played good defense, and it was an all-around good win." St. Louis also took advantage of three Mets errors, scoring unearned runs in both the second and fourth innings. "We have to remind them how important it is to play good defense," said Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel on his team's second three-error game in their last five. "Errors are a part of the game but you would like to see a little better effort at times." New York starter John Maine (8-6) was lifted after only four innings. The righthander, who had won two straight, was tagged for five runs - three earned - with seven hits and three walks. "I noticed warming up, I didn't feel that great," Maine said. "Not feeling bad like sick, it was just my arm. I had no life on the ball, I had nothing and you could tell." Aaron Miles continued his hot hitting for St. Louis, collecting three singles while extending his hitting streak to 12 games. It was only the third loss for the Mets in their last 11 regular-season games against the Cardinals. Mark Mulder pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Cardinals, making the first relief appearance of his career in his season debut. The former 20-game winner has missed most of the last two seasons with a shoulder injury. "It's been a long time," said Mulder, who allowed two hits with one strikeout. "It felt nice to just get out their and get on the mound. It's been a lot of hard work." |
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