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| Glaus, Ankiel overpower Peavy, Padres ST. LOUIS 4, SAN DIEGO 3 |
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By Thad Kemlage PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The All-Star break failed to slow Troy Glaus. The slugging third baseman hit two of St. Louis' four solo home runs, helping the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Thursday. Glaus hit his 16th and 17th homers off San Diego ace Jake Peavy (7-6), giving him his second multi-home run performance of the season. Glaus has reached base in 14 of his last 17 plate appearances and homered in each of his last three games. "He's not just piling up stats, he's piling up clutch hits when we need them," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He's really having a nice year, especially when you consider those few weeks when he struggled." Rick Ankiel belted his team-leading 21st home run to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning. The next batter, Glaus put St. Louis ahead with his second blast of the night. "When you're facing a guy like that, you've got to take advantage of every opportunity you have," said Glaus, who boasts a .467 career average with four home runs against Peavy. Peavy struck out seven in seven innings but gave up four runs - all homers - and eight hits. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner had allowed only eight home runs in his 15 previous starts this season. "That will never happen in Jake's career again, giving up four home runs in one game," Padres manager Bud Black said. Kyle Lohse (12-2) won his career-high ninth straight decision, yielding only two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Lohse, who walked two and struck out four, improved to 9-0 with a 2.22 ERA over his last 11 starts. "A lot goes into that streak," Lohse said. "The guys picked me up. They played some great defense and gave me enough run support." The Cardinals fell behind, 2-1, when Edgar Gonzalez swatted his fourth homer of the season - a solo shot - in the third inning. But Lohse settled down and retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced. "I kinda struggled getting in a groove early on in the game, but I think later in the game, I got it going and found that groove I needed to get in," Lohse said. Kyle McClellan and Ron Villone combined for a scoreless eighth and Ryan Franklin yielded a run but stranded a runner at third in the ninth to notch his 13th save. Pinch hitter Joe Mather hit St. Louis' fourth solo home run in the seventh, his second of the season. "I've got to make a better pitch in that situation with my team losing in a one-run game," Peavy said. "There's no excuses for that, and it ended up costing us the game." |
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