NL: CINCINNATI at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CINCINNATI (2) AT ST LOUIS (3) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ST LOUIS 6TH: R Ankiel homered to right. R Ludwick doubled to deep left center. J Edmonds flied out to right. C Duncan struck out swinging. A Miles doubled to deep center, R Ludwick scored. G Bennett intentionally walked. B Looper struck out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 2. ST LOUIS 7TH: B Ryan singled to center. D Eckstein grounded out to first, B Ryan to second. J Keppinger at third base. B Bray relieved B Arroyo. A Gonzalez at shortstop. B Ryan stole third. R Ankiel hit sacrifice fly to right, B Ryan scored. R Ludwick struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 3. CINCINNATI 8TH: R Franklin relieved B Looper. J Valentin hit for D Ross. J Valentin popped out to shortstop. A Gonzalez singled to center. J Hamilton doubled to left center, A Gonzalez to third. J Keppinger singled to right, A Gonzalez scored, J Hamilton to third. K Griffey Jr struck out swinging. B Phillips struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 1, ST LOUIS 3. CINCINNATI 9TH: Y Molina catching. M Cairo at first base. J Isringhausen relieved R Franklin. A Dunn singled to left. S Hatteberg singled to right, A Dunn to third. N Hopper hit for B Bray. N Hopper hit sacrifice fly to center, A Dunn scored. J Valentin flied out to right. J Ellison ran for S Hatteberg. A Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to third, J Ellison out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 2, ST LOUIS 3.</div>
NL: CINCINNATI at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CINCINNATI (2) AT ST LOUIS (3) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cincinnati Starting Lineups -- J Hamilton CF, J Keppinger SS, K Griffey Jr RF, B Phillips 2B, A Dunn LF, S Hatteberg 1B, E Encarnacion 3B, D Ross C, B Arroyo RHP. St Louis Starting Lineups -- D Eckstein SS, R Ankiel RF, R Ludwick LF, J Edmonds CF, C Duncan 1B, A Miles 2B, G Bennett C, B Ryan 3B, B Looper RHP. Umpires -- Alfonso Marquez (HP), Chuck Meriwether (1B), Tim Timmons (2B), Rick Reed (3B). Gametime Weather: 86 degrees, Sunny, wind in from right at 2 mph. CINCINNATI 1ST: J Hamilton doubled to left. J Keppinger grounded out to first, J Hamilton to third. K Griffey Jr fouled out to third. B Phillips flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 1ST: D Eckstein singled to right. R Ankiel fouled out to second. R Ludwick doubled to deep center, D Eckstein thrown out at home, R Ludwick to third advancing on throw. J Edmonds struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. CINCINNATI 2ND: A Dunn struck out looking. S Hatteberg doubled to deep right. E Encarnacion flied out to right, S Hatteberg to third. D Ross flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 2ND: C Duncan struck out looking. A Miles flied out to center. G Bennett grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. CINCINNATI 3RD: B Arroyo struck out swinging. J Hamilton grounded out to second. J Keppinger singled to left. K Griffey Jr flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 3RD: B Looper grounded out to shortstop. B Ryan fouled out to catcher. D Eckstein flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. CINCINNATI 4TH: B Phillips popped out to second. A Dunn lined out to center. S Hatteberg singled to left. E Encarnacion grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, S Hatteberg out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 4TH: R Ankiel grounded out to first. R Ludwick walked. J Edmonds struck out swinging. R Ludwick to second on wild pitch by B Arroyo. C Duncan struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. CINCINNATI 5TH: D Ross flied out to left. B Arroyo fouled out to third. J Hamilton grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 5TH: A Miles struck out swinging. G Bennett singled to left. B Looper bunted into fielder's choice to catcher, G Bennett out at second. B Ryan reached on bunt single to third, B Looper to second. D Eckstein flied out to left. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. CINCINNATI 6TH: J Keppinger flied out to left. K Griffey Jr grounded out to first. B Phillips lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 6TH: R Ankiel homered to right. R Ludwick doubled to deep left center. J Edmonds flied out to right. C Duncan struck out swinging. A Miles doubled to deep center, R Ludwick scored. G Bennett intentionally walked. B Looper struck out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 2. CINCINNATI 7TH: A Dunn grounded out to second. S Hatteberg struck out swinging. E Encarnacion fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 2. ST LOUIS 7TH: B Ryan singled to center. D Eckstein grounded out to first, B Ryan to second. J Keppinger at third base. B Bray relieved B Arroyo. A Gonzalez at shortstop. B Ryan stole third. R Ankiel hit sacrifice fly to right, B Ryan scored. R Ludwick struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 0, ST LOUIS 3. CINCINNATI 8TH: R Franklin relieved B Looper. J Valentin hit for D Ross. J Valentin popped out to shortstop. A Gonzalez singled to center. J Hamilton doubled to left center, A Gonzalez to third. J Keppinger singled to right, A Gonzalez scored, J Hamilton to third. K Griffey Jr struck out swinging. B Phillips struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 1, ST LOUIS 3. ST LOUIS 8TH: J Valentin catching. J Edmonds struck out looking. C Duncan flied out to center. A Miles struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 1, ST LOUIS 3. CINCINNATI 9TH: Y Molina catching. M Cairo at first base. J Isringhausen relieved R Franklin. A Dunn singled to left. S Hatteberg singled to right, A Dunn to third. N Hopper hit for B Bray. N Hopper hit sacrifice fly to center, A Dunn scored. J Valentin flied out to right. J Ellison ran for S Hatteberg. A Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to third, J Ellison out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CINCINNATI 2, ST LOUIS 3.</div>
Cardinals complete sweep of Reds <h3>ST. LOUIS 3, CINCINNATI 2</h3>By Jim Walsh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- For Braden Looper, day time is the righttime. Looper continued his day-time dominance, tossing seven scorelessinnings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory overthe Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon. Rick Ankiel homered for the second time in the series for theCardinals, who completed a three-game sweep of this series. Itwas the 15th win in the last 19 home games for St. Louis(67-66), which moved one game over .500 for the first time sinceApril 15. The Cardinals began the day two games behind the Chicago Cubs inthe National League Central Division. Looper (12-10), who came into the contest leading the NL with a1.98 ERA in day games, won for the fourth time in his last fivedecisions. The converted reliever allowed only four hits,striking out three with no walks. Ryan Franklin allowed a run in the eighth before JasonIsringhausen made it interesting in the ninth. Isringhausen gave up singles to Adam Dunn and Scott Hatteberg tostart the inning. Norris Hooper followed with a sacrifice fly,but Isringhausen retired Javier Valentin and Alex Gonzalez forhis 28th save. Ankiel snapped a scoreless tie in the sixth when he sent Redsstarter Bronson Arroyo's first pitch into the right field seatsfor his sixth home run since joining the team August 9. Thepitcher-turned-outfielder added a sacrifice fly in the seventh,giving him nine RBI for the series. Ryan Ludwick followed with a double to left-center field andscored on a two-out double by Aaron Miles to ruin what had beena terrific start for Arroyo (7-14). The Cardinals tried to break through on Arroyo in the first, asDavid Eckstein singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Ludwick hit a line drive to the wall inleft-center which center fielder Josh Hamilton handled and threwto shortstop Jeff Keppinger, who threw home to nail a slidingEckstein. Ludwick made it to third on the throw but was stranded there, asArroyo struck out Jim Edmonds to end the threat. Arroyo kept the St. Louis bats quiet after that, retiring 11 ofthe next 12 batters and allowing only a fourth-inning walk toLudwick. The 30-year old righthander shut down a Cardinals teamthat had scored 19 runs in the first two games of the seriesuntil Ankiel's blast in the sixth. Arroyo was lifted after 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs andeight hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Cincinnati broke the shutout in the eighth with three straightone-out hits off Franklin. But Franklin recovered after an RBIsingle by Keppinger, striking out Ken Griffey Jr. and BrandonPhillips with runners on second and third.
Cardinals complete sweep of Reds <h3>ST. LOUIS 3, CINCINNATI 2</h3>By Jim Walsh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- For Braden Looper, day time is the righttime. Looper continued his day-time dominance, tossing seven scorelessinnings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory overthe Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon. Rick Ankiel homered for the second time in the series for theCardinals, who completed a three-game sweep. It was the 15th winin the last 19 home games for St. Louis (67-66), which movedone game over .500 for the first time since April 15. The Cardinals stayed two games behind the Chicago Cubs in theNational League Central. "To say we're a winning club, (I'll) just enjoy the moment," St.Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "I don't know what willhappen tomorrow but we're a winning club today and it'sSeptember." Looper (12-10), who came into the contest leading the NL with a1.98 ERA in day games, won for the fourth time in his last fivedecisions. The converted reliever allowed only four hits,striking out three with no walks. "I don't know what it is (about day games)," said Looper, whoextended his scoreless streak to 14 innings. "The only thing Ican think of is I'm normally up anyway. I'm not a late sleeperlike a lot of guys. I have two small children so I'm used togetting up early." Looper was able to shut down the Reds even though he did notthink he had his best stuff. "I was able to mix it up enough to keep them off balance -especially a team like (the Reds), they're so dangerous," Loopersaid. Ryan Franklin allowed a run in the eighth before JasonIsringhausen made it interesting in the ninth. Isringhausen gave up singles to Adam Dunn and Scott Hatteberg tostart the inning. Norris Hooper followed with a sacrifice fly,but Isringhausen retired Javier Valentin and Alex Gonzalez forhis 28th save. Ankiel snapped a scoreless tie in the sixth when he sent Redsstarter Bronson Arroyo's first pitch into the right field seatsfor his sixth home run since joining the team August 9. Thepitcher-turned-outfielder added a sacrifice fly in the seventh,giving him nine RBI for the series. "I knew (Ankiel) was being really, really aggressive allseries," Arroyo said. "I figured I could start him off on theinner-half with something a little soft. I just threw a littlecutter in there, thinking he would be a little patient, and hewasn't, and he got me." "The first game (Ankiel) played it looked like he had some goodswings in him," La Russa added. "He looks the same every gamehe plays. He goes up there and takes his swings." Ryan Ludwick followed with a double to left-center field andscored on a two-out double by Aaron Miles to ruin what had beena terrific start for Arroyo (7-14). The Cardinals tried to break through on Arroyo in the first asDavid Eckstein singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Ludwick hit a line drive to the wall inleft-center which center fielder Josh Hamilton handled and threwto shortstop Jeff Keppinger, who threw home to nail a slidingEckstein. Ludwick made it to third on the throw but was stranded there, asArroyo struck out Jim Edmonds to end the threat. "I felt good in the first inning," said Arroyo, who sufferedjust his second loss in his last six starts. "I just got myselfinto a situation where I thought I could get in on Ludwick andhe hit the ball in the gap. Luckily, we threw Eckstein out atthe plate." Arroyo kept the St. Louis bats quiet after that, retiring 11 ofthe next 12 batters and allowing only a fourth-inning walk toLudwick. The 30-year old righthander shut down a Cardinals teamthat had scored 19 runs in the first two games of the seriesuntil Ankiel's blast in the sixth. "I got into a groove," Arroyo said. "I felt like I had goodstuff. I felt strong, but (St. Louis is) the type of team thatthey peck at you and peck at you and eventually they get one ortwo." Arroyo was lifted after 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs andeight hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. "For five innings it was like a staring contest, waiting forsomebody to blink," Reds manger Pete Mackanin said. "We blinkedfirst and they took advantage of it." Cincinnati broke the shutout in the eighth with three straightone-out hits off Franklin. But Franklin recovered after an RBIsingle by Keppinger, striking out Ken Griffey Jr. and BrandonPhillips with runners on second and third.
