GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: PITTSBURGH (60-78) at ST LOUIS (68-67)

NL: PITTSBURGH at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
PITTSBURGH 8
ST LOUIS 2 FINAL</div>

 

Wilson, Paulino help Pirates ruin Mulder's return

<h3>PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2</h3>By Chip Sotolar
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - The Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled MarkMulder's first start in over a year.


Jack Wilson and Ronnie Paulino both drove in three runs and TonyArmas tossed six solid innings as the Pirates coasted to an 8-2win over the defending World Series champion St. LouisCardinals on Wednesday.


In his first appearance on the hill since August 29, 2006,Mulder (0-1) was tagged for six runs and eight hits in fourinnings. The 30-year-old lefthander, who missed 135 games whilerecovering from rotator cuff surgery, threw just 59 pitches -39 for strikes.


After breezing through the first inning, Mulder ran into sometrouble in the next frame. With the bases loaded, Wilson lineda three-run double into the left field corner to give Pittsburgha 3-0 lead.


St. Louis' Rick Ankiel made it a one-run game with his seventhhomer of the season - a two-run blast - into the right fieldstands in the third.


But Paulino gave the Pirates some breathing room an inning lateras he drilled Mulder's pitch over the center field wall for his10th homer - a three-run shot - to make it 6-2.


Armas (3-5) allowed two runs and five hits through six inningsto picked up his first victory since August 11 - a span of fivestarts. The righthander improved to 2-0 against the Cardinalsthis campaign.


David Eckstein had two hits for the Cardinals, who lost for onlythe sixth time in their last 22 games at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals (68-68) fell two games behind the National LeagueCentral-leading Chicago Cubs (71-67) and 1 1/2 behind thesecond-place Milwaukee Brewers (71-68).

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (8) AT ST LOUIS (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PITTSBURGH 2ND: A LaRoche singled to left. J Bay singled to right,
A LaRoche to second. S Pearce popped out to shortstop. R Paulino singled to
center, A LaRoche to third, J Bay to second. J Wilson doubled to left,
A LaRoche, J Bay and R Paulino scored. T Armas struck out swinging. C Izturis
grounded out to pitcher. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 3, ST LOUIS 0.

ST LOUIS 3RD: D Eckstein doubled to left. R Ankiel homered to right,
D Eckstein scored. A Pujols flied out to center. J Edmonds struck out
swinging. C Duncan struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 3,
ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: J Bay walked. S Pearce doubled to left, J Bay to third.
R Paulino homered to center, J Bay and S Pearce scored. J Wilson doubled to
left. T Armas sacrificed to pitcher, J Wilson to third. C Izturis grounded
into fielder's choice to second, J Wilson out at home. C Izturis caught
stealing second, pitcher to first to second.(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 6, ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: B Falkenborg relieved M Mulder. J Bautista flied out to
center. F Sanchez flied out to center. A LaRoche homered to right. J Bay
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 7, ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: S Pearce doubled to center. R Paulino grounded out to
third. J Wilson reached on infield single to shortstop, S Pearce to third.
T Armas struck out swinging. C Izturis singled to center, S Pearce scored,
J Wilson to third. J Bautista struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 3 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 8 12 0
ST LOUIS 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - TONY ARMAS, SHAWN CHACON (7TH), DAMASO MARTE (8TH), MATT CAPPS
(9TH) AND RONNY PAULINO

STL - MARK MULDER, BRIAN FALKENBORG (5TH), TODD
WELLEMEYER (7TH), RANDY FLORES (8TH), TYLER JOHNSON (9TH) AND
YADIER MOLINA, KELLY STINNETT (7TH)


WP - TONY ARMAS (3-5)
LP - MARK MULDER (0-1)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: PIT - RONNY PAULINO (10) OFF MARK MULDER IN THE 4TH, 2 ON
ADAM LAROCHE (21) OFF BRIAN FALKENBORG IN THE 5TH, 0 ON

STL - RICK ANKIEL (7) OFF TONY ARMAS IN THE 3RD, 1 ON


TIME: 2:32 ATT: 42,299

PROBABLES: PIT - BRYAN BULLINGTON (NR)
STL - MIKE MAROTH (0-4, 11.08)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (8) AT ST LOUIS (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- C Izturis 3B, J Bautista CF, F Sanchez 2B,
A LaRoche 1B, J Bay LF, S Pearce RF, R Paulino C, J Wilson SS, T Armas RHP.

St Louis Starting Lineups -- D Eckstein SS, R Ankiel RF, A Pujols 1B, J Edmonds CF,
C Duncan LF, Y Molina C, R Branyan 3B, A Miles 2B, M Mulder LHP.

Umpires -- Mark Wegner (HP), Brian Knight (1B), Mike Winters (2B),
Bruce Froemming (3B).

Gametime Weather: 72 degrees, Overcast, wind in from right at 2 mph.


PITTSBURGH 1ST: C Izturis grounded out to first. J Bautista singled to
right. F Sanchez grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first,
J Bautista out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ST LOUIS 0.

ST LOUIS 1ST: D Eckstein flied out to right. R Ankiel flied out to right.
A Pujols walked. J Edmonds struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, ST LOUIS 0.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: A LaRoche singled to left. J Bay singled to right,
A LaRoche to second. S Pearce popped out to shortstop. R Paulino singled to
center, A LaRoche to third, J Bay to second. J Wilson doubled to left,
A LaRoche, J Bay and R Paulino scored. T Armas struck out swinging. C Izturis
grounded out to pitcher. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 3, ST LOUIS 0.

ST LOUIS 2ND: C Duncan grounded out to second. Y Molina grounded out to
pitcher. R Branyan walked. M Mulder singled to center, R Branyan to third.
A Miles flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 3, ST LOUIS 0.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: J Bautista popped out to shortstop. F Sanchez grounded out
to third. A LaRoche flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 3,
ST LOUIS 0.

ST LOUIS 3RD: D Eckstein doubled to left. R Ankiel homered to right,
D Eckstein scored. A Pujols flied out to center. J Edmonds struck out swinging.
C Duncan struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 3, ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: J Bay walked. S Pearce doubled to left, J Bay to third.
R Paulino homered to center, J Bay and S Pearce scored. J Wilson doubled to
left. T Armas sacrificed to pitcher, J Wilson to third. C Izturis grounded
into fielder's choice to second, J Wilson out at home. C Izturis caught
stealing second, pitcher to first to second.(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 6, ST LOUIS 2.

ST LOUIS 4TH: Y Molina struck out looking. R Branyan flied out to left.
B Barden hit for M Mulder. B Barden grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 6, ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: B Falkenborg relieved M Mulder. J Bautista flied out to
center. F Sanchez flied out to center. A LaRoche homered to right. J Bay
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 7, ST LOUIS 2.

ST LOUIS 5TH: A Miles grounded out to second. D Eckstein singled to
center. R Ankiel flied out to center. A Pujols doubled to deep center,
D Eckstein to third. J Edmonds flied out to left. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 7, ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: S Pearce doubled to center. R Paulino grounded out to
third. J Wilson reached on infield single to shortstop, S Pearce to third.
T Armas struck out swinging. C Izturis singled to center, S Pearce scored,
J Wilson to third. J Bautista struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.

ST LOUIS 6TH: C Duncan struck out looking. Y Molina flied out to center.
R Branyan grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 8,
ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: K Stinnett catching. T Wellemeyer relieved B Falkenborg.
F Sanchez struck out swinging. A LaRoche grounded out to second. J Bay struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.

ST LOUIS 7TH: S Chacon relieved T Armas. M Cairo hit for T Wellemeyer.
M Cairo grounded out to second. A Miles flied out to left. B Ryan hit for
D Eckstein. B Ryan walked. R Ankiel lined out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: B Ryan at shortstop. M Cairo at second base. R Flores
relieved T Wellemeyer. S Pearce grounded out to shortstop. R Paulino grounded
out to shortstop. J Wilson flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.

ST LOUIS 8TH: J Bautista in right field. D Marte relieved S Chacon. N Morgan
in center field. A Pujols walked. S Taguchi ran for A Pujols. R Ludwick hit
for J Edmonds. R Ludwick struck out swinging. C Duncan struck out looking.
K Stinnett popped out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 8,
ST LOUIS 2.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: R Ankiel in center field. S Taguchi in left field.
R Ludwick in right field. C Duncan at first base. T Johnson relieved R Flores.
N Morgan struck out swinging. C Izturis walked. J Bautista fouled out to
catcher. M Kata hit for F Sanchez. M Kata popped out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.

ST LOUIS 9TH: M Kata at second base. M Capps relieved D Marte. R Branyan
lined out to second. M Cairo grounded out to first. S Schumaker hit for
T Johnson. S Schumaker struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2.</div>

 

Wilson, Paulino help Pirates ruin Mulder's return

<h3>PITTSBURGH 8, ST LOUIS 2</h3>By Chip Sotolar
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - The Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled MarkMulder's first start in over a year.


Jack Wilson and Ronnie Paulino both drove in three runs and TonyArmas tossed six solid innings as the Pirates coasted to an 8-2win over the defending World Series champion St. LouisCardinals on Wednesday.


In his first appearance on the hill since August 29, 2006,Mulder (0-1) was tagged for six runs and eight hits in fourinnings. The 30-year-old lefthander, who missed 135 games whilerecovering from rotator cuff surgery, threw just 59 pitches -39 for strikes.


After breezing through the first inning, Mulder ran into sometrouble in the next frame. With the bases loaded, Wilson lineda three-run double into the left field corner to give Pittsburgha 3-0 lead.


"The first inning I felt really good," Mulder said. "After thatI just got out of whack. I didn't feel tired. I didn't feelfatigued or anything. Something just kind of changed for me alittle bit and I couldn't get it back."


"His two-seamer didn't have as much sink as it was when he wasin his prime," Wilson said. "That's going to come with time.His velocity was real nice. Once that two-seamer comes back,which I'm sure it will, he's going to be back to his old self.His velocity was very good."


St. Louis' Rick Ankiel made it a one-run game with his seventhhomer of the season - a two-run blast - into the right fieldstands in the third.


But Paulino gave the Pirates some breathing room an inning lateras he drilled Mulder's pitch over the center field wall for his10th homer - a three-run shot - to make it 6-2.


"We're back in this thing and then I give up a three-run homerright there," Mulder said. "When your team comes back for you,you don't want to give it right back. It's a big inning to goout there and put a zero up and I didn't do it."


"I probably liked him better than he liked himself," Cardinalsmanager Tony La Russa said. "I think he was upset but I sawquite a few things I liked."


Armas (3-5) allowed two runs and five hits through six inningsto picked up his first victory since August 11 - a span of fivestarts. The righthander improved to 2-0 against the Cardinalsthis campaign.


"You can score as much runs as you want," Wilson said. "(Itdoesn't matter) if your pitching doesn't hold them in check.That's what (Armas) done the last couple of starts. He's throwna lot of off-speed pitches for strikes in hitters' counts,keeping them off-balance."


Pittsburgh added two more runs off reliever Brian Falkenborg.Adam LaRoche hit his 21st homer in the fifth and Csar Izturislaced an RBI single in the sixth.


"Our offensive approach continues to be great," Pirates managerJim Tracy said. "When you have the luxury of getting six RBIfrom the two guys in the seven and eight spots in the lineup,you put yourself in a very good position."


David Eckstein had two hits for the Cardinals, who lost for onlythe sixth time in their last 22 games at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals (68-68) fell two games behind the National LeagueCentral-leading Chicago Cubs (71-67) and 1 1/2 behind thesecond-place Milwaukee Brewers (71-68).