GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: ST LOUIS (69-69) at ARIZONA (79-63)

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL AT ARIZONA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: S Schumaker hit for R Springer.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: ST LOUIS 8
ARIZONA 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: S Schumaker (.318, 2 HR, 11 RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 8 9 2
ARIZONA 3 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 x 9 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: STL - BRADEN LOOPER, TODD WELLEMEYER (4TH), TROY PERCIVAL (5TH),
RANDY FLORES (7TH), RUSS SPRINGER (7TH) AND KELLY STINNETT

ARI - MICAH OWINGS, JAILEN PEGUERO (3RD), DANA EVELAND
(4TH), BRANDON MEDDERS (5TH), DOUG SLATEN (6TH), DUSTIN
NIPPERT (7TH), BRANDON LYON (8TH), JOSE VALVERDE (9TH) AND
MIGUEL MONTERO, ROBBY HAMMOCK (8TH)

HOME RUNS: STL - AARON MILES (2) OFF MICAH OWINGS IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

ARI - CONOR JACKSON (13) OFF BRADEN LOOPER IN THE 1ST, 2 ON
STEPHEN DREW (11) OFF BRADEN LOOPER IN THE 4TH, 2 ON</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 8 9 2
ARIZONA 3 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 x 9 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: STL - BRADEN LOOPER, TODD WELLEMEYER (4TH), TROY PERCIVAL (5TH),
RANDY FLORES (7TH), RUSS SPRINGER (7TH) AND KELLY STINNETT

ARI - MICAH OWINGS, JAILEN PEGUERO (3RD), DANA EVELAND
(4TH), BRANDON MEDDERS (5TH), DOUG SLATEN (6TH), DUSTIN
NIPPERT (7TH), BRANDON LYON (8TH), JOSE VALVERDE (9TH) AND
MIGUEL MONTERO, ROBBY HAMMOCK (8TH)


WP - DANA EVELAND (1-0)
LP - TODD WELLEMEYER (3-2)
SAVE - JOSE VALVERDE (44)

HOME RUNS: STL - AARON MILES (2) OFF MICAH OWINGS IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

ARI - CONOR JACKSON (13) OFF BRADEN LOOPER IN THE 1ST, 2 ON
STEPHEN DREW (11) OFF BRADEN LOOPER IN THE 4TH, 2 ON


TIME: 3:35 ATT: 45,931

PROBABLES: STL - BRAD THOMPSON (6-5, 5.07)
ARI - DOUG DAVIS (13-11, 3.98)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (8) VS ARIZONA (9) - FINAL

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .295
R Ankiel rf 5 1 0 0 0 1 3 .333
A Pujols 1b 4 1 3 2 1 0 0 .321
J Edmonds cf 4 1 0 0 1 1 4 .243
C Duncan lf 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 .260
M Maroth pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200
T Percival p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-M Cairo ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091
R Flores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Springer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-S Schumaker ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .315
A Miles 2b 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .308
K Stinnett c 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .180
B Looper p 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 .191
T Wellemeyer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091
a-R Ludwick ph-lf 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 .252
B Ryan 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .338

Totals 35 8 9 7 4 6 15

a-reached on infield single to shortstop for T Wellemeyer in the 5th;
b-grounded to third for T Percival in the 7th; c-grounded to third for R
Springer in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - A Pujols (29, M Owings); K Stinnett (3, M Owings). 3B - A Pujols
(1, M Owings). HR - A Miles (2, 3rd inning off M Owings 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - A
Pujols 2 (88), A Miles 3 (29), B Looper (6), R Ludwick (40). 2-out RBI - A
Pujols 2, A Miles 3, B Looper. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J
Edmonds 2, B Ryan 1. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: Picked Off - R Ludwick (1st base, M Montero/C Jackson).

FIELDING: E - K Stinnett (3, throw); A Miles (13, catch). Outfield assists -
J Edmonds (J Cirillo at 1st base). DP: 1 (J Edmonds-A Miles-A Pujols).


ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Drew ss 5 1 1 3 0 1 1 .230
C Young cf 4 2 1 0 1 2 0 .238
E Byrnes lf 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 .297
C Jackson 1b 3 1 1 3 1 0 0 .279
J Valverde p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Montero c 3 0 0 1 0 2 3 .223
B Lyon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Clark 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
M Reynolds 3b 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 .270
D Eveland p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-C Quentin ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .216
B Medders p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Slaten p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Nippert p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-R Hammock ph-c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .231
J Salazar rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .274
A Ojeda 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .236
M Owings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Peguero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Cirillo 3b 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .222

Totals 33 9 10 8 4 7 9

a-singled to left for D Eveland in the 4th; b-struck out swinging for D
Nippert in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - E Byrnes (28, B Looper); J Cirillo (3, B Looper). HR - C Jackson
(13, 1st inning off B Looper 2 on, 1 Out), S Drew (11, 4th inning off B Looper
2 on, 1 Out). SF - M Montero. RBI - C Jackson 3 (51), S Drew 3 (50), M Montero
(36), C Quentin (30). 2-out RBI - C Quentin. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - J Salazar 1. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - E Byrnes (43, 3rd base off B Looper/K Stinnett).

FIELDING: E - M Owings (2, ground ball). Outfield assists - C Young (B Looper
at 2nd base).


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 007 010 000 -- 8
ARIZONA - 301 500 00x -- 9
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 3 1/3 8 7 6 1 2 2 4.70
T Wellemeyer (L, 3-2) 2/3 1 2 0 2 0 0 3.70
T Percival 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.32
R Flores 2/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.41
R Springer 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.37

ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era
M Owings 2 2/3 4 7 2 2 1 1 4.78
J Peguero 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 7.15
D Eveland (W, 1-0) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 16.62
B Medders 1 1/3 2 1 1 1 1 0 4.91
D Slaten (H, 10) 2/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 2.41
D Nippert (H, 2) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.77
B Lyon (H, 30) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.82
J Valverde (S, 44) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.73

HBP - D Eckstein 2 (by M Owings, J Peguero). Pitches-strikes: B Looper 71-44;
T Wellemeyer 24-13; T Percival 22-15; R Flores 12-8; R Springer 17-9; M Owings
65-39; J Peguero 13-10; D Eveland 2-2; B Medders 32-18; D Slaten 15-8; D
Nippert 12-9; B Lyon 14-9; J Valverde 19-14. Ground balls-fly balls: B Looper
2-6; T Wellemeyer 1-2; T Percival 1-3; R Flores 0-0; R Springer 1-1; M Owings
5-2; J Peguero 0-2; D Eveland 0-1; B Medders 0-2; D Slaten 0-0; D Nippert 1-1;
B Lyon 1-1; J Valverde 2-1. Batters faced: B Looper 19; T Wellemeyer 6; T
Percival 6; R Flores 3; R Springer 4; M Owings 16; J Peguero 5; D Eveland 1; B
Medders 6; D Slaten 3; D Nippert 3; B Lyon 4; J Valverde 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Jim Wolf. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry Poncino.

T--3:35. Att--45,931.
Weather: 99 degrees, clear. Wind: 5 mph, in from
center.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
ST LOUIS 8
ARIZONA 9 FINAL</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ST LOUIS (8) AT ARIZONA (9) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARIZONA 1ST: S Drew lined out to shortstop. C Young singled to right.
E Byrnes singled to left, C Young to second. C Jackson homered to left, C Young
and E Byrnes scored. M Montero struck out swinging. M Reynolds singled to
center. J Salazar fouled out to third. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 0,
ARIZONA 3.

ST LOUIS 3RD: B Looper walked. B Ryan struck out swinging. D Eckstein hit
by pitch, B Looper to second. R Ankiel grounded into fielder's choice to
second, D Eckstein out at second, B Looper to third. A Pujols tripled to deep
right, B Looper and R Ankiel scored. J Edmonds walked. C Duncan safe at first
on error by pitcher M Owings, A Pujols scored, J Edmonds to second. A Miles
homered to right, J Edmonds and C Duncan scored. K Stinnett doubled to deep
right center. J Peguero relieved M Owings. B Looper singled to center,
K Stinnett scored, B Looper out stretching at second. (7 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error)
ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 3.

ARIZONA 3RD: C Young bunt grounded out to pitcher. E Byrnes doubled to
deep center. C Jackson walked, E Byrnes stole third, E Byrnes scored on
throwing error by catcher K Stinnett. M Montero fouled out to third.
M Reynolds struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 4.
ARIZONA 4TH: J Salazar flied out to center. A Ojeda singled to left.
J Cirillo doubled to deep left, A Ojeda to third. S Drew homered to right
center, A Ojeda and J Cirillo scored. T Wellemeyer relieved B Looper. C Young
walked. E Byrnes walked, C Young to second. C Jackson grounded into fielder's
choice to third, C Young to third, E Byrnes safe at second on error by second
baseman A Miles. M Montero hit sacrifice fly to left, C Young scored.
C Quentin hit for D Eveland. C Quentin singled to left, E Byrnes scored,
C Jackson to third. J Salazar popped out to shortstop. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error)
ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 9.

ST LOUIS 5TH: B Medders relieved D Eveland. C Duncan walked. A Miles
singled to left center, C Duncan to third. M Maroth ran for C Duncan.
K Stinnett fouled out to left. R Ludwick hit for T Wellemeyer. R Ludwick reached
on infield single to shortstop, M Maroth scored, A Miles to second. B Ryan
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ST LOUIS (8) AT ARIZONA (9) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

St Louis Starting Lineups -- D Eckstein SS, R Ankiel RF, A Pujols 1B, J Edmonds CF,
C Duncan LF, A Miles 2B, K Stinnett C, B Ryan 3B, B Looper RHP.

Arizona Starting Lineups -- S Drew SS, C Young CF, E Byrnes LF, C Jackson 1B,
M Montero C, M Reynolds 3B, J Salazar RF, A Ojeda 2B, M Owings RHP.

Umpires -- Jim Wolf (HP), Jerry Meals (1B), Gary Darling (2B), Larry Poncino (3B).

Gametime Weather: 99 degrees, Clear, wind in from center at 5 mph.


ST LOUIS 1ST: D Eckstein lined out to pitcher. R Ankiel popped out to
second. A Pujols doubled to deep right. J Edmonds grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 0, ARIZONA 0.

ARIZONA 1ST: S Drew lined out to shortstop. C Young singled to right.
E Byrnes singled to left, C Young to second. C Jackson homered to left, C Young
and E Byrnes scored. M Montero struck out swinging. M Reynolds singled to
center. J Salazar fouled out to third. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 0,
ARIZONA 3.

ST LOUIS 2ND: C Duncan grounded out to second. A Miles grounded out to
first. K Stinnett grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 0,
ARIZONA 3.

ARIZONA 2ND: A Ojeda fouled out to third. M Owings grounded out to third.
S Drew lined out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 0, ARIZONA 3.

ST LOUIS 3RD: B Looper walked. B Ryan struck out swinging. D Eckstein hit
by pitch, B Looper to second. R Ankiel grounded into fielder's choice to
second, D Eckstein out at second, B Looper to third. A Pujols tripled to deep
right, B Looper and R Ankiel scored. J Edmonds walked. C Duncan safe at first
on error by pitcher M Owings, A Pujols scored, J Edmonds to second. A Miles
homered to right, J Edmonds and C Duncan scored. K Stinnett doubled to deep
right center. J Peguero relieved M Owings. B Looper singled to center,
K Stinnett scored, B Looper out stretching at second. (7 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error)
ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 3.

ARIZONA 3RD: C Young bunt grounded out to pitcher. E Byrnes doubled to
deep center. C Jackson walked, E Byrnes stole third, E Byrnes scored on
throwing error by catcher K Stinnett. M Montero fouled out to third.
M Reynolds struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 4.

ST LOUIS 4TH: B Ryan flied out to center. D Eckstein hit by pitch.
R Ankiel flied out to right. A Pujols singled to left, D Eckstein to second.
D Eveland relieved J Peguero. J Cirillo at third base. J Edmonds fouled out to
left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 4.

ARIZONA 4TH: J Salazar flied out to center. A Ojeda singled to left.
J Cirillo doubled to deep left, A Ojeda to third. S Drew homered to right
center, A Ojeda and J Cirillo scored. T Wellemeyer relieved B Looper. C Young
walked. E Byrnes walked, C Young to second. C Jackson grounded into fielder's
choice to third, C Young to third, E Byrnes safe at second on error by second
baseman A Miles. M Montero hit sacrifice fly to left, C Young scored.
C Quentin hit for D Eveland. C Quentin singled to left, E Byrnes scored,
C Jackson to third. J Salazar popped out to shortstop. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error)
ST LOUIS 7, ARIZONA 9.

ST LOUIS 5TH: B Medders relieved D Eveland. C Duncan walked. A Miles
singled to left center, C Duncan to third. M Maroth ran for C Duncan.
K Stinnett fouled out to left. R Ludwick hit for T Wellemeyer. R Ludwick reached
on infield single to shortstop, M Maroth scored, A Miles to second. B Ryan
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ARIZONA 5TH: T Percival relieved T Wellemeyer. R Ludwick in left field.
A Ojeda flied out to left. J Cirillo flied out to right. S Drew struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ST LOUIS 6TH: D Eckstein lined out to shortstop. D Slaten relieved
B Medders. R Ankiel struck out swinging. A Pujols walked. J Edmonds struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ARIZONA 6TH: C Young struck out swinging. E Byrnes grounded out to
shortstop. C Jackson popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ST LOUIS 7TH: M Cairo hit for T Percival. D Nippert relieved D Slaten.
M Cairo grounded out to third. A Miles lined out to right. K Stinnett struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ARIZONA 7TH: R Flores relieved T Percival. M Montero struck out looking.
R Hammock hit for D Nippert. R Hammock struck out swinging. J Salazar singled to
center. R Springer relieved R Flores. A Ojeda grounded out to third. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ST LOUIS 8TH: B Lyon relieved D Nippert. R Hammock catching. R Ludwick
struck out swinging. B Ryan singled to right. D Eckstein popped out to
second. R Ankiel grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8,
ARIZONA 9.

ARIZONA 8TH: J Cirillo walked. S Drew flied into double play, center to
second to first, J Cirillo doubled off first. C Young struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.

ST LOUIS 9TH: J Valverde relieved B Lyon. T Clark at first base. A Pujols
grounded out to shortstop. J Edmonds flied out to center. S Schumaker hit for
R Springer. S Schumaker grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
ST LOUIS 8, ARIZONA 9.</div>

 

Drew, Jackson power Diamondbacks past Cardinals

<h3>ARIZONA 9, ST LOUIS 8</h3>By Bob Huhn
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer




PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Despite surrendering seven runs in one inning,the Arizona Diamondbacks came from behind to defeat the St. LouisCardinals, 9-8, on Saturday.


Conor Jackson and Stephen Drew each belted three-run home runswith Drew's blast highlighting a five-run fifth inning forArizona (80-63), which has won four in a row and six of theirlast eight to remain two games ahead of the San Diego Padres(77-64) in the National League West.


St. Louis exploded for seven runs in the third inning, doingmost of its damage against Arizona starter Micah Owings, who gothimself in trouble when he lost the strike zone, walking andthen hitting a batter.


That left two men on for All-Star Albert Pujols, who drilled atwo-run triple off the right field fence to make it a 3-2deficit.


Owings then walked Jim Edmonds and Chris Duncan hit a softgrounder to the left of the mound. Owings bobbled it, allowingEdmonds to reach base. Aaron Miles followed with his secondhomer the season, a shot over the right field fence, to give theCardinals a 6-3 advantage.


Kelly Stinnett doubled to left-center, sending Owings to theshowers, then Looper singled to center off of reliever JailenPeguero, plating Stinnett and extending the St. Louis lead to7-3.


Owings, who was coming off an outing where he allowed five runsand career-high four homers in just three innings, was torchedfor seven runs - two earned - in 2 2/3 innings.


<div class="pre">Arizona began their comeback in the bottom of the third when</div>Eric Byrnes doubled, stole a base and scored on a throwing errorby Stinnett, cutting the led to 7-4.


In the fifth Arizona's big inning began with Augie Ojeda, wholed off the inning with a single. Pinch hitter Jeff Cirillofollowed with a double to left before Drew connected for his11th homer to tie the game at 7-7 and ending Cardinals starterBraden Looper's night.


Todd Wellemeyer (3-2) was brought in and proceeded to walk thefirst two batters he faced. Then a sacrifice fly to left byMiguel Montero and an RBI single by pinch hitter Carlos Quentincapped the Diamondbacks' scoring for a 9-7 advantage.

Wellemeyer was charged with the loss, allowing one hit and apair of unearned runs, walking two in two-thirds of an inning.

Looper, who came into the game with a 14-inning scorelessstreak, was hammered for seven runs - six earned - and eighthits in 3 1/3 innings.


Dana Eveland (1-0) threw just two pitches and retired the onlybatter he faced to close out the fourth inning and earn hissecond major league win. His last win was September 5, 2005, asa member of the Milwaukee Brewers.


Pujols went 3-for-3 and reached base four times for St. Louis,which fell two games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs(72-69) and Milwaukee Brewers (72-69) in the National LeagueCentral.

 

Drew, Jackson power Diamondbacks past Cardinals

<h3>ARIZONA 9, ST LOUIS 8</h3>By Bob Huhn
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Despite surrendering seven runs in one inning,the Arizona Diamondbacks came from behind to defeat the St. LouisCardinals, 9-8, on Saturday.


Conor Jackson and Stephen Drew each belted three-run home runswith Drew's blast highlighting a five-run fifth inning forArizona (80-63), which has won four in a row and six of theirlast eight to remain two games ahead of the San Diego Padres(77-64) in the National League West.


St. Louis exploded for seven runs in the third inning, doingmost of its damage against Arizona starter Micah Owings, who gothimself in trouble when he lost the strike zone, walking andthen hitting a batter.


That left two men on for All-Star Albert Pujols, who drilled atwo-run triple off the right field fence to make it a 3-2deficit.


Owings then walked Jim Edmonds and Chris Duncan hit a softgrounder to the left of the mound. Owings bobbled it, allowingEdmonds to reach base. Aaron Miles followed with his secondhomer the season, a shot over the right field fence, to give theCardinals a 6-3 advantage.


Kelly Stinnett doubled to left-center, sending Owings to theshowers, then Looper singled to center off of reliever JailenPeguero, plating Stinnett and extending the St. Louis lead to7-3.


Owings, who was coming off an outing where he allowed five runsand career-high four homers in just three innings, was torchedfor seven runs - two earned - in 2 2/3 innings.


<div class="pre">Arizona began their comeback in the bottom of the third when</div>Eric Byrnes doubled, stole a base and scored on a throwing errorby Stinnett, cutting the led to 7-4.


In the fifth Arizona's big inning began with Augie Ojeda, wholed off the inning with a single. Pinch hitter Jeff Cirillofollowed with a double to left before Drew connected for his11th homer to tie the game at 7-7 and ending Cardinals starterBraden Looper's night.


Todd Wellemeyer (3-2) was brought in and proceeded to walk thefirst two batters he faced. Then a sacrifice fly to left byMiguel Montero and an RBI single by pinch hitter Carlos Quentincapped the Diamondbacks' scoring for a 9-7 advantage.

Wellemeyer was charged with the loss, allowing one hit and apair of unearned runs, walking two in two-thirds of an inning.

Looper, who came into the game with a 14-inning scorelessstreak, was hammered for seven runs - six earned - and eighthits in 3 1/3 innings.


Dana Eveland (1-0) threw just two pitches and retired the onlybatter he faced to close out the fourth inning and earn hissecond major league win. His last win was September 5, 2005, asa member of the Milwaukee Brewers.


Pujols went 3-for-3 and reached base four times for St. Louis,which fell two games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs(72-69) and Milwaukee Brewers (72-69) in the National LeagueCentral.

 

Drew, Jackson power Diamondbacks past Cardinals

<h3>ARIZONA 9, ST LOUIS 8</h3>By Bob Huhn
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Despite surrendering seven runs in oneinning, the Arizona Diamondbacks came from behind to defeatthe St. Louis Cardinals, 9-8, on Saturday.


Conor Jackson and Stephen Drew each belted three-run home runswith Drew's blast highlighting a five-run fifth inning forArizona (80-63), which has won four in a row and six of theirlast eight to remain two games ahead of the San Diego Padres(77-64) in the National League West.


St. Louis exploded for seven runs in the third inning, doingmost of its damage against Arizona starter Micah Owings, who gothimself in trouble when he lost the strike zone, walking andthen hitting a batter.


That left two men on for All-Star Albert Pujols, who drilled atwo-run triple off the right field fence to make it a 3-2deficit.


Owings then walked Jim Edmonds and Chris Duncan hit a softgrounder to the left of the mound. Owings bobbled it, allowingEdmonds to reach base. Aaron Miles followed with his secondhomer the season, a shot over the right field fence, to give theCardinals a 6-3 advantage.


Kelly Stinnett doubled to left-center, sending Owings to theshowers, then Looper singled to center off of reliever JailenPeguero, plating Stinnett and extending the St. Louis lead to7-3.


"We Knew there was a lot of time left," Diamondbacks manager BobMelvin said. "This team has got some resiliency. We havetalked about that all year. Whether it is following a bad game,perservering through a losing streak or picking ourselves backup and getting a big inning. You keep grinding."


Owings, who was coming off an outing where he allowed five runsand career-high four homers in just three innings, was torchedfor seven runs - two earned - in 2 2/3 innings.


<div class="pre">Arizona began their comeback in the bottom of the third when</div>Eric Byrnes doubled, stole a base and scored on a throwing errorby Stinnett, cutting the led to 7-4.


In the fifth Arizona's big inning began with Augie Ojeda, wholed off the inning with a single. Pinch hitter Jeff Cirillofollowed with a double to left before Drew connected for his11th homer to tie the game at 7-7 and ending Cardinals starterBraden Looper's night.


"I knew to be patient and look for a pitch I could drive," Drewsaid. "I finally got one that I could drive and put a good swingon it and tried not to do too much, get a sac fly or whateverit takes."


Todd Wellemeyer (3-2) was brought in and proceeded to walk thefirst two batters he faced. Then a sacrifice fly to left byMiguel Montero and an RBI single by pinch hitter Carlos Quentincapped the Diamondbacks' scoring for a 9-7 advantage.

"It was a rough night, pitchers had a tough night," Cardinalsmanager Tony La Russa said. "We didn't score the last four. Itwas a very gutty loss."


Wellemeyer was charged with the loss, allowing one hit and apair of unearned runs, walking two in two-thirds of an inning.

"I was out of whack and couldn't make the adjustment," Loopersaid. "I got down right away but the guys battled back and I hadit at 7-3 and didn't get the job done."


Looper, who came into the game with a 14-inning scorelessstreak, was hammered for seven runs - six earned - and eighthits in 3 1/3 innings.


Dana Eveland (1-0) threw just two pitches and retired the onlybatter he faced to close out the fourth inning and earn hissecond major league win. His last win was September 5, 2005, asa member of the Milwaukee Brewers.


"That is the way our year has been," said Conor Jackson, whogave Arizona a 3-0 lead in the first inning with 13th homer. "Weget down we come back we win by one run. How many times haveyou seen that before. We are used to it. it is not like it is anew situation for us."


Pujols went 3-for-4 and reached base four times for St. Louis,which fell two games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs(72-69) and Milwaukee Brewers (72-69) in the National LeagueCentral.