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The Leading Logic In Sports Handicapping |
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By Jim Walsh
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Todd Wellemeyer was the tonic for the
ailing St. Louis Cardinals.
Wellemeyer pitched well into the eighth and five different
players drove in runs to spark the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory
over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Troy Glaus and Cesar Izturis each had three hits and an RBI for
St. Louis, which snapped a three-game skid.
Pittsburgh entered having won seven of its last eight games, but
Wellemeyer stymied the Pirates with a mixture of fastballs,
sliders and curveballs.
"(Wellemeyer) did great," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said.
"He was hitting spots very well and his breaking ball was sharp.
He pretty much dominated the game."
"(Wellemeyer) gave us what we needed," St. Louis manager Tony La
Russa said. "(Pittsburgh) is as hot as anybody and he shut
them down. He pitched very, very well."
Coming off an impressive start last Friday in Milwaukee, where
the 29-year old righthander allowed only two unearned runs in
six innings, Wellemeyer yielded just one run and two hits
seven-plus innings with five strikeouts and three walks in this
one.
"Early in the game, I really had to focus a lot more," said
Wellemeyer, who lowered his ERA at Busch Stadium this season to
2.70. "I did feel 100 percent but I got through it. I'll take
the result, that's for sure."
Wellemeyer (4-1) departed after allowing a leadoff single to
Jose Bautista in the eighth.
Randy Flores and Russ Springer combined to work the eighth and
Jason Isringhausen finished off with a perfect ninth inning in a
non-save situation for the Cardinals, who improved to 1-1 on
their six-game homestand.
St. Louis provided plenty of offense for Wellemeyer, banging out
15 hits. Five players recorded multi-hit games and five
different Cardinals drove in a run.
"We had a lot of runners out there which is a good thing," Glaus
said. "We got our opportunities and we kept pushing and we had
enough opportunities where you knew we were going to score some
runs."
Albert Pujols drove in a run and extended his hitting streak to
13 games with a pair of singles. Pujols has reached base safely
in 41 straight games, the longest stretch since Derek Jeter
reached base in 53 straight games in 1999.
The Pirates' lone run was driven in by Nate McLouth who broke a
2-for-22 slump with an RBI single in the eighth.
Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead in the second inning
when Adam LaRoche blistered a fastball deep to straightaway
center field. But Rick Ankiel leaped and caught the ball just
as it was clearing the wall at the 400-foot mark.
"When he hit it, I knew he hit it good," Ankiel said. "I got a
good jump, tried to get back there quick. I knew I had a shot
to catch it. You always pay attention to how many steps it's
going to take you to get to the wall once you reach the warning
track and it seems like things worked out pretty good."
Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm (2-4) continued to struggle on
the road.
The lefthander, who entered the contest 0-3 with a 9.60 ERA in
three away starts, surrendered four runs and 11 hits with three
walks and six strikeouts in six innings.
"I felt confident I was getting every pitch over for strikes,"
said Maholm, who threw 107 pitches - 68 for strikes. "They have
a good offense there, a lot of great hitters. For me, it was a
positive, but I would much rather have the win."
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