NEW YORK -- Albert Pujols, moving gingerly throughout extra innings, delivered a two-out RBI single in the 13th inning to bring the Cardinals back from disaster with a 8-7 victory Wednesday at Citi Field.
Pujols drove home Skip Schumaker some four hours and 12 innings after the Cardinals had staked themselves to an early 6-0 lead.
Ryan Franklin pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save.
Newcomer Mike MacDougal was the winner having pitched a perfect 12th inning -- the seventh reliever used in the game by the Cardinals.
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NEW YORK -- The Cardinals and Mets, already boasting a 20-inning game in their past this season, are playing into the 13th inning at Citi Field.
Albert Pujols has just put the Cardinals ahead by a run with an RBI single in the top of the 13th.
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CARDS IMPLODE IN EIGHTH; METS TIE
NEW YORK -- The Mets rallied against the Cardinals in the eighth inning to tie the game after a series of unfortunate events and self-sabotaging plays undid the Cardinals.
Matt Holliday had a fly ball glance off his glove in left field, foiling his sliding attempt to catch what would have been the first out of the inning. Angel Pagan's two-run homer followed. That slashed the Cardinals' lead down to two runs.
Then the fun really started.
David Wright reached on a bang-bang play at first base, one that brought Tony La Russa out to briefly argue. Mike Hessman was hit by a pitch from Mitchell Boggs. That brought in Jason Motte to face Jeff Francoeur. Motte tested Francoeur with fastball after fastball after fastball. Francoeur fouled off six consecutive pitches. Then he flew out to left field.
In came lefty Dennys Reyes to handle the bottom of the Mets' lineup, and he promptly walked the first batter he faced. That loaded the bases for pinch-hitter and rookie Ike Davis. The former Arizona State start launched two mammoth home runs off the Cardinals in spring training. His base hit Wednesday didn't have the distance. But it had more impact. His pinch-hit groundball found a hole between second and first base -- enough to score two runs and tie the game, 7-7
The Cardinals had the third out at third base, but Felipe Lopez strayed from his bag and Albert Pujols had to swallow the throw. That extended the inning before Kyle McClellan got Luis Castillo to groundout with the bases loaded.
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GARCIA THROWS SIX
Jaime Garcia left with the lead after throwing six innings and allowing three runs on six hits. The lefty needed 86 pitches to get 1 outs, and he walked three batters against four strikeouts.
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HOLLIDAY CHASES SANTANA
NEW YORK -- Matt Holliday collected his third RBI of the game and chased Johan Santana all with one swing in the sixth inning. The Cardinals constructed a two-out rally to pull ahad 7-2. The run scored on Holliday's RBI double into the right-field corner. The double forced the Mets into their bullpen.
Santana allowed seven runs (all earned) on 13 hits through 5 2/3 innings.
He struck out two and he walked one, intentionally.
Carlos Beltran clubbed a solo homer in the bottom of the six to move the Mets within a grand slam against Garcia. The Cardinals lead, 7-3, going into the top of the seventh.
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CARDS SCORE SIX IN FIRST
NEW YORK -- Felipe Lopez had two singles in the inning and Matt Holliday had a home run, but the at-bat that broke the game open early for the Cardinals was a nine-pitch standoff between Jaime Garcia and Mets' lefty Johan Santana.
Santana walked .201-hitting shortstop Brendan Ryan to load the bases and face the opposing pitcher, Garcia. Lefty on lefty. Pitcher on pitcher.
Garcia prevailed and the Cardinals lead 6-0 before he throws a pitch.
The Cardinals' starter poked the ninth pitch of his at-bat up the middle to score two runs and continue a six-run burst by the Cardinals. The six runs scored in the first inning against Santana were the most of any single inning this season for the Cardinals.
Garcia had his two-run single. Holliday had a two-run homer. Skip Schumaker and Lopez added RBI singles.
The Cardinals sent 12 batters to the plate against Santana. Albert Pujols flew out to deep center field with the bases loaded for the final out of the inning.
The six runs and eight hits against the Santana were a career-high for a first inning in the lefty's career.
The Mets countered with two runs in the bottom of the first. Mike Hessman hit a bases-loaded double off the wall in left field -- a shot that would have left a lot of ballparks. That scored two runs and forced Garcia to pitch around a bases-loaded situation after two walks.
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"NO TRACTION" FOR TEJADA TALK
NEW YORK -- The Cardinals interest in Baltimore Orioles third baseman Miguel Tejada could be described as anything from tepid to fleeting to long since past. Tejada's connnection to the Cardinals surfaced this afternoon in a Tweet from Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal, and the Cardinals have pursued the infielder in the past because certain members of the brain trust (namely manager Tony La Russa) saw him as a nice fit at No. 2, ahead of Albert Pujols.
Though Tejada's days of playing regularly at shortstop seem behind the veteran, some within the Cardinals expressed the opinion that he could play a number of positions, including third and shortstop.
One source said after a past discussion there is "no traction" right now for interest in Tejada.
The obvious indication would be that any interest in a third baseman would result from a concern for rookie David Freese's availability. An official with the team said that the timetable for Freese's return from the disabled list has not changed. Freese continues to recover from a bone bruise in his right ankle and a busted big toe on his left foot.
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MOLINA STILL LIMPING WITH BRUISE
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is still bothered by a significant bruise near his left ankle. Molina fouled a ball off the area last week against the Dodgers, and manager Tony La Russa said he still sees his catcher limping. The plan was to give Molina the Thursday noon game off, but by getting him out of Tuesday's loss early the manager said those innings were saved and perhaps Molina will play.
"He's got a big bruise on his leg," La Russa said. "He's limping. That was the plan (to get him Thursday off), but we'll see."
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MacDOUGAL JOINS BULLPEN
NEW YORK -- The Cardinals made a roster move before tonight's game, promoting veteran pitcher Mike MacDougal from Memphis and optioning young reliever Fernando Salas to their Triple-A club.
MacDougal, 33, was signed to a minor-league deal by the Cardinals on July 7 after his release by the Washington Nationals. MacDougal collected 20 saves with the Nationals in the second half of the 2009 season, but he was a late signing by Washington this year and moved between the club's Class AA and Class AAA affiliates before his release.
MacDougal was 2-0 with one save and a 3.86 earned-run average in eight appearances for Memphis.
For tonight's game: Colby Rasmus returns to the lineup in center field, but Jon Jay also remains in the order, taking over for Ryan Ludwick in right.
Cardinals lineup:
1. Lopez, 3B
3. Jay, RF
3. Pujols, 1B
4. Holliday, LF
5. Molina, C
6. Rasmus, CF
7. Ryan, SS
8. Garcia, P
9. Schumaker, 2B
Mets lineup:
1. Reyes, SS
2. Castillo, 2B
3. Pagan, LF
4. Wright, 3B
5. Beltran, CF
6. Hessman, 1B
7. Francoeur, RF
8. Blanco, C
9. Santana, P
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