PIRATES HOLD ON FOR 4-3 WIN
PITTSBURGH _Adam Wainwright, tied for the major league lead in victories at 17, will remain there.
Wainwright (17-8) suffered his second straight loss tonight when he was unable to hold a 2-0 lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who rallied for two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to beat Wainwright and the Cardinals, 4-3.
The Cardinals had an excellent chance to pull the game out in the ninth when they had four hits _ only one of them making it to the outfield on its own _ but scored just one run. Albert Pujols' third hit of the night, a smash off the glove of Pittsburgh third baseman Pedro Alvarez, loaded the bases with one out after Jon Jay's infield hit off shortstop Ronny Cedeno's glove had driven in a run to make it 4-3.
Randy Winn, rounding third on Pujols' hit, at first was waved in by coach Jose Oquendo but then Oquendo stopped Winn with cleanup man Matt Holliday coming up and only one out.
But Holliday fouled out on the first pitch to him by Even Meek and Felipe Lopez popped up to end the game.
Holliday's two-run homer off Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm in the first innng provided the only scoring until the ninth for the Cardinals, who lost for the second time in eight meetings with Pittsburgh this seaon.
Pujols did not get his 400th career homer although he singled twice and doubled.
PIRATES TAKE 4-2 EDGE
PITTSBURGH _ Adam Wainwright's chances of winning his 18th games all but evaporated in the seventh when the Pittsburgh Pirates put together their second straight two-run inning to take a 4-2 lead in what probably will be Wainwright's last inning on the mound.
Ronny Cedeno doubled over the head of center fielder Jon Jay and was sacrificed to third by Delwyn Young. With the Cardinals' infield charging in at the last instant, Andrew McCutchen bounced right to shortstop Brendan Ryan, who froze Cedeno at third and threw to first for the out.
But Jose Tabata worked a walk on a full count and Tabata was allowed to steal second without a throw as first baseman Albert Pujols was playing deep for lefthanded-hitting Neil Walker. Walker then shot a single to center and the Pirates had their first lead of the series.
BUCS' RELIEVER RETIRES PUJOLS
PITTSBURGH _ Rather than have Paul Maholm face Albert Pujols one more time _ Pujols was 18 for 30 (.600) against Maholm, including two hits tonight _ Pittsburgh manager John Russell pulled Maholm after the lefthander had nicked the Cardinals' Jon Jay with a pitch with two out in the seventh.
The strategy worked as reliever Joel Hanrahan got Pujols to pop up to end the inning and leave the game tied at 2-2.
PIRATES TIE SCORE WITH TWO IN 6TH
PITTSBURGH _ Cardinals righthander Adam Wainwright, who already has a pair of two-hit shutouts this season, had another one working tonight at PNC Park. Through five innings, Wainwright had given up just two hits and no runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But, after Wainwright had set down 11 hitters in a row, the Pirates struck for three straight hits, good for two runs in the sixth inning, to tie the score at 2-2.
With one out, Andrew McCutchen doubled to left. Jose Tabata then sent a drive to right center where, after a long run, Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay got his glove on the ball but couldn't make the play. Tabata made third with a triple and scored on Neil Walker's single past diving first baseman Albert Pujols.
The Pirates later in the inning would load the bases on consecutive walks to Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Doumit but Wainwright kept the score even by fanning Lastings Milledge on a breaking ball.
MOLINA, FELIZ EXTEND HIT STREAKS TO 5
PITTSBURGH _ Yadier Molina and Pedro Feliz of the Cardinals both singled with one out in the fourth, extending their hitting streaks to five games apiece. Molina, at that point, was nine for 18 and Feliz, who has played only five games with the Cardinals, was eight for 19.
After Allen Craig, who earlier had hit in his fifth straight game, struck out, Adam Wainwright was credited with an infield hit when Pittsburgh third baseman Pedro Alvarez's throw pulled first baseman Garrett Jones off the bag. But Brendan Ryan left the bases loaded by grounding out and the Cardinals' lead still was 2-0.
NO HOMER BUT PUJOLS HALFWAY TO CYCLE
PITTSBURGH _ With a first-inning single and a third-inning double off Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm, Albert Pujols, who has 399 career homers, is halfway to a cycle, with only the triple and home run remaining. Pujols now is 18 for 29 (.621) in his career against the Pirates' lefthander.
Cardinals righthander Adam Wainwright is holding a 2-0 lead.
HOLLIDAY'S 2-RUN SHOT GIVES CARDS EARLY LEAD
PITTSBURGH _ Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday, the Cardinals' third and fourth hitters, had strikingly different profiles against Pittsburgh lefthander Paul Maholm before their first at-bats tonight.
Pujols was 16 for 27 in his career against Maholm. When the count ran to 3-0, Pujols drilled a two-out single in the first inning.
Holliday was one for 14, albeit a homer, against Maholm. But, after the count against him went to 0-2, Holliday cracked his 22nd home run of the season into the bullpen area in center field.
Before the game, Pujols' .385 career average at PNC Park ranked first among active players and Holliday's .367 mark was second.
Adam Wainwright, seeking a major-league high 18th victory, had a 2-0 lead.
MOLINA SAYS HE'S READY TO PLAY THEM ALL
PITTSBURGH _ Catcher Yadier Molina is starting for the 26th straight time tonight and 44th time out of his last 45 games. There still are 39 games remaining for the Cardinals and Molina said, "I'm ready to play every day. That's what they pay me for."
Manager Tony La Russa has said he would get Molina a day off sometime during this 10-game trip.
Molina's average has shot from .223 at the All-Star break to .261 before tonight's game with the Pittsburgh Pirates, so apparently the workload agrees with him.
"I don't know what it is," said Molina. "I'm doing the same thing I did the first half. And I'm doing the same thing I did two years ago, three years ago."
La Russa said the heavy workload "is not affecting the quality of his play. He certainly isn't playing worse because he's playing every day. He's playing great."
LA RUSSA EXPLAINS LIFTING PUJOLS
PITTSBURGH _ Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, whose team already was ahead by seven runs in the ninth inning Monday night, could have let Albert Pujols go for his 400th home run _ or a bunch more potential runs batted in _ when his time at-bat came up in the ninth inning.
But with the bases loaded, La Russa had Bryan Anderson hit. Anderson, booed by the few remaining fans of a paid crowd of 12,393, singled home a run.
Asked why he pulled Pujols, who already had gone upstairs to the clubhouse here at PNC Park by the time the at-bat would have come up, La Russa said, “A long time ago, I was taught there was a right way to win and a right way to lose. And you should try to win the right way and lose the right way.
"We’ve got a lot of compliments over the years. You get beat, you tip your cap. You win, you just take the win and don’t show anybody up.
"There was no reason to try to add runs. “We’ve already got nine runs. I did ask Albert, because he’s pursuing the Triple Crown. Suppose he hits a bases-clearing double or something. But you talk about his greatness. He said, ‘I know what you’re doing. It’s not right to take that at-bat.’''
La Russa said, “You get paid for your best judgment. And I’m as concerned about the unpredictability of the game as anybody. But, in a game like that, if you’re not good enough to stop the other club. . . if you can’t get six outs with a six- or seven-run lead, then you’re not good enough.
“Albert should not bat with the bases loaded. At that point, it’s very personal. And you try not to make it personal."
Anderson said he heard the fans. “They were vocal,” Anderson said. “It worked out all right.
“But you can understand (the booing), right? They’re disappointed when they see that _ Bryan Anderson pinch hitting for Albert Pujols?”
REYES DISABLED, SALAS UP YET AGAIN
PITTSBURGH _ With lefthanded reliever Dennys Reyes' sore left elbow showing only mild improvement, the Cardinals decided to disable the veteran today, backdating him to Aug. 16. Guess who was called up from Class AAA Memphis?
Fernando Salas, that's who. Salas has been summoned for the sixth time this season. Salas has a 2.51 earned run average for 14 1/3 innings and might not be here all that long this time either if righthander Jason Motte comes off the 15-day disabled list, as expected, this weekend.
With Reyes disabled at least until next Tuesday, the Cardinals have just one lefthander in the bullpen in Trever Miller and only two on their 12-man staff in Miller and Jaime Garcia. But manager Tony La Russa said there was no lefthanded help available at Memphis.
Veteran Nate Robertson, signed by the Cardinals for Memphis a few weeks ago, already has opted out of that contract because the Cardinals hadn't brought him up. And lefthander Renyel Pinto has been released from Memphis.
Yadier Molina will be starting his 26th straight game behind the plate and 44th in the last 45 as Adam Wainwright seeks his 18th victory, which would be a major-league best.
Brendan Ryan, who had two hits on Sunday as the leadoff man against San Francisco lefthander Barry Zito, will lead off tonight again when lefthander Paul Maholm goes for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This is in spite of Ryan's three-for-17 career showing against Maholm.
But La Russa said he wanted to keep normal leadoff man Felipe Lopez in the fifth spot and Pedro Feliz at No. 7. Lefthanded-batting Skip Schumaker, nothing for three against Maholm, will not start.
The lineups:
Ryan ss
Jay cf
Pujols 1b
Holliday lf
Lopez 2b
Molina c
Feliz 3b
Craig rf
Wainwright p
Pittsburgh:
McCutchen cf
Tabata lf
Walker 2b
Jones 1b
Alvarez 3b
Doumit c
Milledge rf
Cedeno ss
Maholm p
