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Enright helps Diamondbacks beat Cardinals 4-2

Jun 30, 2010 - 11:41 PM By R.B. FALLSTROM AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS(AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks started and ended a six-game trip with victory celebrations in the clubhouse. Not bad for a team that set a franchise record with 14 straight road losses earlier in the season.

Rookie Barry Enright was the recipient on Wednesday, after providing five solid innings in his major league debut as the fill-in for Edwin Jackson in a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jackson provided the first highlight after his no-hitter on Friday over the Rays, along with two extra days' rest to recover from a 149-pitch outing.

Before the game, manager A.J. Hinch said Enright would replace struggling Dontrelle Willis in the rotation next Tuesday against the Cubs.

"Very surreal feeling," Enright said. "Just to be up on that mound, it's kind of everything you've worked for."

Chris Young hit a two-run homer for Arizona, which avoided a three-game sweep. The Diamondbacks, who squandered a two-run ninth-inning lead in the opener, ended a run of 12 straight road losses to National League teams.

"After giving up that first one, you at least want to get out of here with one," Young said. "It makes the flight home a little bit better."

Both Enright (1-0) and the Cardinals' Jeff Suppan (0-4) went at least five innings in a game that lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes.

It's the longest nine-inning game at 5-year-old Busch Stadium, topping the previous high by 15 minutes, and was the team's longest nine-inning game of the season by 33 minutes.

"It was a long game, but there were a lot of baserunners on both sides and a lot of activity on both sides," Hinch said. "Us trying to scratch out a win to end this road trip, I'd stay out there six innings to do that."

Aaron Heilman worked around two singles in the ninth for his third save in seven chances.

Young was in a 1 for 18 slump and his career average at St. Louis was down to .125 before he hit his 14th homer in the fifth for a 3-1 lead that helped the Diamondbacks win on the road for the fourth time in 22 games and avoid getting swept for a ninth time. Cory Snyder is 8 for 14 against Suppan after getting a season-high three hits.

The 24-year-old Enright was a second-round draft pick in 2007 and was 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA at Double-A Mobile, earning the nod as the sub for Jackson, who makes his next start Friday at home against the Dodgers.

Enright said nerves were a factor in the first, when he was "just trying not to let my knees knock too much" and gave up an RBI triple to Matt Holliday. Otherwise he frustrated the Cardinals, who stranded five runners in scoring position against the rookie, who allowed four hits and four walks and left with a 3-1 lead.

"He had a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement," Hinch said. "And I thought he managed that the best he could. He'll be able to go deeper into games as he gets a little settled, but for a major league debut against a good lineup that was pretty impressive."

Suppan lasted 5 2-3 innings and 109 pitches, both highs for him in four starts since rejoining St. Louis. But he couldn't close out innings, with Young's homer and Rusty Ryal's RBI single in the sixth both coming with two outs.

The Cardinals loaded the bases against Blaine Boyer in the sixth, but Albert Pujols grounded out to short to end the threat. Felipe Lopez earned a 10-pitch walk from Boyer the previous at-bat.

St. Louis has won the first two games and lost the finale of a three-game series the last four chances at home, and eight times overall.

"Yeah, we had some chances," manager Tony La Russa said. "We should have had more opportunities that we had, and the ones we had we could have done more."

The Cardinals got an unusual forceout in the fourth on a pop fly by Augie Ojeda that was in and out of right fielder Nick Stavinoha's glove after a diving, rolling attempt. Stavinoha recovered to throw out Snyder at second.

NOTES: Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren, who's hitting .435 with seven RBIs and homered Monday, walked as a pinch hitter in the fifth to keep alive a seven-game hitting streak. ... SS Stephen Drew returned for Arizona after missing four of five games with a sore left knee, and had two hits. ... Colby Rasmus struck out four times in five at-bats over a two-game span. ... The previous longest nine-inning game at Busch lasted 3:38 on Sept. 21, 2007, against the Astros.