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Molina, Cards deal Phillies tough loss

Sep 20, 2007 - 5:37 AM By Chip Sotolar PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Yadier Molina came through with a run-scoring single in the 10th inning to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

The Phillies (82-70) had their six-game win streak snapped and fell to 2 1/2 games back of the New York Mets in the National League East. The Mets (84-67) defeated the Washington Nationals 8-4 on Wednesday.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "When you're behind and your trying to catch up it's never easy. Tonight was a big game for us. We have to keep going.

"We could have gone to Washington with 10 games left and we would have had 83 wins. I think 89-90 wins are going to get you something."

With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Miguel Cairo reached on an infield single to short. Cairo stole second and scored when Molina bounced a two-out single to left. Randy Flores (3-0) struck out two and worked around a walk in the 10th to pick up the win.

Phillies closer Brett Myers (4-7) allowed a run and two hits in 2/3 of an inning to take the loss. Tuesday night Myers blew a save in the 10th inning.

"Last night I deserved to lose," Myers said. "Tonight I thought I made good pitches and they just found the hole. It was a run of bad luck. I jammed Molina and it found the hole."

Philadelphia scored 20 runs in winning the first two games of the series but were bottled up for most of the game by St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright.

"It was a repeat of what he's been doing (all year)," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He has a real nice assortment. He just pitched a heck of a game against a very good team."

Wainwright pitched eight impressive innings, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out seven. The 26-year-old righthander was making his 30th start of the season after appearing in 61 games out of the bullpen last season.

"I started my whole career(in the minors)," Wainwright said. "It was just one year in the bullpen so I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think mentally there's a big difference. I used to be mentally weak and now I'm not."

Jamie Moyer pitched six innings allowing just one run on seven hits while walking five for the Phillies. The 44-year-old lefthander worked out of a couple of jams as the Cardinals stranded nine baserunners over the first seven innings.

St. Louis threatened to score in the third without having a ball leaving the infield. So Taguchi's bunt single sandwiched between two walks loaded the bases for Scott Spiezio, who was making his second consecutive start in place of Albert Pujols who is nursing a calf injury. However, Moyer caught Spiezio looking at all three pitches to end the inning.

The Cardinals wasted another opportunity in the fourth inning as they had three hits but failed to push a run across. Skip Schumaker and Molina singled to bring up Adam Wainwright. On Moyer's first pitch both runners took off and Wainwright looped a ball down the right field line in front of Jayson Werth.

Schumaker, thinking the ball may be caught, slowed as he neared third and couldn't score as Werth's throw came home. Molina never stopped and in scrambling to get back to second base drew a throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz. This prompted Schumaker to try to score but ended with him being tagged out.

Moyer then retired Aaron Miles to end the inning.

Philadelphia scored in the sixth inning when Pat Burrell doubled into the left field corner scoring Chase Utley, who was on first after being hit in the foot by Wainwright.

Utley showed no ill effects as he raced around the bases and slid just ahead of the relay from shortstop David Eckstein to put the Phillies on top 1-0. The Cardinals answered in the bottom half of the inning as Wainwright hit a line drive into left-center field to score Skip Schumaker. The hit was Wainwright's second of the night.

The Phillies had their chances as they stranded two runners in each of the last three innings.

"We had all kind of chances," Manuel said. "We just couldn't get a hit. Actually there were a few times we didn't have to get a hit. We just had to hit a fly ball to get the job done and we couldn't do it."

The win was just the Cardinals second in their last 14 games.

"Breaks are tough to come by right now," Wainwright said. "The important thing you see with this team is that with all the injuries, our team continues to battle. I'm really proud of everybody in this clubhouse."