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Ankiel, Pujols power Cardinals past Astros

Sep 24, 2007 - 4:33 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - One big hit deserved another.

Rick Ankiel and Albert Pujols keyed a three-run rally in the Ninth inning off Brad Lidge as the St. Louis Cardinals posted a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

The Astros carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth before turning the ball over to Lidge (5-3), who suffered yet another ninth-inning meltdown.

"Getting guys on base is kind of what killed me," said Lidge, who blew his eighth save of the season. "Ankiel did a good job of putting it in play and hitting it down the line. I thought it was a pretty good pitch."

Miguel Cairo hit a leadoff single, and pinch hitter Ryan Ludwick walked before Pujols smoked a pinch-hit RBI single off the wall in left to cut the deficit to 3-2. After fighting off several pitches, Ankiel hit the game-winning two-run triple to the right field corner.

"It was a great game for both sides," said Pujols, who missed his fifth straight start due to a strained left calf. "I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and put my best swing on it."

"It was exciting, especially since it was the last game here," Ankiel said. "I was just up there trying to battle. (Lidge) throws so hard, it's hard to just sit on a slider.

"With the runner on third and there are no outs, I was just trying to get something in the outfield or get something I could put good hard contact on. I think it was a good at-bat and I'm glad I was able to come through."

In the top half of the ninth, Carlos Lee blasted a two-run homer into the left-center field stands off of Jason Isringhausen to snap a 1-1 tie. It was Lee's 31st homer of the season.

Kelvin Jimenez (3-0) picked up the win for the Cardinals.

"We have great heart on this team and you can't deny that," Cardinal manager Tony La Russa said. "We finally got the win we deserve with as many times as we kept pushing. Last game at home, that's fantasy island stuff. I can't be any happier for the guys in the club and our fans."

St. Louis starter Todd Wellemeyer struck out five batters in five scoreless frames. "When I'm throwing strikes and my stuff is good, they have a problem hitting it," Wellemeyer said. "Fans love winning games like that."

Mark Loretta extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a run-scoring single in the seventh off Cardinals reliever Russ Springer, tying the score at 1-1. Houston's Roy Oswalt yielded one unearned run and eight hits in seven innings.

"I had pretty good command most of the night," Oswalt said. "I was just trying to keep them off balance. I was able to get through seven."