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Wellemeyer helps Cardinals snap three-game skid

May 15, 2008 - 4:53 AM By Jim Walsh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Todd Wellemeyer was the tonic for the ailing St. Louis Cardinals.

Wellemeyer pitched well into the eighth and five different players drove in runs to spark the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Troy Glaus and Cesar Izturis each had three hits and an RBI for St. Louis, which snapped a three-game skid.

Pittsburgh entered having won seven of its last eight games, but Wellemeyer stymied the Pirates with a mixture of fastballs, sliders and curveballs.

"(Wellemeyer) did great," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said. "He was hitting spots very well and his breaking ball was sharp. He pretty much dominated the game."

"(Wellemeyer) gave us what we needed," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "(Pittsburgh) is as hot as anybody and he shut them down. He pitched very, very well."

Coming off an impressive start last Friday in Milwaukee, where the 29-year old righthander allowed only two unearned runs in six innings, Wellemeyer yielded just one run and two hits seven-plus innings with five strikeouts and three walks in this one.

"Early in the game, I really had to focus a lot more," said Wellemeyer, who lowered his ERA at Busch Stadium this season to 2.70. "I did feel 100 percent but I got through it. I'll take the result, that's for sure."

Wellemeyer (4-1) departed after allowing a leadoff single to Jose Bautista in the eighth.

Randy Flores and Russ Springer combined to work the eighth and Jason Isringhausen finished off with a perfect ninth inning in a non-save situation for the Cardinals, who improved to 1-1 on their six-game homestand.

St. Louis provided plenty of offense for Wellemeyer, banging out 15 hits. Five players recorded multi-hit games and five different Cardinals drove in a run.

"We had a lot of runners out there which is a good thing," Glaus said. "We got our opportunities and we kept pushing and we had enough opportunities where you knew we were going to score some runs."

Albert Pujols drove in a run and extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a pair of singles. Pujols has reached base safely in 41 straight games, the longest stretch since Derek Jeter reached base in 53 straight games in 1999.

The Pirates' lone run was driven in by Nate McLouth who broke a 2-for-22 slump with an RBI single in the eighth.

Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead in the second inning when Adam LaRoche blistered a fastball deep to straightaway center field. But Rick Ankiel leaped and caught the ball just as it was clearing the wall at the 400-foot mark.

"When he hit it, I knew he hit it good," Ankiel said. "I got a good jump, tried to get back there quick. I knew I had a shot to catch it. You always pay attention to how many steps it's going to take you to get to the wall once you reach the warning track and it seems like things worked out pretty good."

Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm (2-4) continued to struggle on the road.

The lefthander, who entered the contest 0-3 with a 9.60 ERA in three away starts, surrendered four runs and 11 hits with three walks and six strikeouts in six innings.

"I felt confident I was getting every pitch over for strikes," said Maholm, who threw 107 pitches - 68 for strikes. "They have a good offense there, a lot of great hitters. For me, it was a positive, but I would much rather have the win."