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Ludwick, Glaus power Cardinals past Padres

May 22, 2008 - 6:59 AM By Jamie McConeghy PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) - The St. Louis Cardinals continued their success, and the San Diego Padres continued to get hit by the injury bug.

The Cardinals tied their season high with 16 hits and backed an effective outing from pitcher Braden Looper en route to an 11-3 victory over the Padres on Wednesday.

Skip Schumaker led the offensive explosion with four hits, two runs and a walk. Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus each drove in three runs, while Rick Ankiel belted a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth.

St. Louis had 39 hits over the three-game series with San Diego.

"We are just hot and getting hits in timely fashions," Cardinals second baseman Aaron Miles, who added three hits, said. "I can't make anything more of it. Sometimes, they fall with runners on and sometimes they don't. We just have to keep it rolling."

Looper (6-3) scattered three runs and eight hits with two walks over five innings. He also struck out five to win for the first time in three decisions.

A day after ace Jake Peavy went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow, San Diego suffered two more big blows to Chris Young and Josh Bard.

Young (4-4) retired Brendan Ryan to open the third inning, but then allowed two consecutive singles by Schumaker and Miles. Albert Pujols then lined an 0-2 pitch off the face of Young, who sat on the ground for several minutes with blood flowing onto his jersey.

"I thought it was going to go over his head, but it hit him right on his face," Pujols said. "I just prayed because it could have been worse."

"I haven't seen it too often in my 30 years," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "You get sick to your stomach, I don't care whose teammate it is."

The righthander was taken out of the game and sent to Scripps Green Hospital with a nasal fracture and lacerations to his nose.

Relief pitcher Cla Meredith replaced Young and got Ludwick to ground out to third, which scored Schumaker. Glaus followed with a single to right that easily scored Miles.

Pujols also scored on the single but knocked Bard off his feet on the play. Bard left the game with a left ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated Thursday.

"How many times does that happen when you get two guys hurt in the same game by the same player?" Pujols asked. "After that I couldn't concentrate on any more of my at-bats, I just kept replaying it in my mind. It's something you don't want to happen to anybody. It was a tough night."

Adrian Gonzalez drove in all three runs for the Padres and added his team-leading 12th home run of the season in the first inning. But he was more concerned about his teammates.

"There was a lot of blood out there," Gonzalez said. "But (Young) kept saying he was OK. He was still under control but you never want to see a teammate, an opponent or especially a friend have that happen to them."