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Cardinals push Padres to brink of elimination in NLDS

Oct 6, 2006 - 1:20 AM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals are showing the end of the regular season didn't mean much.

Behind Jeff Weaver, an effective bullpen and Albert Pujols, the Cardinals seized a commanding two games to none lead in their National League Division Series with a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

After nearly squandering a big lead in the Central Division by losing nine of their final 12 games, the Cardinals have looked like a different team in the postseason.

St. Louis heads home for Game Three within a win of reaching the NLCS for a third straight season. They also are on the verge of sweeping the Padres in the NLDS for a second straight campaign.

"I think it's a huge step in the right direction to come into somebody else's park and win the first two, especially in a short series," Weaver said.

The Cardinals host Game Three on Saturday. If necessary, they also would host Game Four on Sunday.

Ace Chris Carpenter pitched into the seventh inning and Pujols hit a two-run homer in a 5-1 victory in Game One on Tuesday. Two days later, Weaver put forth a strong effort and Pujols again came through at the plate.

Weaver (1-0), who went 3-0 in his last five regular-season starts after struggling for much of the campaign, continued his turnaround. The veteran righthander allowed just two singles in five innings, walking three and striking out three.

"I just wanted to stay away from extra-base hits and things of that nature," Weaver said. "I was able to throw a lot of quality breaking balls to keep these guys off-balance."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa then showed plenty of confidence in his bullpen as four relievers finished off the combined four-hitter.

Rookie Adam Wainwright recorded the final four outs for the save.

Pujols carried the offense for the second straight game, going 3-for-4. The reigning MVP started the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Jim Edmonds plated Pujols with an infield hit later in the fourth, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

To this point, the series has been a bitter disappointment for the Padres, who have managed just one run and 10 hits. San Diego captured the West title by winning a franchise-record 20 games in September.

"We felt good coming into the series," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "We scored one run in two games. That's not going to work. And we've been shut down completely. But, now we have to wash this off and show some intestinal fortitude in St. Louis."

"We need to get something going offensively," said Padres outfielder Mike Cameron, who had one of his club's hits. "We've got our backs against the wall now. It's a bad situation, because we've got to win. It's not too easy to figure out, but we just need to get some hits."

Not even David Wells, who has thrived in the postseason in his career, could prevent San Diego from losing its ninth straight playoff game, dating to 1998.

"Going into the playoffs, we felt pretty good," Padres left fielder Dave Roberts said. "To get the pitching performances we've had and to not get any wins is pretty frustrating."

Wells (0-1) surrendered two runs and seven hits in five innings. The 43-year-old lefthander, who may have been pitching for the final time in his career, is 10-5 lifetime in the playoffs.

Weaver worked around a pair of walks in the first inning, retiring Josh Bard on a grounder to Pujols at first base to end the inning. In the fifth, he pitched around a single and walk.

"They're always a team that scraps and puts the ball in play and are tough to strike out," Weaver said. "So, to get that third out in the first inning and keep it a zero was huge."

The Cardinals nearly went on top in the second. Juan Encarnacion singled with one out and, after Edmonds grounded out, Ronnie Belliard ripped a base hit into left field. But Roberts threw out Encarnacion at the plate.

Wells gave up a pair singles through the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth.

Preston Wilson opened the frame with a double over Roberts' head in left field. Pujols, who is 5-for-8 with three RBI in the series, followed by sending a 2-2 pitch to left for a base hit to score Wilson and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Pujols got caught in a rundown on his hit. But without anyone covering second base, he slid in safely, a play that turned out to be huge.

"I just got lucky that the rundown went our way," Pujols said. "I thought as soon as he throws to second, I'm done."

"We just messed up a rundown there," Bochy said. "We just didn't execute."

Scott Rolen and Encarnacion grounded out, allowing Pujols to reach third. Edmonds then ripped a shot headed for center field that went for an infield hit and scored Pujols even though second baseman Josh Barfield made a sensational diving stop.

La Russa started his parade of relievers in the sixth with Randy Flores, who recorded two outs while allowing a single.

"It's the nature of the bullpen. It's a 'What have you done for me lately thing?' Flores said. "If you're pitching in a lot of big games and are off your game, the only way to get better is to get out there and do it again. We're resilient."

The first of three rookies, Josh Kinney got the final out in the sixth and worked around a two-out walk in the seventh. He was followed to the mound by Tyler Johnson and Wainwright.

"To be completely honest, I was calm and relaxed when I first came into the game," Kinney said. "But when I came out for the second (inning), I could feel some nerves. I just took a deep breath and went out there."

Johnson struck out the two batters he faced in the eighth before Wainwright came on and gave up a double to Barfield. However, the righthander retired Adrian Gonzalez on a weak grounder to second base, then worked a perfect ninth.

"Last week, they were hitting balls right at people, and now we are," Gonzalez said. "They're finding holes and getting jam-shots for hits, and we're not. That's the difference right now."