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Encarancion delivers key blow as Cards beat Reds

Jun 30, 2007 - 3:24 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Juan Encarnacion came back to bite one of his former teams.

Encarnacion drove in two runs, including a go-ahead run in the eighth inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, winless in his last nine starts entering the game, left after seven strong innings with a 2-1 lead. However, a trio of rookie relievers in the eighth prevented Arroyo from snapping his career high seven-game losing streak.

"Guys are getting chance to pitch," Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said. "They're getting experience. It's a great opportunity for them, but it's not just about getting experience. It's about getting people out."

Aaron Miles sliced a double down the left field line to start the eighth against Marcus McBeth (2-2) before Albert Pujols collected his third hit with a single to center that moved Miles to third.

Another rookie Jon Coutlangus was summoned and fellow lefthander Chris Duncan tied the game with a single to center field. Brad Salmon entered and after getting the first out, Encarnacion, who played for for the Reds in 2002, rolled a ground ball through the right side, plating Pujols with a single.

"I feel a little more comfortable against a guy I've seen before," Encarnacion said. "With a guy I haven't seen, I try to see a couple pitches and go from there."

Yadier Molina capped the frame with a single to left-center.

"We had a lot of guys contribute," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "Duncan getting the hit off the lefthander was big. Encarnacion has been playing like that for a while contributing. The bullpen got some big outs but the big story is Percival. He is a pro that everyone respects. That was movie material."

Troy Percival (1-0), making his first appearance since 2005, pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Three relievers followed before closer Jason Isringhausen struck out the side and stranded the tying runs in the ninth for his 15th save.

"It was great to come back and compete," said Percival, who tore the flexor muscle in his right elbow off the bone. "I was surprised that I could get my velocity back to 88, 89. But I didn't come back for me. I had a lot of friends on this team like A.K (Adam Kennedy) and (Scott) Speizio. They called me and text me.

"I started to think about it while I was coaching my son, Cole's team. That really helped. I was thinking about mechanics. I want to help this team to get into contention."

Josh Hamilton's 437-foot home run - his 13th - in the sixth inning with a man on provided Arroyo and the Reds a 2-1 advantage. Arroyo allowed a run and six hits. The blown save left Arroyo with a career-high seven-game losing streak. He still felt for the bullpen and wouldn't second guess his manager.

"That's the way it goes," Arroyo said. "I haven't exactly been throwing good start after good start out there, so I have nothing to complain about. That's the way things are going this year. Even when I throw well, I don't get a win."

"My velocity's been up the last two starts," said Arroyo, who was moved up a day in the rotation. "When I'm reaching 90, it allows me to be more efficient. They can't sit on stuff. They have to respect my other pitches."

Cardinals starter Brad Thompson allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. Encarnacion opened the scoring with a run-scoring double down the third base line in the second inning.