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Ludwick, Ankiel power Cards past Rockies

Apr 3, 2008 - 5:58 AM By Jim Walsh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel each matched career highs by recording three hits apiece as the St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of a four-run eighth inning to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 8-3, on Wednesday.

The Cardinals banged out 11 hits and benefited from six walks to prevent the reigning National League champion Rockies from starting a season 2-0 for the first time since 2001.

Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) threw 95 pitches in five innings, allowing one run, four hits and three walks with six strikeouts. He improved to 3-0 lifetime with a 2.87 ERA against Colorado.

"I would have liked to have gone a little deeper in the game, but I'll take that," Wellemeyer said. "I had pretty average stuff, actually. I would have liked to have thrown my changeup a little bit more, but the slider felt good."

Brad Hawpe tied the game at 1-1 by leading off the fourth inning for the Rockies with a home run to right field. The 416-foot blast was the first hit in six at-bats this season for the 28-year-old.

"I felt good at the plate today," Hawpe said. "Their guys were throwing strikes, and the more strikes you get, the more you can get locked in. That's what I was trying to do today, just keep the barrel of the bat on the ball."

Ankiel returned the favor, leading off the bottom of the frame by depositing a 2-2 pitch into the right field seats to give St. Louis a 2-1 edge.

It was 14th career home run for the pitcher-turned-outfielder who rejoined the Cardinals last August.

"I just like the way (Ankiel) goes about it," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He's remarkable how proficient he is with so few big-league at-bats."

The Cardinals padded their lead in the fifth, scoring two more runs on an RBI triple by Ludwick and a sacrifice fly by the newly acquired Troy Glaus.

Ludwick added a two-run double as St. Louis batted around in the eighth inning.

"The main goal for me as a player is to put pride in each at-bat and have good at-bats," Ludwick said. "The rest should take care of itself. Tonight was a good night for me and the team."

Albert Pujols capped the outburst with an RBI single, his second hit of the game.

The Cardinals made it a tough night for Rockies starter Aaron Cook (0-1), putting runners on base in each of the first five innings. The righthander, who fell to 0-4 lifetime against St. Louis, surrendered four runs, six hits and three walks in six innings.

"I felt pretty good with most of my locations," Cook said. "The sinker wasn't quite down the way it would usually be. I didn't make as many bad pitches as I thought I did, but the bad ones I did make, they capitalized on."

Willy Taveras delivered an RBI single in the seventh and Hawpe struck again with a run-scoring double in the eighth for Colorado.