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Ludwick, Lopez power Cardinals past Reds

Sep 28, 2008 - 10:50 PM By Jim Walsh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus homered and Felipe Lopez had four hits to fuel the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-4 trouncing of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

St. Louis (86-76) finished the year with a season-high, six-game winning streak, scoring all of its runs in the first three frames. The Cardinals plated two in the first and three in the second before blowing open the game with a six-run third.

Ludwick got things started with a two-run blast in the first - his 37th of the season - tying him with Albert Pujols for the team lead and extending his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games. Ludwick would add a run-scoring double in the third to finish the season with 113 RBI.

"I'm just happy I could help the team out this year," Ludwick said. "I felt like I did a decent job with that. It was a good year. On a sour note, we didn't make the playoffs, but we finished strong."

Lopez had hits in each of first three innings, plating a run with a second-inning double and two more when he hit another double in the third. Lopez has been a strong contributor for the Cardinals after arriving from Washington on August 6, hitting .385 while starting games in the infield and outfield.

"I knew when I came here I would have to work hard and show people I could still do it," the 28-year-old Lopez said. "I was fortunate to come here. This is the most fun I've had in a long time."

Glaus led off the second with his 27th home run of the season to give him 99 RBI, one short of his fifth season of 100 or more.

"We have a winning record so we have a bunch of good players," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "There are some impressive numbers on our team."

St. Louis did most of the damage against Adam Pettyjohn (0-1), who was making his first major league start since 2001. The 31-year-old lefthander - starting in place of the injured Edinson Volquez - surrendered eight runs, seven hits and two walks before being lifted with the bases loaded and no outs in the third.

"I felt good enough," Pettyjohn said. "They hit some good pitches. I left some over the plate and they hit them pretty well, too."

Brad Thompson (6-3), who was named the Cardinals' starter just hours before the game, was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, pitching five effective innings in place of Kyle Lohse. The righthander allowed three runs, four hits and a walk.

Edwin Encarnacion drilled a two-run homer and Joey Votto added a sacrifice fly and a solo blast for Cincinnati (74-88), which finished its eighth straight losing season by dropping the final five contests.

"We were playing well and then we kind of ran out of gas a little bit," said Reds manager Dusty Baker, whose team finished September with a 13-12 record. "We didn't play very well today but we're getting better, and you're going to hear from us."

Votto had two of the Reds' five hits, ending his rookie campaign batting .297 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI.

"I thought I finished off strong which was the goal from the very beginning of the year," said Votto, who hit .453 with five home runs and 12 RBI over his last 11 games. "I made big strides defensively and becoming a part of a team that can do some things in 2009."