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Carpenter's back, Cardinals top Cubs 2-1

May 21, 2009 - 8:03 AM By R.B. FALLSTROM AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS(AP) -- Chris Carpenter's first pitch to Alfonso Soriano was his first to a hitter in more than a month. Two pitches later, Soriano was a strikeout victim, jump-starting Carpenter's dazzling return to form.

The St. Louis Cardinals' often-injured ace threw 67 pitches in five scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

After missing five starts, the 2005 NL Cy Young winner was back on his game without a rehab assignment.

"How do you do that?" manager Tony La Russa asked. "It's just amazingly impressive that he would be able to shut that club out for five innings."

Chris Duncan snapped a 1-for-21 slump with two hits and drove in a run and the bullpen allowed two hits and a run as the Cardinals shut down the Cubs' offense for the second straight game. Joel Pineiro threw a three-hit shutout on Tuesday.

"While everybody is sleeping, I'm up," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Let's hope these guys start hitting the ball the way they're capable of."

Ryan Franklin, the Cardinals' fifth pitcher, earned his 10th save in 11 chances after a shaky ninth. Pinch-hitter Micah Hoffpauir had a two-out RBI single and the Cubs had two men on before pinch-hitter Reed Johnson struck out.

"We knew he was on a short leash, and we also knew whenever he'd come out there was a good chance we'd be winning or tied," Franklin said. "We've just got that much confidence in the guy."

Khalil Greene, relegated to a utility role while mired in a 2-for-23 slump, added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter.

Ryan Dempster (3-3) allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings as Chicago lost its third straight.

"We're just not doing anything," said Milton Bradley, who doubled and scored in the ninth. "I'm the main culprit. Terrible at-bats."

Carpenter (2-0) gave up three hits in his first outing since he strained a left ribcage muscle April 14 at Arizona. He has not allowed a run in 15 innings over three starts.

The Cubs missed two shots to get to Carpenter, putting two men on with two outs in the first before first baseman Albert Pujols made a nice stab to his right on Bradley's grounder. Ryan Theriot was stranded at second after a one-out double in the third after Kosuke Fukudome flied out and Derrek Lee struck out.

Pujols legged out a leadoff double in the fourth on a ball up the middle to give the Cardinals their first runner in scoring position. He advanced on a sacrifice before scoring on Duncan's hit, which ended an 0-for-14 slump.

"Anytime you can contribute in any way, I think it's satisfying," Duncan said.

Marlins 8, Diamondbacks 6, first game=

Diamondbacks 11, Marlins 9, 13 innings, second game=

At Miami, Justin Upton's second three-run homer of the game in the 13th inning gave Arizona a split of the doubleheader that was overshadowed by the death of Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis' wife.

In Arizona, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said deputies found 39-year-old Gabrielle Dawn Schoeneweis' body on the floor of the master bedroom in the family's home shortly after noon Wednesday. The reliever returned to Arizona.

In the opener, Dan Uggla homered and drove in four runs for Florida. Chris Volstad (3-3) struck out a career-high nine and won for the first time since April 14. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed four runs and five hits in six innings.

In the second game, which lasted nearly 5 hours, the teams both scored in the 12th: Mark Reynolds hit his second homer of the game for Arizona, and Chris Coghlan tied it with an RBI single.

Dodgers 2, Mets 1=

At Los Angeles, Russell Martin drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single off J.J. Putz (1-3) and the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep. The defending NL West champions improved their major league-best record to 29-13.

Rookie left-hander Brent Leach (1-0) got his first major league win, and Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless ninth for his 11th save.

Reds 5, Phillies 1=

At Cincinnati, Aaron Harang (4-4) limited the NL's highest-scoring lineup to Raul Ibanez's solo homer, and Brandon Phillips drove in three runs as the Reds snapped their four-game losing streak and ended the Phillies' five-game winning streak.

Jamie Moyer (3-4) remained winless in four May starts.

Braves 12, Rockies 4=

At Atlanta, Yunel Escobar hit a three-run homer in a nine-run fourth inning for the Braves, who lost infielder Omar Infante for two months after he was hit on the hand with a pitch, breaking a bone.

Astros 6, Brewers 4=

At Houston, Wandy Rodriguez (5-2) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings, and Miguel Tejada and Hunter Pence both had two RBIs as the Astros ended Milwaukee's six-game winning streak.

Lance Berkman had an RBI double, and Rodriguez drove in his first run of the season as the Astros - caught batting out of order in the first inning - handed Milwaukee its third loss in 16 games.

Padres 2, Giants 1=

At San Diego, Kevin Kouzmanoff's homer was one of just four hits for the Padres, who won their fifth straight. Chad Gaudin (1-3) won for the first time in five starts and Heath Bell pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save.

The Giants lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Pirates 2, Nationals 1=

At Washington, Joel Hanrahan's wild pitch with two outs in the ninth inning allowed the winning run to score from third base and the Pirates extended their winning streak to a season-high five straight. Washington has lost seven straight overall, and this was the first one in the streak when the Nationals failed to score at least five runs.