Cardinals Rally Past Padres

ST. LOUIS 11, SAN DIEGO 7

By James Walsh
Contributing Writer
ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Yadier Molina's two-run single sparked a four-run eighth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals busted opened a back-and-forth contest en route to an 11-7 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday.

With runners on first and second and the game tied at 7-7, Rick Ankiel hit a grounder that was fielded by second baseman Edgar Gonzalez, who looked toward second for the force on Albert Pujols but had no play. When Gonzalez turned to first, no one was covering the bag, giving Ankiel an infield single. Molina followed with his base hit to right field off Heath Bell (6-4) that made it 9-7. Chris Duncan and Aaron Miles added RBI singles to cap the rally for the Cardinals, who won their third straight game. Kyle McClellan (2-4), the fifth of sixth pitchers for St. Louis, tossed a scoreless eighth to gain the victory.

The teams combined for 29 hits in a game that saw the lead change four times and was tied on three occasions. It looked like Padres starter Greg Maddux had a solid chance to record his 351st career victory as Jody Gerut's two-run homer in the fourth gave San Diego a 6-3 lead. But All-Star Ryan Ludwick erased those hopes in the bottom of the frame, when he sent a first-pitch changeup from the four-time Cy Young Award winner over the wall in left-center field for a three-run blast, evening the game at 6-6.

Maddux was replaced to start the fifth after surrendering six runs and eight hits. It was the 13th consecutive start without a win for the 42-year-old righthander, matching his career high set in 1990 with the Chicago Cubs. San Diego climbed back in front in the sixth on an RBI single by Brian Giles, his third hit of the night. Ankiel provided the game's third tie with a leadoff home run in the seventh. The 437-foot blast came on the 12th pitch of the at-bat, knotting things at 7-7.