Cardinals take game one over Padres

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Reggie Sanders hit a grand slam and
drove in six runs as the St Louis Cardinals opened the National
League playoffs with an 8-5 win over the San Diego Padres
Tuesday in St Louis.

His grand slam in the fifth inning gave the Cardinals an
8-0 lead behind a sharp Chris Carpenter and handed the
defending NL champion Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five
National League Divisional Series.

Game two in the series is Thursday, also at Busch Stadium
in St Louis.

Jim Edmonds got the Cardinals going quickly with a solo
home run in the first and scored three more runs in the third,
with Sanders contributing a two-run single and another run
scoring on a wild pitch.

Sanders then hit his grand slam in the fifth off starter
and loser Jake Peavy and the Cardinals had enough offense to
hold off a late Padres comeback attempt.

Carpenter, a leading contender for the NL Cy Young Award,
allowed just three hits while striking out three and walking
three over six innings.

Four relievers finished up, including Jason Isringhausen,
who got the final two outs to end the game in the ninth despite
allowing four hits as the Padres scored three runs in the
ninth.

Peavy allowed eight runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings,
striking out three and walking three.

Edmonds wound up with three hits, three runs scored and an
RBI for the Cards. Sanders had two of the St Louis 10 hits.

Eric Young homered and drove in two runs for the Padres,
while Ryan Klesko, Brian Giles and Mark Sweeney all had two
hits for San Diego.

Trailing 8-0, the Padres scored single runs in the seventh
and eighth before a three-run rally in the ninth fell short.