Pujols hits 18th homer to help Cards beat Rockies

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Albert Pujols hit his 18th home run of
the season and Jeff Suppan and five relievers combined on an
eight-hitter to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-4 win over
the Colorado Rockies in National League play on Wednesday.

Suppan (4-2) won his fourth straight start and Pujols
increased his major league lead in homers as the Cards won for
the fifth time in six games.

The Cardinals starter gave full credit to the St. Louis
bullpen, which picked him up with four innings of solid work.

“That’s dominant,” Suppan told reporters. “I think they
work hard. They’re a close group. We work well together.”

St. Louis (22-13) stayed within game of the first place
Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central Division.

Pujols’ two-run homer in the first inning got the Cardinals
offense going and another two-run home run by Juan Encarnacion
in the third put St. Louis 4-1 ahead.

The Cardinals pounded out 13 hits off four Colorado
pitchers, with Aaron Miles leading the way with three hits and
an RBI. David Eckstein also had two hits for the Cardinals as
did Pujols.

Suppan lasted five innings, allowing three runs on six hits
with seven strikeouts and no walks. Five relievers finished up,
allowing just one run on two hits over a combined four innings.

Jason Isringhausen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th
save of the season.

“We have eight relievers now, so we have plenty of arms to
get some outs,” Isringhausen told reporters.

Byung-Hyun Kim (1-1) allowed seven runs on 10 hits with
four strikeouts and one walk over 4 2/3 innings and was saddled
with the loss.

Cory Sullivan and Matt Holliday had two hits apiece and
drove in a run each for the Rockies.

“You need contributions from everybody,” Eckstein said of
the Cardinals’ balanced attack.

In Philadelphia, Tom Glavine pitched seven strong innings
and drove in a pair of runs as the New York Mets hammered the
Phillies 13-4 to snap their nine-game winning streak.

Jose Reyes homered and had two hits and Paul Lo Duca also
had two hits and drove in three runs for the Mets, who pounded
Philadelphia pitchers for 17 hits in the game.

Carlos Beltran and Glavine had two hits each and two RBI
for New York.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Buffalo)