Berkman, Molina lead Cardinals past Pirates, 5-4
ST. LOUIS (AP) 无毛视频� Two long shots was all it took for the St. Louis Cardinals. Not that Lance Berkman or Yadier Molina were swinging for the fences.
Berkman hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and Molina had a three-run shot in the second, helping the Cardinals overcome a pair of deficits to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Friday night.
无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e not stepping in the batters无毛视频� box saying 无毛视频業 need to hit a home run right here,'无毛视频� Berkman said. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know that anybody ever does that and if they do, I may have done it a few times, it never works.
无毛视频淕enerally, you无毛视频檙e just saying 无毛视频楬ey, let无毛视频檚 get a good pitch to hit.'无毛视频�
Matt Holliday walked with one out in the eighth against Jose Veras (2-4) before Berkman hit his 30th homer.
Berkman didn无毛视频檛 think the Cardinals were reliant on the long ball, but pointed out that most top offenses have a lot of power.
无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e not going to score a lot of runs in the major leagues unless you have guys who hit the ball out of the ballpark,无毛视频� Berkman said. 无毛视频淚f you want to assemble a different roster, if you don无毛视频檛 like home runs, don无毛视频檛 watch us play.无毛视频�
Andrew McCutchen had three hits and an RBI for the Pirates, who have dropped seven of 10 and are in a 10-27 tailspin since July 19 when they were seven games above .500.
Pittsburgh opened with three runs in the first but could have made it a much deeper hole for St. Louis.
无毛视频淎 big hit would have blown it open, there无毛视频檚 no doubt,无毛视频� manager Clint Hurdle said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been shaking the pom-poms for that throughout the season 无毛视频� one more hit in the big time with runners in scoring position.
无毛视频淲e were looking for one more hit and we didn无毛视频檛 get it.无毛视频�
Hurdle gave no thought to getting closer Joel Hanrahan into the game in the eighth given Veras无毛视频� reliability. The right-hander had allowed one earned run in 12 1-3 innings his previous 13 appearances and leads Pittsburgh with 68 games.
The homer was the first allowed by Veras since July 31.
无毛视频淰eras has probably done as much as any eighth-inning setup guy this year as far as pitching through the meat of the order and getting the ball to the closer,无毛视频� Hurdle said. 无毛视频淚t was down, but it was working back towards the barrel and into his swing path.无毛视频�
The Pirates had one hit in their final 13 at-bats 无毛视频� McCutchen was caught stealing after singling to start the seventh 无毛视频� and they didn无毛视频檛 get the ball out of the infield against Kyle McClellan. Manager Tony La Russa said McClellan was pitching so well he had to let him start the ninth, but said Jason Motte would have relieved if Pittsburgh got a man on base.
Berkman reached 30 homers for the sixth time in his career, leaving him one behind teammate Albert Pujols for the NL lead, coming off a career-worst 14 homers in an injury-plagued 2010. The Cardinals无毛视频� 3-4-5 hitters had been 0 for 8 with three walks before the homer.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 had a fantastic year,无毛视频� Hurdle said. 无毛视频淵ou talk about some fine shopping in the offseason.无毛视频�
St. Louis wore throwback 1985 jerseys in honor of Willie McGee bobblehead night, with the fan favorite center fielder throwing out the first pitch while accompanied by Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman.
McClellan (10-6) struck out two in two perfect innings for the Cardinals, who overcame a shaky start from Jake Westbrook. Westbrook gave up three runs in the first and matched his season-high with five walks.
无毛视频淲hen you have a slow start like that, it无毛视频檚 one of those things where you have to tell yourself you can无毛视频檛 give up anymore and that无毛视频檚 all they get,无毛视频� Westbrook said. 无毛视频淵addy had a big homer and Lance an even bigger homer and that无毛视频檚 the reason why you have to hang in there and put up zeroes.无毛视频�
The first four Pirates reached safely in the first, with McCutcheon and Ryan Doumit getting an RBI apiece, and Josh Harrison added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Molina无毛视频檚 fourth homer in seven games and 12th of the year, adding to a career best, tied it in the second. He has three homers and eight RBIs against the Pirates.
James McDonald had been bidding to beat the Cardinals for the second time in three starts. He was lifted after Rafael Furcal无毛视频檚 single to start the seventh, leaving up 4-3.
无毛视频淚 made one mistake, one pitch, and it was a three-run homer,无毛视频� McDonald said. 无毛视频淚t was a bad pitch and he made me pay for it. Overall, I was pleased.无毛视频�
NOTES: Fans lined up at least four hours before game-time to get the McGee keepsakes. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 the kind of tribute he deserves,无毛视频� manager Tony La Russa said. 无毛视频� Pujols had three walks Wednesday night, two of them intentional and scored three runs. The Cardinals are 60-1 when Pujols scores three times. 无毛视频� Chris Carpenter (8-8, 3.57) is 12-2 with a 2.33 ERA against the Pirates heading into Saturday无毛视频檚 start against Brad Lincoln (0-0, 4.58). 无毛视频� Five Cardinals pitchers have at least 10 wins counting Edwin Jackson, who won his first seven games with the Chicago White Sox. 无毛视频� McCutchen无毛视频檚 33rd multihit game followed a 1-for-13 slump.
听