Dukes' 2-run homer in 10th gives Nats doubleheader split

[June 06, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Elijah Dukes hit a two-run, 10th inning homer to give the Washington Nationals a 10-9 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a day-night doubleheader on Thursday.

Dukes, who had four hits and four RBIs, finished a double shy of the cycle. His homer over the center field wall gave the Nationals a split of the doubleheader and snapped their four-game losing streak.

Cristian Guzman had his fourth hit leading off the 10th against Ryan Franklin (2-2). Dukes followed with the home run, his first of the season.

Brian Sanches (2-0) was the winner. He allowed Joe Mather's two-out home run, his first major league homer, in the 10th to give St. Louis a 9-8 lead.

In the opener, Todd Wellemeyer won his fifth straight decision, Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer and Albert Pujols connected on the first pinch-hit homer of his career to lead the Cardinals to a 4-1 victory. Glaus also homered in the nightcap.

Entering the nightcap, Dukes had two RBIs in 22 games. He doubled that number in the second game.

The Nationals took a 7-1 lead after three innings, saw the lead cut to 7-3 in the top of the fourth, and took an 8-3 lead after four innings. They scored their runs against Mike Parisi, whose second major league start was no better than his first.

In his initial start on May 31, he allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 2 2-3 innings to Pittsburgh. Against Washington, he allowed eight runs, five earned, and 10 hits in four innings.

Parisi was followed by Mark Worrell, who was making his second major league appearance. Worrell entered the game trailing 8-3 but helped close the gap when he hit a three-run homer off Tim Redding in his first major league at-bat.

Redding allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out two.

Jon Rauch had retired 19 consecutive batters and was in line to record his 13th save in 15 opportunities before he allowed a one-out double to Brendan Ryan in the ninth, a two-out RBI triple to Skip Schumaker that made it 8-7, and an infield single by Aaron Miles to tie the game.

Wellemeyer (7-1), who hasn't lost in seven starts since April 28, allowed five hits in six innings in the opener. He struck out five, walked one and hit a batter with a pitch.

Wellemeyer, the NL pitcher of the month for May with a 4-0 record and 2.19 ERA, got all the runs he needed from Glaus' first homer of the day off John Lannan (4-6).

Pujols, who was not in the starting lineup in the opener due to a strained left calf, batted for Wellemeyer in the seventh and connected off Joel Hanrahan. It was Pujols' 15th home run of the season.

Notes: The Cardinals played without OF Rick Ankiel, who has an infection in his right knee. ... Worrell was the eighth Cardinals' player to homer in his first at-bat. The most recent was also a pitcher, Adam Wainwright, in 2006. ... Rauch had retired 19 consecutive batters until Ryan's double in the ninth.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN HAWKINS]

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