Marquis, Rockies beat Cardinals 5-2 for sweep

[June 09, 2009]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jason Marquis took the NL lead with his eighth win and Troy Tulowitzki homered for the first time in nearly a month, helping the Colorado Rockies complete their first sweep in St. Louis with a 5-2 win over the Cardinals on Monday. The last-place Rockies won their season-high fifth in a row -- four at Busch Stadium -- under new manager Jim Tracy. St. Louis has lost a season-worst four straight.

Clint Barmes had a pair of RBI singles for his sixth consecutive multihit game and Brad Hawpe doubled and had a sacrifice fly in the Rockies' first sweep of the year.

Colorado last swept the Cardinals in July 1994, winning four straight at Mile High Stadium. The Rockies improved to 7-4 since Tracy took over when Clint Hurdle was fired.

Marquis (8-4) allowed two runs in 6 2-3 innings against the Cardinals, for whom he won 42 games from 2004-06 but never pitched in the postseason. He leads the league with five road victories, and has won four of his last five starts overall.

The Cardinals were outscored 33-9 while winding up a 2-6 homestand. Even star slugger Albert Pujols was in a slump during this series, going 1 for 14.

Rockies starters have worked at least six innings in all eight games this month and have earned the victory in five straight games. Huston Street made his first appearance in the series and worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances.

Todd Helton's RBI single in the third off Brad Thompson (0-2) put the Rockies ahead. The Cardinals answered in the bottom half when Brendan Ryan tripled with two outs and scored on a wild pitch.

Barmes singled for the go-ahead hit in the fifth and Hawpe added a sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead. Tulowitzki hit his sixth homer, and first since May 10, in the sixth off Jason Motte for a three-run cushion.

Yadier Molina singled in the fourth for his 500th career hit, and then doubled and scored on Ryan's single with two outs in the seventh for St. Louis. Barmes' second RBI single in the eighth put the Rockies ahead 5-2 in the eighth.

Thompson made his second straight fill-in start, one each for Joel Pineiro and Kyle Lohse, and allowed three runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Notes: Cardinals INF Joe Thurston left the team after the game to attend to the birth of his first child in California. Manager Tony La Russa said he'd rejoin the team on Thursday. ... Cardinals 2B Skip Schumaker got an error for failing to cover the bag on Seth Smith's steal in the eighth, allowing the runner to advance to third. The Cardinals pitched out on the play, and Molina's throw sailed into center field. ... Barmes is 13 for 26 (.500) in the last six games and has a five-game RBI streak, totaling nine. ... The Rockies had three five-game winning streaks last year, the last from Aug. 15-20. ... Hawpe is 15 for 40 (.375) during a 10-game hitting streak.

[Associated Press; By R.B. FALLSTROM]

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