Victorino, Werth lead Phillies past Cardinals

[May 06, 2009]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Philadelphia Phillies' center fielder was the big story a day after Rick Ankiel's harrowing headfirst crash into the wall.

Shane Victorino was 4 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs and Jayson Werth had a three-run shot and four RBIs in a 10-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Ankiel watched from the dugout in a warmup jersey after escaping a potentially dangerous situation with a bruised right shoulder the worst of his minor injuries, but the Cardinals lost their third in a row for the first time this season.

Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina hit solo homers in a span of three at-bats to help the Cardinals cut the deficit to 4-3 in the fourth. Werth answered with a three-run shot in the fifth off Adam Wainwright (3-1), who walked Ryan Howard on four pitches nowhere close to the zone the previous at-bat to put two on with two out.

Albert Pujols hit his 10th homer in the ninth off Brad Lidge, his lone hit in eight at-bats in the series.

The Phillies have hit 26 homers in 17 games at 4-year-old Busch Stadium. Despite a spotty effort from Brett Myers (2-2) and with Chase Utley on the bench with a bruised left foot, they swept the Cardinals in a two-game series for the first time since Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 1981 at Veterans Stadium and won their fifth straight on the road.

Victorino is batting .365 (23 for 62) during a 14-game hitting streak, has 14 RBIs his last 10 games and has scored a run in 10 straight. He hit his fourth homer in the first, keyed a three-run third with a two-run double and added a pair of singles before striking out in the eighth.

Werth added a sacrifice fly in the third and Ryan Howard was 1 for 2 with an RBI and two walks, giving him 29 RBIs and a .381 average in 27 games in his hometown.

Myers won for the first time in four starts despite allowing five runs on nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. The Phillies led three times by four runs, finally putting away the Cardinals in the seventh on RBI singles by Howard and Pedro Feliz after reliever Chris Perez couldn't locate the bag covering first on a grounder.

Wainwright surrendered seven runs and nine hits in six innings after entering 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA against the Phillies. He had four of his five strikeouts in a span of five hitters between the first and second, but his best play might have been picking off Victorino in the fifth after first faking to third -- a ploy that rarely succeeds.

Rookie Colby Rasmus replaced Ankiel in center field for the Cardinals and had an RBI double in the seventh.

Notes: Miguel Cairo got his first start of the season in place of Utley and was 1 for 4. ... Phillies pitchers have allowed 46 homers, most in the majors. Myers has surrendered 10 of them in 38 innings... Jimmy Rollins had two hits and is 10 for 32 his last seven games after going 11 for 68 the first 16.

[Associated Press; By R.B. FALLSTROM]

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