Sat May 10 17:26:25 2008

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Cardinals remove Isringhausen from closer's role

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Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - The St. Louis Cardinals officially removed Jason Isringhausen from the closer's role on Saturday, one day after he blew his fifth save of the season, second straight and fourth in his last seven opportunities.

Isringhausen allowed four straight batters to reach base including the game- winning single by Rickie Weeks, after getting the first two outs in a 4-3 loss to the Brewers Friday night.

Isringhausen entered Saturday's action still leading the National League with 11 saves but his earned run average climbed to 7.47 with one win and four losses in 18 appearances following Friday's game.

The team will use a combination of Ryan Franklin and Russ Springer for closing duties going forward.

The Cardinals' all-time saves leader with 292, Isringhausen went 4-0 with 32 saves and a 2.48 ERA in 63 appearances last season. The 36-year-old right- hander has at least 30 saves in four straight seasons.

Isringhausen, who came into the majors as a starting pitcher, did not make his first relief appearance until July 6, 1999 against Montreal and since then has become one of the elite closers in all of baseball with 292 career saves, 22nd on the all-time list.