Thu Jul 3 01:01:07 2008

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Glaus' walk-off shot gives Cards the win

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St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Troy Glaus drilled two home runs, including the game-winning solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals an 8-7 win over the New York Mets in the third meeting of a four-game set.

Glaus finished with four RBI, while Rick Ankiel homered and drove in a pair in the Cardinals' fourth win in their last five games. Chris Duncan drilled a pinch-hit, two-run long ball to tie the game in the eighth for the victors.

Glaus' blast made a winner of Ryan Franklin (3-2), who tossed a perfect ninth. Starter Joel Pineiro was bounced around for 11 hits and four runs in five innings of work for St. Louis.

Carlos Muniz (0-1) was saddled with the loss after surrendering the ninth- inning home run, and Pedro Martinez took a no-decision after allowing five runs on seven hits through five innings with four strikeouts and a walk.

Jose Reyes, David Wright and Damion Easley each tallied three hits for the Mets, with Easley bringing in three runs in defeat for the Mets, who have dropped two of the first three games of the series.

After Duncan's two-run homer tied the game in the eighth, Glaus sent the Cardinals faithful home happy, slamming Muniz's payoff pitch over the wall in left for his 13th home run of the season.

A four-run first put the Mets in the hole early, as Skip Schumaker and Aaron Miles recorded back-to-back singles off Martinez to start the game. After Ankiel's one-out RBI single, Glaus powered a shot over the wall in center for a three-run homer to cap the big inning.

New York came back with a three-spot in the third behind an RBI double up the middle from Carlos Beltran and a two-out, bases-loaded single to left-center by Easley.

The visitors tied it up an inning later when Schumaker air-mailed a throw home on an attempted throw home to nab Jose Reyes, who tripled and scored on the error.

A 47-minute rain delay in the middle of the third seemed to settle Martinez down, but in the fifth Ankiel took a 1-1 offering of his into the right field seats to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead.

With the one-run lead Kyle McClellan walked Wright and got Beltran to pop out before Mark Mulder was called upon in the seventh. Ryan Church blooped a single to left and a wild pitch put a pair in scoring position for Carlos Delgado, who came through with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at five.

Easley lofted a sacrifice fly to left for the go-ahead run, and with runners on first and second, pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis singled in front of a diving Ryan Ludwick in right to bring in a run and give the Mets a 7-5 lead.

The lead didn't hold, however, as Aaron Heilman was pulled after hitting Ludwick with a pitch to start the home eighth. Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa called upon Duncan to pinch-hit, and the reserve turned on Pedro Feliciano's first offering and placed it in the right field seats to tie the game.

Game Notes

The Mets have still not won a game when trailing by three runs or more, the only team in the league having failed to do so...The Mets left 10 men on base, going 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position. St Louis left seven stranded...In the series finale on Thursday, New York's Mike Pelfrey (5-6) matches up against the Cardinals' Mitchell Boggs (3-0).