[Brian34Cook]

05/10/2008 8:25 PM ET
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Ludwick clutch as Cards top Crew
Two-out single in ninth evens series; Franklin nets second save
By JR Radcliffe / Special to MLB.com

MILWAUKEE -- The St. Louis Cardinals made sure they weren't the only ones with questions in the back end of their bullpen. Ryan Ludwick delivered a clutch two-run single in the ninth against Milwaukee closer Eric Gagne, breaking a tie and sending the Cardinals to a 5-3 win Saturday. The victory came one night after Cards closer Jason Isringhausen blew his fifth save, a mark tied with Gagne atop the National League leaderboard.

"I'm never nervous in that situation, I love that situation," said Ludwick, who fell behind Gagne with the bases loaded and two outs. "I've been blessed with that opportunity a lot since I've been here. I've been fortunate to come through a lot of the situations. I feel like that's what baseball's all about."

Ludwick, who now has 23 RBIs in just 97 at-bats, snapped a streak of 13 consecutive scoreless innings by Brewers relievers.

The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: St. Louis Cardinals News

[Brian34Cook]

No word yet on what decision will be made with Eric Gagne, but I'm assuming we'll know shortly.

2B Rickie Weeks
CF Tony Gwynn Jr
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
3B Bill Hall
SS JJ Hardy
P Jeff Suppan
C Jason Kendall

[Link]

[Brian34Cook]

Cards:
CF Schumaker
2B Kennedy
1B Pujols
RF Ludwick
LF Duncan
3B Glaus
C La Rue
SP Looper
SS Izturis

Brewers:
2B Weeks
CF Gwynn
LF Braun
1B Fielder
RF Hart
3B Hall
SS Hardy
SP Suppan
C Kendall

[Brian34Cook]

<table class="primaryBg" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="759"><tbody><tr align="center"><td rowspan="3" class="white" align="center" width="130">
St. Louis (23-15)
Won 1 </td> <td width="509"> St. Louis 0, Milwaukee 0 <select onchange="window.parent.location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value"> <option value="#" selected="selected">Today's Boxes 5/11/08</option> <option value="/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2008_05_11_cinmlb_nynmlb_1"> CIN 0, NYM 0 </option> </select> </td> <td rowspan="3" class="white" align="center" width="130">
Milwaukee (17-19)
Lost 1 </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td> <table class="textSm" bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#727272"> <td class="greyLite" align="right">May 11, 2008</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="white" align="center" bgcolor="#cc0000"> <td class="white"> </td> <td> 1 </td> <td> 2 </td> <td> 3 </td> <td> 4 </td> <td> 5 </td> <td> 6 </td> <td> 7 </td> <td> 8 </td> <td> 9 </td> <td></td> <td class="white"> R </td> <td class="white"> H </td> <td class="white"> E </td> </tr> <tr align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">St. Louis
</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc">0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> </tr> <tr align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Milwaukee
</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc">0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="textSm white"> Standings thru 5/11/08 | Gameday <script type="text/javascript">var game_status = 'IP';</script> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="759"><tbody><tr class="primaryBg"><td colspan="3" height="10">
</td></tr> <tr> <td class="primaryBg" width="95">
</td> <td width="569"> <!--Copyright 2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P.--><table class="textSm" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="559"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="276"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="276"> <tbody><tr align="center" bgcolor="#dedede"> <td align="left" width="130">St. Louis</td><td width="7%">AB</td><td width="7%">R</td><td width="7%">H</td><td width="7%">RBI</td><td width="7%">BB</td><td width="7%">SO</td><td width="7%">LOB</td><td align="right" width="10%">AVG</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Schumaker, CF</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.301</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Kennedy, 2B</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.301</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Pujols, 1B</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.346</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Ludwick, RF</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.351</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Duncan, LF</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.250</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Glaus, 3B</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.221</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">LaRue, C</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.067</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Looper, P</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.385</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Izturis, SS</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.237</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Totals</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td><td width="7"> </td><td valign="top" width="276"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="276"> <tbody><tr align="center" bgcolor="#dedede"> <td align="left" width="130">Milwaukee</td><td width="7%">AB</td><td width="7%">R</td><td width="7%">H</td><td width="7%">RBI</td><td width="7%">BB</td><td width="7%">SO</td><td width="7%">LOB</td><td align="right" width="10%">AVG</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Weeks, 2B</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.190</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Gwynn, CF</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.350</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Braun, LF</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.275</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Fielder, 1B</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.254</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Hart, C, RF</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.292</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Hall, 3B</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.201</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Hardy, SS</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.244</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Suppan, P</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.000</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Kendall, C</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">.282</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Totals</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="276"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="276"> <tbody><tr align="center" bgcolor="#dedede"> <td align="left" width="130">St. Louis</td><td width="7%">IP</td><td width="7%">H</td><td width="7%">R</td><td width="7%">ER</td><td width="7%">BB</td><td width="7%">SO</td><td width="7%">HR</td><td align="right" width="10%">ERA</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Looper </td><td>0.0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">3.95</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td><td width="7"> </td><td valign="top" width="276"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="276"> <tbody><tr align="center" bgcolor="#dedede"> <td align="left" width="130">Milwaukee</td><td width="7%">IP</td><td width="7%">H</td><td width="7%">R</td><td width="7%">ER</td><td width="7%">BB</td><td width="7%">SO</td><td width="7%">HR</td><td align="right" width="10%">ERA</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Suppan </td><td>0.0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td align="right">5.22</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3">
Pitches-strikes: Looper 0-0, Suppan 0-0.
Ground outs-fly outs: Looper 0-0, Suppan 0-0.
Batters faced: Looper 0, Suppan 0.
Umpires: HP: Brian Knight. 1B: Paul Schrieber. 2B: Laz Diaz. 3B: Wally Bell.
Weather: 65 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 1 mph, Varies.</td></tr></tbody></table>
</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Brian34Cook]

Schumaker with his pink bat leads off.. against Ex Cardinal Jeff Suppan.. 3-2 on him.. foul.. foul.. groundout to 2B.. 8 pitch at bat..

[Brian34Cook]

1-2 on Kennedy.. ball high.. 2-2.. k's swinging.. 2 outs

[Brian34Cook]

0-2 on Pujols.. ball low.. 1-2.. foul.. up and in.. 2-2.. inside.. 3-2.. outside.. 2 outs for Ludwick

[Brian34Cook]

Jeez.. Pujols picked off.. Ball gets away but out at 2nd and he's smiling.. 3 outs..

- Thats frustrating to me.. Pujols after being thrown out.. maybe he smiled because of the thrown ball away but I'm probably nit picking..

Mid 1: 0-0

[Brian34Cook]

Rickie Weeks HBP on 1-2 pitch.. ugh