Glaus, Izturis, and Wellemeyer with great great nights.. Izzy will pitch the Top of the 9th with the lead.. lets go Izzy.. I wanted to see him tonight no matter what.. be nice to have a good inning for him and then go for the rubber game tomorrow afternoon.. to get back on track..
Wellemeyer shuts down Pirates in Cardinals’ win Box Score
By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer 26 minutes ago
ST. LOUIS (AP)—Rick Ankiel added a home run-robbing catch to his collection of jaw-dropping defensive plays, earning an assist in Todd Wellemeyer’s most dominating start. Wellemeyer allowed two hits into the eighth inning and Albert Pujols had two hits, reaching base for the 41st straight game to start the season, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Wednesday night. The most spectacular play belonged to Ankiel, in his first full season as the starting center fielder after flaming out as a wild left-handed pitcher. He leaped above the wall to deny Adam LaRoche of a home run in the second inning.
“That helped me out a lot,” Wellemeyer said. “That was huge. Huge.”
Last week, Ankiel made two impressive throws to third base for assists. Responding to a question comparing the catch to Jim Edmonds’ wall-climbing heroics over the years, Ankiel smiled and agreed it was a “little Jim Edmondsesque out there.”
For good measure, Ankiel tacked on a strong, unnecessary throw to the infield that nearly struck LaRoche as he was heading back to the dugout. Ankiel said he thought the throw had hit LaRoche on a bounce and apologized to the Pirates’ first baseman after singling in the sixth.
“I was like ‘Sorry for hitting you.’ He was like ‘Yeah, that’s what my feelings are hurt about,”’ Ankiel said.
Jason Isringhausen, removed from the closer’s role last week after five blown saves, worked a 1-2-3 ninth.
Series Thread - Pirates @ Cards (5/13, 5/14, 5/15)
