CHICAGO, 9 June 2004 — With Scott Rolen’s bat and Jim Edmonds’ arm, the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t need Albert Pujols.
Rolen made up for the ailing Pujols’ absence with a three-run homer, Edmonds threw out what would have been the tying run and the Cardinals held on to beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 Monday night for their 10th victory in 12 games.
Reggie Sanders also homered for the Cardinals, and Chris Carpenter (7-1) tied his career-best with his sixth straight win. He gave up three runs and nine hits in 8-13 innings, striking out six and walking none.
Jason Isringhausen got the final out for his 13th save in 16 chances.
Corey Patterson and Glendon Rusch homered for the Cubs, and Chicago limited the Cardinals to just one hit over the final five innings. But it wasn’t enough to keep Chicago from losing for the ninth time in 13 games.
Rusch (2-1) gave up four runs and six hits in seven innings. Carpenter has been a good-luck charm of sorts for the Cardinals, who have won in each of his last eight starts, and they needed a boost without Pujols.
The NL batting champion missed his first game of the season after straining his left hamstring running the bases Sunday, and the Cardinals don’t know when he’ll return. But the Cardinals made the most of their six hits and got to Rusch for four runs in the fourth inning.
In Denver, Pedro Feliz’s struggles batting behind Barry Bonds earlier this series forced manager Felipe Alou to move him around in the order.
On a day Bonds sat out of the lineup, Feliz found his stroke.
Feliz homered twice and Yorvit Torrealba hit a three-run homer that staked San Francisco to a five-run lead in the first inning of the Giants’ 10-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday. Pinch-hitter Damon Minor singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning. The Giants won three of four and sent Colorado to its fifth series loss at Coors Field this season.
Feliz hit a solo homer in the eighth and a two-run homer in the ninth for his 10th and 11th homers of the year. He had his third career multi-homer game and second this season. It was Denver’s hottest June 7 ever — breaking a 130-year-old record. The temperature at first pitch was 93 degrees and it quickly climbed to 98.
