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ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols had three hits and four RBI, helping the St. Louis Cardinals rally from five runs down to beat the sagging San Diego Padres 6-5 on Saturday.
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Todd Wellemeyer (8-4) allowed one hit in his last 4 1/3 innings after surrendering five runs on four hits in the first two frames and Ryan Franklin worked the last two innings for his 14th save in 18 chances. The Cardinals have won four in a row, also erasing a 3-run deficit in Friday's 11-7 victory. They are 5-1 against the Padres.
Randy Wolf (6-10) was knocked out in the sixth after a strong beginning for the Padres, who have lost five in a row and eight of 10. Rookie Edgar Gonzalez hit a three-run home run, matching his career best for RBI.
Pujols is second in the National League with a .359 average, his best since he was at .364 on June 5, after going 3-for-4. His three-run double highlighted a four-run fifth that closed the gap to a run and his infield RBI single in the sixth off Cla Meredith, a sharp grounder into the hole that shortstop Khalil Greene stopped but could not corral, put the Cardinals ahead 6-5.
Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI double on a tailing, dipping drive that center fielder Rick Ankiel over-ran before slipping when he attempted to retrace his steps, and Kevin Kouzmanoff added a sacrifice fly to put the Padres ahead in the first. The Gonzalez play was ruled an error until the fourth, after official scorer Jeff Durbin had a chance to view numerous replays.
Edgar Gonzalez' fifth homer, a three-run shot, made it 5-0 in the second. The Padres advanced one more runner into scoring position against Wellemeyer, then missed two chances against the St. Louis bullpen. Full story
Reds 7, Mets 2
CINCINNATI -- Right-hander Josh Fogg extended his midseason resurgence by getting New York to hit into three double plays, and Joey Votto drove in three runs, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a victory over the Mets.
After winning 10 in a row and moving into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NL East, the Mets have dropped two in a row. In this one, their clutch hitting and their bullpen let them down.
Votto had a run-scoring single off Oliver Perez (6-6), then broke the game open with a two-run triple in the seventh. Right fielder Fernando Tatis dived but couldn't come up with the diving liner, allowing Votto to get his first career triple.
Ken Griffey Jr. also had a run-scoring double off Perez, who gave up three runs in six innings.
Brewers 8, Giants 5
SAN FRANCISCO -- Rickie Weeks hit a two-run double to cap a four-run sixth inning, Prince Fielder homered and the Milwaukee Brewers remained unbeaten against the San Francisco Giants this season with a win.
Ryan Braun missed hitting for the cycle by a home run for Milwaukee, which had had nine extra-base hits while winning its third straight.
Milwaukee trailed 4-2 in the sixth before scoring four times to break the game open. One run scored on a wild pitch and another came home on an error by Giants catcher Bengie Molina -- both on the same play. Weeks then doubled to left-center to drive in two more and give the Brewers a 6-4 lead.
Fielder added his 20th home run of the year off San Francisco reliever Osiris Matos (0-2) in the seventh, a towering shot that easily cleared the stands in right field and landed in the waters of McCovey Cove. It marked the 15th consecutive game in which the Brewers have homered, tying the third-longest streak in franchise history. The club record is 19, set in 1996.
Rockies 7, Pirates 1
DENVER -- Scott Podsednik had three doubles among his four hits and two runs scored, and Jorge De La Rosa pitched six gritty innings to give the Colorado Rockies a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was the Rockies' third straight win over Pittsburgh in the four-game series. Freddy Sanchez had three hits for the Pirates, who have dropped four straight and five of their last six.
Podsednik tied a career high for hits, and his three doubles were a career best. Podsednik has had four hits in a game eight times, the last coming May 1, 2006, at Cleveland when he was playing for the Chicago White Sox.
De La Rosa (4-5) got through a rough first inning to strike out seven. He have up a run in the first and faced seven batters but settled down, scattering four hits over his last five innings of work.
Nationals 8, Braves 2
ATLANTA -- John Lannan won his rookie matchup against Jair Jurrjens, Willie Harris continued his strong series against his former Atlanta teammates and the Washington Nationals rolled past the Braves.
Harris, a part-time starter for Atlanta last season, had three hits, two RBI, a stolen base and scored three runs. He made a diving catch of a line drive by Gregor Blanco in center field to end the game and has five hits in the first two games of the series.
Harris and Cristian Guzman drove in runs with triples. Guzman was 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Ryan Langerhans, another former Braves outfielder, was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored, giving him four hits in the first two games of the series.
