Times wires
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
ST. LOUIS — Skip Schumaker's infield RBI hit capped a three-run eighth inning and took tough-luck Chris Carpenter off the hook in the Cardinals' 4-3 victory over the Giants on Tuesday night.
Albert Pujols and Allen Craig hit RBI doubles in the eighth before Schumaker, who had been in a 2 for 19 slump, got the go-ahead single off Javier Lopez on a well-placed grounder between first and second. Schumaker's headfirst dive into the bag beat the throw from second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who went far to his left to glove the ball.
Ryan Vogelsong had his fifth straight solid outing in place of injured Barry Zito. Vogelsong had been 1-4 with an 8.49 ERA in 14 career games against St. Louis.
Carpenter worked with runners in scoring position in four of his five innings but avoided losing four straight decisions for the first time since 2002 with Toronto.