Cardinals 9, Pirates 1
Lance
Berkman belted his National League-leading 27th homer and Jaime Garcia
pitched effectively into the eighth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals
cruised past the host Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 on Saturday night.
Berkman's three-run blast to center field capped a five-run fifth and
put the game out of reach as the Cardinals moved into a first-place tie with Milwaukee in the National League Central, one game clear of
Pittsburgh.
Garcia (10-4) allowed one run on eight hits in 7 1/3 innings as he
continued his sensational July. The crafty lefthander is 3-1 with a 1.71
ERA in four starts this month.
St. Louis' Yadier Molina added his seventh home run of the season and
Albert Pujols had a run-scoring single in the fifth, giving him 15 RBIs
in 13 games since returning from the disabled list in early July.
Kevin Correia (11-8) was charged with a season-high seven runs in 4 2/3
innings. He has allowed 15 runs in his last 14 1/3 innings.