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Cardinals turn tables on Red Sox in rematch

The St. Louis Cardinals' Mark Grudzielanek completes a double-play over a sliding Mark Bellhorn of the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning of the game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, on Monday. PHOTO: EPA

If only the St. Louis Cardinals played this way last October.

Matt Morris (7-0) pitched his first complete game of the season and contributed a squeeze bunt to help St. Louis beat Boston 7-1 on Monday in a World Series rematch. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals last fall for their first championship since 1918.

David Eckstein had three RBIs, eighth-place hitter Yadier Molina had two and the Cardinals chased Tim Wakefield (4-6) in the sixth inning.

The largest Busch Stadium crowd in eight seasons, a sellout of 50,270, watched the Cardinals win for the 16th time in their last 18 interleague games dating to 2003. Edgar Renteria got a generally warm reception, a mixture of early boos drowned out by cheers, in his first visit to St. Louis since signing with Boston.

Brewers 4, Yankees 3

Randy Johnson and the New York Yankees were no better off in Milwaukee. Geoff Jenkins ran down Derek Jeter's drive in the right-field corner for the final out, preserving the Brewers' victory and ruining New York's first trip to Milwaukee since 1997.

Junior Spivey hit a go-ahead homer, Jeff Cirillo also connected and Derrick Turnbow escaped a ninth-inning jam to send the slumping Yankees to their eighth loss in nine games.

The Yankees fell to 1-6 on their 12-game road trip and dipped below .500 at 28-29.

With a runner on second and two outs in the ninth, Jeter sliced a drive to right that appeared headed for the corner -- probably an extra-base hit that would tie the game. But Jenkins, running at full speed, reached out and made a terrific grab, leaving Jeter grimacing as he rounded first base.

Johnson (5-5) allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out eight.

Doug Davis (8-5) worked out of trouble for Milwaukee, striking out eight in six innings. Matt Wise pitched two perfect innings and Turnbow earned his ninth save in 11 opportunities.

Orioles 4, Pirates 3

At Pittsburgh, Rafael Palmeiro's tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth helped Baltimore come back after wasting a three-run lead, and Miguel Tejada and B.J. Surhoff homered in a victory over Pittsburgh.

After the Pirates tied it at 3 on Matt Lawton's homer in the seventh, the Orioles rallied in the eighth against Salomon Torres (2-2) and Mike Gonzalez with help from catcher Humberto Cota's errant throw.

Jorge Julio (2-1) retired all four batters he faced for the victory before B.J. Ryan struck out the side in the ninth for his 15th save in 17 opportunities.

Angels 4, Braves 2

At Atlanta, Darin Erstad barreled over catcher Johnny Estrada to score on Garret Anderson's go-ahead double, and Los Angeles beat Atlanta in the first meeting between the teams.

John Smoltz (4-5) retired his first 14 batters and carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth, but the Angels put runners at the corners with one out. Anderson's drive to right drove in Chone Figgins from third and Erstad, who scored from first base by knocking the ball from Estrada's grasp in a violent collision that knocked Estrada out of the game.

Blue Jays 4, Cubs 1

At Chicago, Gustavo Chacin pitched seven shutout innings, Reed Johnson hit a three-run homer and Toronto won in its first trip to Wrigley Field.

Chacin (6-4) won a matchup of rookie left-handers, outpitching John Koronka (1-1). Chacin allowed five hits, struck out six and was backed by two double plays.

White Sox 9, Rockies 3

At Denver, Freddy Garcia retired 22 straight batters after a rough start to help Chicago rout Colorado. Garcia (6-3) gave up a three-run homer to Brad Hawpe in the first inning, then didn't allow another baserunner. The right-hander walked none and had a season-high 10 strikeouts in eight innings. Shingo Takatsu completed the two-hitter -- only the eighth time two or fewer hits have been allowed at Coors Field.
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