Suppan shuts down Cards

His 10th win matched a career high he set in 2001 with Kansas City.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Pittsburgh's Jeff Suppan changed speeds effectively to shut out the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.
Suppan pitched his third complete game and second shutout of the season, leading the Pirates to a 3-0 win over the Cardinals. It was just the third time this season the Cardinals, who lead the National League in hitting with a team average of .288, have been shut out.
"Today was just one of those days where I was trying to change speeds on everything," Suppan said. "I was trying to throw my curveballs slower than slow. I kept my changeups down. I tried to use my fastball effectively.
"I felt my control was consistent. I wasn't overthrowing. I wasn't trying to throw my fastball as hard as I could."
Streaking
Suppan (10-7) won his fifth consecutive decision, allowing seven hits in pitching his fifth career shutout. He struck out five and walked one in throwing 121 pitches. The 10 wins matched a career high last set in 2001 when Suppan pitched for the Kansas City Royals.
"He was outstanding," Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said about Suppan. "He's our guy. When he goes out there, we always feel like we have an outstanding chance to win."
Suppan credited his defense with helping him record the shutout. In the first inning, center-fielder Brian Giles made a diving catch of a ball hit by J. D. Drew after Bo Hart hit a leadoff single.
"There was some tremendous defense out there," Suppan said. "Giles, that play right there, set the tone right there because our defense went all out to make a play."
Brett Tomko (6-7) gave up three runs on eight hits in seven innings. Tomko remained winless at Busch Stadium. In 10 home starts, he is 0-4. Tomko leads in the National League in hits allowed with 177 and runs allowed with 93 and is tied for second in the league with 24 home runs allowed.
Providing the offense
Reggie Sanders gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the second inning for his team-leading 18th home run. Matt Stairs, playing his 1,000th major league game, led off with a double. Sanders then hit a 2-0 pitch 449 feet into the upper deck in left field. In the four-game series, Sanders had a double, a triple and two homers for five RBIs.
"It was a slider that he left out over the plate," Sanders said about the pitch he hit from Tomko. "It was a pitch I could handle."
The Pirates added another run in the fifth. Jason Kendall drew a leadoff walk and advanced on a sacrifice by Abraham Nunez. After Giles popped out, Stairs singled home Kendall.
"I hadn't really swung the bat well the whole series and then I get that timely hit," Stairs said. "That was nice."
The Cardinals had only two scoring opportunities. St. Louis had runners on first and second with one out in the first inning and first and third with two out in the third but failed to score both times.
"Suppan, every time he needed it, he just made outstanding pitches," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He just carved us up. It was very effective high-quality work."