NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates don't waste time sulking, shut out Cardinals

St. Louis' Albert Pujols served the second game of his two-game suspension.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Reggie Sanders and the Pittsburgh Pirates put an embarrassing loss behind them with one big inning.
Sanders homered twice in the fifth inning, the second a grand slam, as the Pirates shook off what could have been a deflating loss with a 14-0 victory over St. Louis on Wednesday night.
The Pirates were victimized by the Cardinals' 10-run eighth in a 13-5 loss Tuesday night. They made sure this game was out of reach in the fifth, which ended with Pittsburgh leading 13-0.
Mental approach
"This team has been able to turn the page very fast," Sanders said. "I'm very, very proud of the guys knowing how to take it day by day, inning by inning, and just move on.
"We could have given up a long time ago with all the transitions we've made."
Sanders became the first player to homer twice in an inning this season and the Pirates set a Busch Stadium record and tied a team record with seven home runs.
"I wish it was like that every night," Sanders said.
Jeff D'Amico (8-12) threw a three-hitter for his fifth career complete game, his second this season, and won for only the second time in six decisions. A career .103 hitter entering the game, he also hit his second career homer in 137 at-bats for the Pirates' first run in the third.
"It was a perfect day," D'Amico said. "You can't say much more than that."
Barrage
Jason Kendall and Brian Giles homered in a span of three pitches to start the fifth and chase Garrett Stephenson (7-12).
Sanders then hit the second pitch from rookie Jason Pearson for a homer to make it 5-0. Sanders capped the inning with a drive into the left-field bullpen off Esteban Yan for his 29th homer, and seventh in eight games.
Sanders became the first Pirates player to homer twice in an inning since Jeff King did it April 30, 1996, in Cincinnati.
"It's one of those things that whenever you try to swing for the fence, you end up grounding out or striking out," Sanders said. "So I just wanted to put good wood on the baseball."
The Pirates sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth, piling up seven hits and three walks. Pittsburgh also got a pair of homers from Rob Mackowiak, breaking the stadium record of six set by the Cardinals on April 9, 2000, against the Brewers.
The only other time the Pirates hit seven homers came against the Cardinals on Aug. 16, 1947, in Pittsburgh. Ralph Kiner homered three times in that game.
Cardinals pitchers hadn't allowed that many runs in an inning since April 13, 2000, when they gave up 10 runs at Colorado.
Decade ago
The Pirates won by 13 or more runs for the first time since Sept. 26, 1992, when they beat the Mets 19-2 in Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals have lost four of five. Albert Pujols, who has a 30-game hitting streak, served the second game of his two-game suspension for punching Padres catcher Gary Bennett on July 13.