Cards gain sweep at Busch Stadium

St. Louis heads for Dodger Stadium with a 2-0 series lead.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers handled St. Louis' trio of MVP candidates. It's the bottom of the Cardinals' order that gave them fits.
Mike Matheny, Edgar Renteria and Reggie Sanders combined to go 8-for-10 with five RBIs and five runs scored, helping the Cardinals win without home runs Thursday night.
After tying a postseason record with five homers in NL playoff series opener, eight singles, two doubles and a triple produced the same outcome St. Louis in Game 2, an 8-3 victory over the Dodgers.
"The big three has been the catalyst for us all year, and they're definitely the reason we are where we are," Sanders said. "But this is a collective effort. It's everybody."
Following a sweep at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals head to Dodger Stadium with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.
"These guys aren't here because it's a fluke," Larry Walker said. "They're not going to just roll over. They're going to battle, so that's what we've got to do."
Not enough offense
Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds, who each had 100 RBIs, were a combined 1-for-11 in Game 2. The closest the Cardinals came to a home run was Tony Womack's triple off the base of the wall in the second and a drive to the wall in left-center by winning pitcher Dan Haren in the pivotal three-run fifth that put the Cardinals ahead 6-3.
"That's all I've got," Haren said. "I'll settle for the win."
Instead, seven of the eight St. Louis runs scored with two outs as the Cardinals chased Jeff Weaver in the fifth. The Cardinals have gone 7-for-15 with two outs in each of the first two games.
"One of the things that's important is that two-out hits will usually win ball games," Sanders said. "This team battles and battles and battles and doesn't give a pitcher a chance to be at ease."
Milton Bradley, Shawn Green and Jayson Werth homered for the Dodgers, who lost their eighth straight playoff game and remained winless in the postseason since beating Oakland in the 1988 World Series. Los Angeles dropped to 0-5 at St. Louis this year.
"It's a formidable task for us, obviously," manager Jim Tracy said. "But I'm not going to sit here and say it can't be done."
First to get 4 RBIs
Matheny, the No. 8 hitter, is the first Cardinals player to get four RBIs in a division series game after hitting a pair of two-run singles in the fifth and seventh. A .239 career hitter, he's 15-for-39 (.385) during an 11-game postseason hitting streak.
Renteria, batting sixth, was 3-for-4. His two-out, go-ahead single was the key blow in the fifth. Sanders was 3-for-3 and scored twice while batting seventh.
The Cardinals won despite a shaky outing by 15-game winner Jason Marquis, making his first career postseason start. He couldn't hold a 3-1 second-inning lead, allowing homers to Werth in the first and to Green and Bradley on consecutive at-bats to start the fourth.
LOS ANGELESST. LOUIS
abrhbiabrhbi
Izturis ss4000Wmack 2b5111
Werth lf3111LWalkr rf4111
SFinley cf4000Pujols 1b3110
Beltre 3b4010Rolen 3b4000
ShGren 1b4111Edmnd cf4000
Brdley rf3121Rnteria ss4331
Cora 2b4000RSndrs lf3230
Ross c2000Mtheny c3024
Vntura ph1000Mrquis p1000
Gagne p0000Eldred p0000
Weaver p2000MAndn ph1000
Snchez p0000Haren p1000
Grbwsk ph0000King p0000
WAlvrz p0000Cedeno ph1000
Carrar p0000Tvarez p0000
Mayne c1010Kline p0000
Totals32363Totals348117
Los Angeles100200000--3
St. Louis03003020x--8
E--Weaver (1). DP--St. Louis 1. LOB--Los Angeles 9, St. Louis 8. 2B--Bradley (1), LWalker (1), Renteria (2). 3B--Womack (1). HR--Werth (1), ShGreen (1), Bradley (1). SB--RSanders (1). S--Matheny.
IPHRERBBSO
Los Angeles
Weaver L,0-14 2-386624
Sanchez1-300000
WAlvarez1 2-311102
Carrara1-321100
Gagne100012
St. Louis
Marquis3 1-343340
Eldred2-300020
Haren W,1-0210013
King100000
Tavarez1 2-310002
Kline1-300000
HBP--by Weaver (RSanders), by Weaver (LWalker). WP--Weaver. Umpires--Home, Greg Gibson; First, Chuck Meriwether; Second, Bruce Dreckman; Third, Gerry Davis; Left, Brian O'Nora; Right, Dale Scott. T--3:36. A--52,228.