INTERLEAGUE Ninth-inning errors doom Tribe
St. Louis stopped an eight-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jhonny Peralta's throwing error, one of two by the Cleveland Indians in the ninth inning, handed the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 victory on Wednesday night that ended an eight-game losing streak.
Catcher Kelly Shoppach, who had entered in a double switch in the eighth, dropped So Taguchi's pop fly just in front of home plate to start the inning for a two-base error and Aaron Miles' RBI double off Bob Wickman (1-3) with one out tied the score. Miles was on third on David Eckstein's routine two-out grounder, a throw in the dirt by Peralta that eluded first baseman Victor Martinez.
Martinez had moved from catcher to first in the eighth.
When the winning run scored, fans tossed hundreds of seat cushions, the giveaway for the game, onto the field.
Jason Isringhausen (2-3) gave up Aaron Boone's go-ahead sacrifice fly in the Indians' three-run eighth. Isringhausen, who allowed two hits and no runs in 1 2/3 innings, was one of four relievers used by the Cardinals in the eighth.
Sizemore had 4 hits
Grady Sizemore had four hits and an RBI for the Indians, who had ended a string of seven straight series losses by winning the first two games.
Chris Carpenter left with a 3-1 lead after working seven strong innings and Scott Rolen homered for the Cardinals. Juan Encarnacion and Yadier Molina had an RBI apiece for St. Louis, which was outscored 68-28 during the losing streak, most of the games blowouts.
Todd Hollandsworth's shallow pop fly with the bases loaded that fell between left fielder Taguchi, inserted as a defensive substitute in that inning, and shortstop Eckstein, was the key to the Indians' eighth. Eckstein appeared to peel away and Taguchi had his glove out but missed the ball, then recovered too late for any play on a ball ruled a hit.
Sizemore singled off Randy Flores to start the eighth and Ronnie Belliard followed with a double off Braden Looper when Encarnacion missed a diving attempt in right. Martinez' infield hit, a chopper that Tyler Johnson could not glove cleanly, cut the deficit to one.
Travis Hafner, making his first pinch hit appearance of the season, walked off Isringhausen to load the bases and the misplay on Hollandsworth's pop-up, ruled a single, tied it. Boone followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Indians their first lead.
The Cardinals scored twice in the fourth despite a base-running gaffe by Jim Edmonds that might have robbed them from a bigger inning. Edmonds over-ran third on a wild pitch by Jake Westbrook that would have put runners on second and third with one out, and was thrown out trying to get back by Martinez, the catcher. Encarnacion and Molina took him off the hook with RBI singles for a 2-0 lead.
Sizemore's RBI single cut the deficit to one in the fifth and Rolen restored the two-run cushion for the Cardinals with his 10th homer to straightaway center in the sixth.
Notes
Hollandsworth robbed Molina of extra bases with a diving catch in LF in the seventh. ... Sizemore was 7-for-13 in the series and is 17-for-41 during a 10-game hitting streak with three homers. ... Rolen's homer was the first in five games for the Cardinals and only the second in the last seven games. ... Molina's hit snapped an 0-for-11 skid. ... Wickman made his 750th appearance, breaking a tie with Willie Hernandez for 50th on the career list.