Craig homers twice as Cards romp

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Allen Craig was looking for his first hit in two months, hoping to cast aside an 0-for-11 slide that included a lengthy stay on the disabled list after he fractured his right kneecap in early June.

Yup, he definitely needed this one.

Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central.

“That was definitely a big win to kind of stop things there,” Craig said. “It would have been tough to lose this game, definitely.”

Craig had struggled since his return from the disabled list last Wednesday, going hitless in nine at-bats. He worked the count full against Paul Maholm in the first, then — perhaps a little anxious to bust loose — swung at a pitch near his eyes even though Albert Pujols was on deck.

Maholm heard the ball come off the bat and figured it was a routine popup to center. It wasn’t. The ball sailed into the Cardinal bullpen to give St. Louis a quick 2-0 lead.

“I don’t know why he swung, he should have just at taken it for a walk,” Maholm said. “But obviously it looked good to him.”

Craig added a solo shot in the seventh off Brad Lincoln for his first career multihomer game. It was the kind of positive reinforcement he needed after a longer than expected visit to the DL.

He anticipated being out three to six weeks after slamming into the wall in Houston. It was nearly two months before he was back on the field.

“It’s tough to put a timetable on something like that,” Craig said. “It’s a unique injury in a unique spot and eight weeks is what it was. I busted my butt to get my legs strong and rehab.”

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa would like to play Craig more often, but it’s difficult when the team is healthy. But with a left-hander on the mound, La Russa figured Craig needed to start.

“When he’s healthy, I’ve said it several times, I’d like to get him into the lineup,” La Russa said. “This was the perfect time — a left-hander, give Lance (Berkman) two days off, but it’s no hunch. The guy’s already proven he deserves some playing time.”

Kyle Lohse (11-7) picked up his 99th career victory by pitching seven solid innings. The right-hander allowed two runs and five hits, struck out seven and walked one.

Maholm (6-14) dropped his fifth straight decision, giving up three runs — all in the first — and eight hits in five innings.