St. Louis marvel
ST. LOUIS — Rick Ankiel isn't just hitting, he's turning into a force.
Ankiel homered twice and had a career-high seven RBI, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 16-4 Thursday in a game shortened to eight innings because of rain.
"Marvel is a good word," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's kind of amazing, isn't it? Clutch, too."
Ankiel hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the second inning for a 5-2 lead against Bryan Bullington (0-1), who made his first major league start five years after he was the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft. Ankiel made it 11-3 with a two-run drive in the fifth against John Grabow and added a two-run double in the sixth off Dave Davidson, making his big league debut.
Brought up Aug. 9 in his first major league appearance since he pitched for the Cardinals in 2004, Ankiel is batting .358 with nine homers and 29 RBI in 23 games. He also homered twice against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 11.
"It feels as good as it can feel," Ankiel said. "The thing to remember when you get up there with runners on base is that the pitcher is the one that's in trouble."
He made his second start in center field, hauling in Steven Pearce's drive at the wall in the third. He barely missed a diving catch on pinch-hitter Matt Kata's slicing drive that fell for a double in the fourth, getting a round of applause for the effort, in addition to making a pair of curtain calls after his homers.
"It was a good day, that's for sure," Ankiel said. "It's been unbelievable."
St. Louis (69-68) is one game behind NL Central co-leaders Chicago and Milwaukee, scoring its most runs since Aug. 29, 2001, against San Diego. The Cardinals had 22 hits, their highest total since April 27, 2003, at Florida.
"They took some of our young kids and hit them hard — period," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "Flat pitches in the middle of the plate get hit often — and hard."
Bullington gave up five runs and seven hits over three innings in his second big league outing. He received a $4 million bonus when he signed with the Pirates out of Ball State, then went 34-17 in three minor league seasons, his climb through the minors slowed by a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 2006.
He also singled in his first career plate appearance in the second and scored his first run later in the inning.
"My fastball was a little flat and my slider was a little loopy at times," said Bullington, who made one relief appearance for Pittsburgh in September 2005. "They took advantage of it, that's for sure."
