Cardinals beat up on Red Sox again

Edmonds, Sanders homer vs. World Series champs

	Boston's Kevin Youkilis recoils in pain after being hit by a pitch during Tuesday's game against St. Louis.
Bill Boyce / AP

updated 1:44 a.m. ET June 8, 2005

ST. LOUIS - The offense that deserted the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series is back in a big way for this interleague series against the Boston Red Sox.

Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders homered off previously unbeaten Matt Clement, and Jeff Suppan worked six solid innings in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 9-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals have won the first two games of the three-game interleague series by a combined score of 16-3, four more runs than they mustered last fall in a World Series they never led.

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“Clutch hits, clutch pitching,” manager Tony La Russa said. “We’ve had two complete games from all parts of our club.”

The action turned testy in the last four innings when five players were hit by pitches, three of them Cardinals including Larry Walker twice. Both benches were warned in the seventh after Mark Grudzielanek, the third player to be hit and the second Cardinal, was hit in the back by Matt Mantei.

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“You guys know I haven’t been exactly painting (the corners) lately, so balls get away every now and then,” Mantei said. “The ejection was uncalled for but it happens.”
Image: Edmonds
Elsa / Getty Images
Jim Edmonds trots home after he hitting a two-run home run against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

After Mantei threw to first five times, Grudzielanek stole second and drew a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 47,496. Three batters later, Mantei was ejected for hitting Walker — also hit in the sixth by John Halama — in the hip.

“Matty’s a great guy,” Walker said. “Sometimes his control gets away from him.”

La Russa doesn’t think the situation will be a factor in the series finale.

“I don’t think they did anything intentionally,” La Russa said. “But guys get hit and guys get upset and the umpires respond to what they see, so that’s the way it goes.”

The Cardinals’ Al Reyes was then ejected in the eighth after hitting Kevin Youkilis on the left wrist.

“I don’t try to hit anybody,” Reyes said. “I just try to pitch my game.”

Albert Pujols’ two-run double capped a four-run second off Clement (6-1) for the Cardinals, whose 38-20 record leads the National League and is the franchise’s best start since 1944. They’ve won four of five and will go for their sixth sweep of the season on Wednesday.

Jason Varitek hit his 11th homer and Mark Bellhorn had an RBI double for the Red Sox, who have lost seven of nine on the road and are 14-18 overall away from Fenway Park.

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