Cardinals have the final say

Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning, Scott Rolen had a career-best five hits, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 12-9, at Wrigley Field yesterday after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.

Preston Wilson singled to start the 10th against Ryan Dempster (0-1). One out later, David Eckstein singled off Aramis Ramirez's glove at third. Pujols then drove a long homer to center field, his fifth of the season.

The Cubs tied the score in the ninth on Mark DeRosa's two-out, two-run bloop single off closer Jason Isringhausen (1-0). It was Isringhausen's first blown save in five chances.

Tyler Johnson and Russ Springer combined to pitch a hitless 10th for St. Louis.

On a 75-degree day with the wind blowing out at 18 miles per hour, Ramirez tied the score at 7-7 in the sixth with a three-run homer off St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright. Rolen's two-run triple in the ninth gave the Cardinals a 9-7 lead.

Braves 9, Mets 6 -- Kelly Johnson homered on Tom Glavine's first pitch of the game, then hit a tiebreaking three-run drive in the eighth off Aaron Heilman (1-2) as Atlanta rallied in New York.

Jose Reyes's three-run triple in the sixth put the Mets ahead, but Edgar Renteria erased a 6-3 deficit in the seventh with a three-run homer off Scott Schoeneweis.

Marlins 12, Nationals 6 -- At Miami, Dan Uggla homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs, and Wes Obermueller earned his first major league victory in almost two years to pace Florida's rout of Washington.

Obermueller (1-0), who pitched in the minor leagues and Japan last season, gave up two runs and four hits in six innings plus. He walked four and struck out five.

Phillies 9, Reds 3 -- Ryan Howard homered in his return from a three-game injury hiatus, and Freddy Garcia (1-1) earned his first NL victory with five solid innings in Cincinnati.

Howard, who has been nursing a sprained ligament just below his left knee, hit his second homer of the season, a 410-foot, two-run shot to center in the ninth. Chase Utley had a pair of doubles and Wes Helms had three hits for the Phillies, who have won three of four and back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Brewers 4, Astros 3 -- Milwaukee's Dave Bush (2-1) pitched into the ninth in another strong performance against visiting Houston to outduel Roy Oswalt.

Bush allowed three runs and five hits in eight innings plus to improve to 3-0 in his career against Houston. He struck out seven and walked one. Francisco Cordero got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for his seventh save in as many chances this season.

Pirates 7, Dodgers 5 -- Tom Gorzelanny improved to 3-0 and Adam LaRoche had a solo homer for Pittsburgh in Los Angeles.

Rockies 4, Padres 2 -- Jason Hirsh (2-1) outpitched San Diego's Greg Maddux (1-2) for the second time this season, and Matt Holliday paced host Colorado's offense with three hits and an RBI.

Orioles 7, Blue Jays 3 -- Baltimore completed its first three-game home sweep of Toronto in 13 years as Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada each had three RBIs.

Steve Trachsel (1-1) allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first victory with the Orioles, who have won four straight and eight of nine. It's Baltimore's second four-game winning streak of the season; the Orioles won four in a row only once last year. Toronto has lost five straight.

Tigers 6, White Sox 5 -- Marcus Thames hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth, and Placido Polanco singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th to help Detroit avoid a three-game sweep.

Indians 6, Devil Rays 4 -- Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer in the ninth for visiting Cleveland, which spoiled a superb start by Tampa Bay's James Shields, who tied the franchise record with 12 strikeouts.

Angels 6, Mariners 1 -- Ervin Santana (2-2) allowed one run over seven innings and Los Angeles knocked out Jeff Weaver (0-3) after three innings for a three-game sweep of visiting Seattle.

Rangers 4, Athletics 3 -- Host Texas rallied against Oakland with three runs in the eighth, with Hank Blalock's two-run single giving A's closer Huston Street his first blown save of the season.

Royals 3, Twins 1 -- Jorge De La Rosa (2-1) worked a career-high eight innings, retiring 16 in a row during one stretch, and was backed by Ross Gload's two-run homer, his first of the year for host Kansas City.