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The St. Louis Cardinals will try to remain unbeaten on the road when they begin
a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cardinals are 6-0 away from Busch Stadium, their best road start since 1941.
Hector Luna's sacrifice bunt scored Reggie Sanders in the top of the 12th inning Thursday as St. Louis completed a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 2-1 win at Minute Maid Park.
``This kind of game is what the big leagues are all about,'' Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. ``These guys were playing like it was September.''
Second baseman Tony Womack missed his second straight start Thursday with a mild triceps strain in his left elbow. Team doctors said the injury is slightly related to the reconstructive surgery Womack had last fall. He's considered day-to-day and was replaced in the lineup by Marlon Anderson.
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``He just needs a couple of days off,'' La Russa said. ``He came back a lot
sooner than anybody thought he would, so we're gonna let him rest.''
Womack is hitting .360 with 11 runs and a team-high seven stolen bases.
Milwaukee has dropped four of its last six games.
Brooks Kieschnick completed the Brewers' rally from three runs down in the ninth with a pinch-hit two-run home run to tie Thursday's game against Arizona at 9. However, the Diamondbacks went on to win 11-9 in 15 innings.
Kieschnick connected for the fourth pinch-hit homer of his career. It was the first pinch-hit of any kind this season by Milwaukee, which had failed in its first 20 attempts.
The teams wound up playing five hours, 22 minutes, the longest game in the majors this season.
Lyle Overbay had four hits, including three doubles. His three-base error at
first base allowed two runs to score in the seventh, giving Arizona a 7-5 lead.