Cards' Rasmus hits first slam, Reds fall

8/12/2010

CINCINNATI - Colby Rasmus hit his first career grand slam, Adam Wainwright dazzled again, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 Wednesday, completing a three-game sweep that changed the standings and made their point.

The Cardinals overtook the Reds with their first three-game sweep in Cincinnati since 2005, moving a game ahead in the standings.

Rasmus' homer off Bronson Arroyo (12-7) broke it open in the fifth. Wainwright (17-6) remained unbeaten in day games, allowing a pair of singles in seven shutout innings before a thunderstorm caused a 46-minute delay and left standing water on the field.

At Houston, Omar Infante drove in the go-ahead run with a 10th-inning double, and Brian McCann added insurance with a grand slam later in the inning to give Atlanta a win over Houston. Infante's hit bounced low on the wall in left field and scored Rick Ankiel to put Atlanta back on top 3-2, giving closer Billy Wagner (6-2) the win after he blew a save in the ninth.

At Philadelphia, Roy Oswalt pitched seven impressive innings in his home debut, two relievers finished off the six-hitter and Philadelphia beat Los Angeles. The two-time NL champions are 15-4 since July 22, but lost another player when Ross Gload left with a strained right groin. Oswalt (7-13) allowed five hits, walked two, and struck out five. Relying on a powerful fastball and sharp curve, he mowed down the Dodgers to earn his first win in his third start for the Phillies.

At New York, Melvin Mora hit a go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning and Colorado upended the Mets. Angel Pagan hit a two-run homer in the first for the Mets, and Jonathon Niese hung on to the early lead, but the bullpen came undone, ruining what had looked like a promising evening for the Mets.

At Washington, Mike Stanton had five hits and four RBIs and Chris Volstad won his third game against Washington in Florida's win. Stanton had the first five-hit game of his two-month career, with a two-run double in a four-run first inning, an RBI single in the second, a double in the fourth, a long home run in the seventh and a single in the ninth. His previous best was three hits.The Marlins hammered Scott Olsen (3-4), scoring seven runs and eight hits in 12/3 innings. Volstad (6-8) gave up four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings.