Looper's arm, bat key Cardinals' win

Braden Looper pitched into the ninth inning in the longest outing of his career and went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and the St. Louis Cardinals hung on for a 6-5 win over the host Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

Rick Ankiel hit his sixth homer of the season, and Ryan Ludwick finished 4-for-4 with 2 doubles as the Cardinals won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Looper (5-1) was two outs away from his first career complete game, but was pulled after back-to-back singles by Todd Helton and pinch hitter Ryan Spilborghs.

Ryan Franklin picked up his first save of the season, but it didn't come easy. After striking out Brad Hawpe, Franklin gave up a 2-run double to Chris Iannetta and a run-scoring double to Clint Barmes before getting Jeff Baker to fly out to center.

Looper allowed 4 runs and 10 hits in 8½ innings. Before Tuesday, his longest outing was 7 innings on nine different occasions, most recently in a no-decision against Houston on April 25.

Looper also had a double, an RBI single and a walk to bump his average up to .385.

The Rockies lost for the 13th time in their last 16 contests.

Ankiel showed off his powerful left arm by throwing out two runners at third base from deep center.

He cut down Omar Quintanilla trying to stretch a double into a triple in the eighth, and got Willy Taveras as he attempted to tag up from second in the opening inning. Taveras is one of the fastest runners in the NL.

Albert Pujols extended his streak of reaching base with either a hit, walk or hit by pitch to 34 straight games after going 1-for-5 with a double.

The Elias Sports Bureau said Pujols' string is the longest in the majors to start a season since 1999 when Derek Jeter reached in 53 consecutive contests. Luis Gonzalez (35) and Jim Thome (37) also had long streaks to begin that season.

Astros 6, Nationals 5: Carlos Lee had the go-ahead, 2-run double in the eighth inning, and Lance Berkman had a career-high 5 hits to lead host Houston past Washington.

Miguel Tejada and Berkman both singled in the eighth before Lee's hit to right field. Austin Kearns dived for the ball, but it bounced just in front of him.

After scoring, Tejada stood near the plate and motioned for Berkman to head home. Berkman, whose 5 hits tied a franchise record for a nine-inning game, has 9 hits in the last two games.

The Astros had tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning on a balk before Kearns' homer to left field off Doug Brocail (2-0). Before the home run, Brocail hadn't allowed a run in six straight appearances and 13 of his last 15 games.

Braves 5, Padres 3: Chipper Jones hit his 10th homer, Jair Jurrjens pitched 6 strong innings, and Atlanta beat San Diego to improve the NL's best home record.

Mark Kotsay added 2 hits, including a homer, and drove in 2 runs. Kotsay also delivered the defensive play of the game in the fifth inning, making an over-the-shoulder catch at the warning track of Tadahito Iguchi's drive.

The Braves have won four straight, all at home, where they improved to 12-4 overall.

Jurrjens (4-2) matched his career high with 8 strikeouts and gave up 7 hits with a walk and 1 run in 6 innings.

San Diego's Chris Young (2-3) threw 98 pitches in only 5 innings, giving up 9 hits and 5 runs.

Marlins 3, Brewers 0: Scott Olsen allowed 2 hits in 8¿ innings, and Mike Jacobs hit a 2-run homer to help host Florida beat slumping Milwaukee.

Ryan Braun doubled in the fourth, and Prince Fielder singled with two outs in the ninth for Milwaukee's only hits.

Olsen came within a strike of his first complete game and the Marlins' first since Sept. 16, 2006, but he walked pinch hitter Joe Dillon to load the bases with two outs in the ninth. Kevin Gregg needed only 1 pitch to retire Bill Hall on a flyout for his sixth save in seven chances.

Jeff Suppan (1-2) allowed 3 runs in 5-plus innings and remained winless in 6 starts since April 2. The Brewers lost their fourth game in a row, their longest losing streak this season.

Pirates 12, Giants 6: Nate McLouth, who was dropped a spot in Pittsburgh's order to get more opportunities to produce runs, homered twice while driving in 3 runs, and Zach Duke won for the first time in nearly a year as the host Pirates beat San Francisco.

Duke (1-2) was winless in 6 starts this season and 12 games since June 12 before taking a shutout into the seventh inning. He lost that on Daniel Ortmeier's RBI double, and wound up being charged with 3 runs on 8 hits over 7½ innings -- his longest start since he lasted 8 innings in a 3-0 win over the Mets on Sept. 17, 2006.

Jonathan Sanchez (2-2) had allowed only 6 earned runs in 29¿ innings while going 2-0 in his previous 5 starts, but he was lifted during a 3-run Pirates fifth inning that made it 8-0.