ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

06/18/2006

CARDINALS 6, ROCKIES 5
Up next: 1:15 p.m. Sunday vs. Rockies, KPLR (Ch. 11)


Some Cardinals have taken longer than others to familiarize themselves with their new ballpark. In less than three months, right fielder Juan Encarnacion has discovered the entrance and the exit to Busch Stadium's lost and found.

A minimal presence in April, Encarnacion continued his recent offensive flex Saturday night with two home runs and a late double in the Cardinals' 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. A verbal pincushion for fan discontent in the season's opening weeks, Encarnacion rode a wave of applause from 45,968, the largest crowd to watch a game in new Busch.

Encarnacion's three-hit breakout brought him his 10th home run and 37th RBI. It also helped starting pitcher Jeff Suppan to his 100th career win in exchange for 7 2/3 solid innings and the Cardinals their seventh win in 12 games without disabled first baseman Albert Pujols.

No longer the jumpy hitter who struck out 17 times in April before finding his second RBI in his new team's 19th game, Encarnacion took the night in typically languid stride.

"It's like I've said before: My numbers are going to be there at the end of the season. It's not how you start; it's how you finish," he said.

For Suppan, the feat created a slightly higher pulse rate. He had endured four unsuccessful tries at No. 100, including a blown save and two starts in which he allowed three home runs.

"One hundred wins is 100 wins," Suppan said. "It's something I didn't think about when I first started playing the game. I was just happy to get No. 1.

"This is an exciting win. I was trying not to think about it when I went out there every time. I was aware of it, of course. I was trying to help my team win each game I was in. I wasn't focused on it, but I'm glad it's over."

Winning for the first time since May 21, Suppan (6-4) follows Matt Morris and Mark Mulder as the third Cardinals pitcher to reach 100 wins the last two years. He sweated shaky eighth and ninth innings as the Rockies closed a 6-1 deficit on home runs by J.D. Closser and Garrett Atkins. Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth inning for his 23rd save.

Of his team's recent run without Pujols, manager Tony La Russa offered, "It's not as much a sign of character as it is of necessity."

Encarnacion, who managed a .222 average, one RBI and one extra-base hit in his first 69 at-bats after signing as a free agent in December, contributed 17 RBIs in May and has become an offensive stabilizer since Pujols strained his right oblique muscle June 3.

"It takes awhile to get to know your way around," noted Encarnacion, second on the team in home runs and tied for third in RBIs. "Now I feel more comfortable with everybody and myself."

Batting cleanup for the 13th time this season, Encarnacion extended a month's run of consistency by bruising Rockies starter Jeff Francis (5-6) for two home runs and three early RBIs. He added a double in the eighth inning to give himself 10 total bases.

"You can't get better than that, so hopefully tomorrow will be the same thing," he said.

Encarnacion used his first-inning at-bat to provide Suppan a 2-0 lead when he pulled a two-out change-up just above the left-field fence.

The Cardinals took a 3-0 lead by the time Encarnacion resurfaced because left fielder John Rodriguez tripled and scored in the second inning.

Hitting .321 against lefthanded pitching before the game, Encarnacion continued his beating of Francis when he led off the third. His blast next to the visitors' bullpen was his 10th this season. It also gave him 13 RBIs in 12 games since the club placed Pujols on the disabled list two weeks ago and ran his hitting streak to nine games.

"It's important to do something with him out of the lineup," Encarnacion said. "You win with different people in different games. I'm glad I could be one of those people."

A makeshift lineup missing shortstop David Eckstein (concussion) and center fielder Jim Edmonds (match-up) in addition to Pujols received 10 total bases and its third three-hit game from Encarnacion.

Second baseman Aaron Miles jacked the lead to 6-1 with a two-run double later in the fourth inning.

The Cardinals pushed their division lead over the Cincinnati Reds to 4 1/2 games. At 41-26, the Redbirds are a season-high 15 games over .500 for the fifth time and jumped to 23-7 against teams outside the NL Central.

Francis had beaten the Cardinals in each of two previous appearances, including one on May 8. Opponents were hitting only .211 against him before the Redbirds mixed three extra-base shots among six hits during his six innings.

If Francis' loss marked a reversal of form, so did Suppan's victory.

In his previous four starts, Suppan had surrendered 18 earned runs and 31 hits, including seven home runs, in 22 innings. The Milwaukee Brewers spanked him for three home runs in a four-inning start June 11.

"I was a little more aggressive in the strike zone as opposed to my previous start," said Suppan, whose only two walks Saturday loaded the bases during a scoreless fourth inning.

Against the Rockies, Suppan consistently kept the ball on the ground and, coincidentally, in the park except for left fielder Matt Holliday's nightly home run to lead off the second inning. First baseman Scott Spiezio's diving fourth-inning stop against Rockies second baseman Omar Quintanilla stopped a rally before it began.

The Rockies managed four hits through seven innings, as Suppan needed only three outfield putouts. Suppan, 100-98 in his career, improved to 49-37 in the National League and, coming off consecutive 16-win seasons, 38-24 with the Cardinals.

"I do see myself differently," he said. "I think I have a lot more experience. I have a lot more awareness. I've been other places and learned a lot. It's hard when you're on teams that lose 100 games a year. It doesn't make it easy. You evaluate it a little differently."