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  Wednesday, Jul. 19 10:05pm ET
D-Backs' pen nails down victory
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

PHOENIX (AP) -- One word sums up the Arizona Diamondbacks' reaction to their bullpen holding a lead: Finally!

"The last week or week-and-a-half we've been struggling," Matt Mantei said after pitching a perfect ninth inning to preserve a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. "We really needed something like this."

Erubiel Durazo accounted for Arizona's last three runs with a two-run double and some strong baserunning.

Erubiel Durazo
Arizona's Erubiel Durazo scores on a throwing error by Cardinals shortstop Edgar Renteria in the fourth inning.

Ray Lankford hit an RBI double in his return to the Cardinals' lineup. He left the team after his 19-year-old brother was shot to death Saturday night in the Los Angeles area.

"It's tough," Lankford said. "I just figured that I want to get back to work for a couple of days. After that, I'm going to go back to L.A. for a while."

Armando Reynoso (7-6) gave up three runs in five-plus innings. Arizona relievers, who have lost a team-record six straight decisions, protected the lead by retiring the last 12 batters.

But manager Buck Showalter came up short of giving the bullpen a vote of confidence.

"I have a long memory, sometimes to a fault," Showalter said. "Certainly, you remember the guys who've done it before, and just because it worked tonight doesn't mean it'll work out tomorrow. It's an ebb-and-flow game."

The Cardinals scored three times in the sixth to close to 4-3. After consecutive singles by Edgar Renteria, Jim Edmonds and Fernando Tatis produced one run, Lankford's double chased Reynoso.

Russ Springer relieved and gave up an RBI groundout to Craig Paquette but retired the three batters he faced.

Greg Swindell pitched a perfect seventh and eighth, and Mantei finished up for his and the team's first save since July 9. It was his fifth overall.

Paquette's grounder with no outs and two aboard went to shortstop Tony Womack, and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa thought that was a key in the loss.

"We missed a chance tonight," La Russa said. "Paquette was trying to get that ball to the right side, get one in, get one over and the next guy hit a sacrifice fly. In a close game like that, you can't miss an execution like that."

The victory was only Arizona's fourth in the last 10 games.

Garrett Stephenson (10-6), who threw a six-hit shutout against the Diamondbacks on May 29, gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings.

The Diamondbacks never trailed, taking a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Luis Gonzalez and padding their lead with three runs in the fourth.

Matt Williams singled up the middle to lead off and Steve Finley and Durazo followed with doubles.

After an out, Damian Miller got an infield single, and Durazo scored on the play on Renteria's throwing error from shortstop. There was a play at the plate, but the 225-pound Durazo hustled in for the score.

"I was trying to play hard, and everybody tries to do that," Durazo said. "We made some runs and won the game. That's what we need."

Game notes
Stephenson is 1-1 in four career games vs. Arizona. ... When Reynoso struck out Paquette in the second inning, Arizona became the second team (after Cleveland) to strike out 700. ... Arizona's Tony Womack has six bunt singles in the last 10 games. ... Arizona has lost three straight home series for the first time since Aug. 15-25, 1998, and needs to sweep the two-game set with St. Louis to avoid its first below-.500 homestand since April.
 


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