Cardinals blast Diamondbacks

PHOENIX -- Lance Berkman hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 15-5 on Wednesday night.

Skip Schumaker also homered, Albert Pujols was 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and Cody Rasmus and Gerald Laird both had three hits for the Cardinals, who got their first series win this season.

Every St. Louis starter except Matt Holliday had at least one hit.

The Cardinals, who scored 15 runs for the first time since an 18-3 victory against Atlanta on August 22, 2008, have won three of four.

Jake Westbrook (1-1) earned the win, allowing five runs, two earned, on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

Arizona starter Ian Kennedy (1-1) lasted only three innings, his shortest outing as a starter in more than two years, allowing nine runs on seven hits with two walks and two hit batters.

Russell Branyan hit his first home run for the Diamondbacks, who gave up their most runs since a 17-3 loss to Milwaukee on May 8 last season.

The Cardinals struck early against Kennedy, scoring two in the first and six more in the second when his control largely disappeared.

Laird beat out a grounder deep in the hole at short and Kennedy hit Ryan Theriot with a pitch. Rasmus doubled down the right-field line, scoring both runners to make it 4-0.

Kennedy walked Pujols and hit Holliday to load the bases ahead of Berkman, who hit his fourth home run of the season into the left-field bleachers to put St. Louis ahead 8-0.

Westbrook added his first RBI of the season in the third, looping a double down the left-field line to score Laird after the catcher had doubled to right.

Schumaker stretched the lead to 12-0 with a three-run homer, his first, just over the fence into the pool area in right-center field.

Branyan hit a two-run, opposite-field home run in the fourth to cut the lead to 12-2, but Pujols hit a two-run single and David Freese added an RBI hit in the top of the fifth against Aaron Heilman.

Arizona added three more unearned runs in the fifth off Westbrook.