Cardinals take 2-0 series lead against Diamondbacks

PHOENIX -- They battered Randy Johnson and eased past Curt Schilling. The Cardinals headed home needing one victory to finish off the World Series champions Arizona Diamondbacks.

But an injury to Scott Rolen dampened the Cardinals' 2-1 triumph over the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Miguel Cairo's ninth-inning single off reliever Mike Koplove drove in Edgar Renteria with the go-ahead run for the Cardinals, who swept the first two games of the best-of-five series.

"A split would have been good for us," said Chuck Finley, who blanked Arizona for 6 1/3 innings. "Obviously, coming out of here 2-0 looks very, very good. This is what we dreamed of doing."

Rolen left after he was clipped in the left side by pinch-runner Alex Cintron while scooping up a grounder in the seventh inning. X-rays were negative, and the preliminary diagnosis was a sprained shoulder. Further tests are scheduled today in St. Louis.

"I do think that his continuing to play for sure in this series is very questionable," manager Tony La Russa said. "We'll have our fingers crossed through tomorrow, but I think there's a chance he might have played his last game" this year.

The Diamondbacks, who had trailed 1-0 since the third inning on J.D. Drew's two-out homer off Schilling, tied it with an unearned run in the eighth.

Quinton McCracken doubled over the outstretched glove of the right fielder Drew to score Greg Colbrunn, who had reached on a fielding error by Albert Pujols -- Rolen's replacement at third.

With the late Darryl Kile's widow Flynn again in the stands, as she was in Tuesday night's opener, the inspired Cardinals moved within a win of returning to the NL championship series for the second time in three seasons.

"They're the world champions and will keep fighting until the end," the Cardinals' Fernando Vina said, "but it will be a nice flight back to St. Louis."

After enduring the death of Kile and longtime broadcaster Jack Buck during the season, St. Louis can complete the first-round sweep with a victory at Busch Stadium on Saturday. Miguel Batista pitches for the Diamondbacks against Andy Benes.

Finley, two months shy of his 40th birthday, held Arizona to four hits innings before leaving with a muscle cramp in his pitching hand.

Acquired from Cleveland on July 19, Finley went 7-4 with the Cardinals. The left-hander had been 0-2 in the postseason coming in, losing twice to Seattle in the first round last year.

"You can't give him enough credit," La Russa said. "The first couple of innings, he made great pitches, then he pitched even better. He showed up so big for us."

The Cardinals pelted Johnson for 10 hits in a 12-2 rout Tuesday night. Schilling, who had struggled in his last seven starts, proved a much tougher challenge. He scattered seven hits, struck out seven and walked one.

"Sometimes you do your job and still get beat," he said.

Even the 2-2 pitch that Drew hit into the left-field seats was a good one.

"That was not your typical hanging home run pitch," Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "It was a fastball down around the knees."

Catcher Damian Miller called it "a perfect pitch."

"It was down and away, maybe off the plate a little bit and below the knees," Miller said. "It probably wasn't even a strike, but J.D.'s a pretty good hitter."

Drew had one of two three-run homers off Schilling last week in Arizona's 6-1 loss in St. Louis, but struck out in his first at-bat Thursday.

"That pitch was one I had used to get him out several times," Schilling said.

A year ago, Schilling beat the Cardinals 1-0 in his first division series start. In Game 5, Drew's eighth-inning homer off Schilling tied the score 1-1, but Arizona advanced on Tony Womack's RBI single in the ninth.

Schilling, 27-3 in the regular season, escaped a jam in the seventh inning Thursday.

Mike Matheny singled with one out, then was forced at second on Finley's sacrifice attempt. That brought up Vina, who was hit in the leg near the strike zone while attempting to bunt. Vina got into a heated argument with plate umpire Bill Miller, who ordered the runner back to first, and Vina singled on the next pitch, putting runners at the corners. Schilling walked Drew on four pitches, loading the bases, then struck out Jim Edmonds to the cheers of the capacity crowd.

Renteria, the hero of Game 7 for Florida in the 1997 World Series and persistent troublemaker against Arizona, led off the ninth with a single, then was sacrificed to second.

Cairo, who had entered during a double-switch an inning earlier, singled up the middle.

"I'm blessed right now," Cairo said. "I'm in the best organization in baseball. They have been treating me so well. To get that base hit makes it much better. What a beautiful day today for me."

Jason Isringhausen pitched a perfect ninth for the save. Vina was 4-for-5, making him 7-for-11 in the series.

Chad Moeller, pinch-hitting for Schilling with two outs in the seventh, singled and Tony Womack walked. Cintron then replaced Moeller as a pinch runner.

Junior Spivey hit a grounder to Rolen at third. As Rolen picked up the ball, Cintron caught the third baseman's shoulder with a knee. The collision knocked off Rolen's glove and sent him spinning to the ground. Cintron was called out for interference.