Ludwick haunts Cards

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Ludwick used to get the clutch hits with the Cardinals. His ex-teammates couldn't be that surprised that his biggest hit with the San Diego Padres came at their expense.

Ludwick snapped a ninth-inning tie with a three-run homer for the Padres, who snapped a three-game losing streak and remained near the top in the NL West and wild-card standings with an 8-4 victory Saturday.

"Ryan's done that for us," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He gives you a real tough at-bat in a situation like that. It's one of his strengths, and we've enjoyed it."

Will Venable and David Eckstein had three hits and an RBI apiece for the Padres, who began the day a half-game behind San Francisco in the NL West. They remained 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the wild card.

"They play us well," said Eckstein, the 2006 World Series MVP with the Cardinals. "Bottom line."

Ludwick and pinch-hitter Matt Stairs hit back-to-back homers off Kyle McClellan (1-4), who hadn't allowed a run in eight straight outings but faltered in his second inning after working a scoreless eighth. It was Ludwick's 20th homer, and fifth in 160 at-bats with San Diego.

"To be able to do it against your former team, it's nice," Ludwick said. "But I'm definitely not trying to show anyone up over there."

Although Ludwick is batting only .244 with the Padres, he's 5 for 11 in the first three games of a homecoming series and 10 for 21 on the first six games of a 10-game trip. His drive on an 0-1 slider had just enough to clear the left-field wall.

"I know he's feeling better about his swing," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He's got some hits here, which I think is great for his confidence. That's more like Ryan Ludwick, what we've seen the last few days.

"He has a presence to him, and I think every pitcher has to worry about the end result when he's at the plate."

Jeff Suppan allowed a run in five innings for the Cardinals, who fell seven games behind the Reds with 15 games to go. They've struggled offensively since trading Ludwick in a three-team deal that brought pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland at the trade deadline, going 18-25.

"I don't think it has to do with me," Ludwick said. "They hit a rough stretch, we hit a rough stretch over here, too. We lost 10 in a row. It's baseball, it happens. If you guys want to say that, it's fine, but I don't look into it."

Chris Young allowed a run on four hits in four innings in his first start since the second game of the season. Young, who was out with a strained right shoulder, was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list and threw 69 pitches but confessed to too much nervous energy.

"I don't remember the last time I pitched with that much adrenaline," Young said.