Marquis pitches St. Louis past Houston

~ The right-hander moved into a tie for the league lead in victories with 11.

HOUSTON -- Jason Marquis shut down the Houston Astros for his 11th win and pinch-hitter John Rodriguez homered in the St. Louis' Cardinals' 8-2 victory Friday night.

Gary Bennett added three hits and an RBI for St. Louis. Marquis (11-6) allowed two runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.

The right-hander, who tied Tom Glavine of the New York Mets for the National League lead in wins, was replaced by Jason Isringhausen after Morgan Ensberg walked in the eighth. Isringhausen got four outs for his NL-leading 26th save.

Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez (9-6) got into trouble early, giving up a double to Scott Rolen leading off the second, followed by two walks to load the bases.

Bennett's RBI single with one out scored Rolen. Juan Encarnacion scored when Wandy Rodriguez hit Marquis with a pitch.

Bennett played in place of Yadier Molina, who sat out with a mild concussion after being hit in the back of the head by a pitch Thursday.

Houston's Lance Berkman made a dazzling defensive play look easy in the third when he chased a foul ball hit by Albert Pujols down the first base line and made the catch as he blew a bubble and immediately fell backward into the first row of the stands. As he walked away, Berkman laughed with the fans he fell into as a couple of them pointed and smiled at him.

In the fourth, St. Louis extended its lead to 3-0 on David Eckstein's RBI single. So Taguchi followed with another single that scored Marquis.

Wandy Rodriguez lasted five innings, giving up seven hits and four runs with three walks and two strikeouts. He was replaced by Fernando Nieve, who gave up John Rodriguez's pinch-hit homer in the seventh. It was his first home run of the season.

Marquis gave up only one hit before Berkman and Preston Wilson hit doubles in the fourth. Wilson's RBI double made it 4-1.

Marquis got out of that inning thanks in part to the over-the-shoulder catch Jim Edmonds made on a long fly by Eric Munson, just before falling flat on his face on the hill in center field.

Ensberg hit his 19th homer off Marquis in the sixth to make it 4-2.

In the ninth, Russ Springer issued a bases-loaded walk that scored John Rodriguez before giving up a two-run single to Hector Luna.

Notes: The Cardinals designated RHP Sidney Ponson for assignment and added RHP Jeff Weaver to the 25-man roster. ... Wilson has doubled in five of his last eight games, and has hit two doubles in three of those games. ... Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Molina was still a bit dizzy from his concussion. ... Pujols went 0-for-4 with one intentional walk.