Rasmus helps Cards avoid sweep

~ The Rookie lifted the Cardinals to an 8-7 victory in 10 innings as St. Louis avoided a weekend sweep by the second-place Reds.

CINCINNATI -- Ryan Franklin was dumbfounded.

As he watched Reds pitcher Micah Owings round the bases on his two-out, pinch-hit homer in the ninth, the previously perfect St. Louis closer was reminded that there's no margin for error at Great American Ball Park.

"That's an out anywhere else," Franklin said of the solo homer that barely cleared the left-field wall. "That's what happens."

All sorts of things happened on a long day in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Reds' Micah Owings hits a solo home run off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Franklin to tie the game in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 10, 2009, in Cincinnati. St. Louis won 8-7 in 10 innings. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

The Reds hit five homers, including two solo shots in the ninth off Franklin (1-0) to tie it, but Colby Rasmus' double in the 10th inning sent St. Louis to an 8-7 victory Sunday that salvaged the final game of the series and left everyone agog over what had just happened.

"That was a blast," said Jay Bruce, who hit one of the Reds' five homers.

It was dramatic right down to the 401st and final pitch -- Paul Janish fouled out with the bases loaded to end it after 4 hours, 23 minutes.

"What a game," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "Good luck asking me questions, because I don't remember much of anything except a 1-2 slider that Janish popped up. I can't think of anything else that happened, really."

Everyone was a bit numb.

Rookie outfielder Colby Rasmus high-fives catcher Yadier Molina after the Cardinals defeated the Reds 8-7 in 10 innings Sunday in Cincinnati. Rasmus drove home the winning run with a double. (AL BEHRMAN ~ Associated Press)

Coming into the series, St. Louis' staff had given up only 11 homers, the fewest in the majors. The Reds hit seven in the last two games, including those two in the ninth that got the crowd of 27,664 revved.

Hairston led off with a full-count homer. Owings, the Reds' fifth starter and one of their top pinch hitters, came to the plate with two outs, worked the count full, fouled off three pitches, then hit a slider for his first homer.

Owings raised his right arm in triumph as he rounded second base on his sixth career homer. He was pummeled in the dugout by teammates and took a curtain call for the fans.

"That's like what you do in the backyard -- 3-2, bottom of the ninth," Bruce said. "We were jumping around in the dugout. It was awesome."

Franklin hadn't allowed a run all season and had given up only four hits in his previous 13 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals' Albert Pujols scores on a hit by Chris Duncan as Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan watches the action during the third inning Sunday in Cincinnati. (AL BEHRMAN ~ Associated Press)

"I had a good run there," he said. "I made two mistakes, pretty much."

Rasmus quickly changed the mood with his RBI double off Francisco Cordero (0-2), who is perfect in nine save chances, but has lost twice when pitching with the score tied.

Over? Not even close.

Cincinnati loaded the bases with two outs in the 10th against Blaine Boyer. Right-hander Chris Perez came on and got Janish to foul out, picking up his first save in two chances this season.

For the first time all weekend, the Cardinals could smile.

St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols scores past Cincinnati Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan, right, in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 10, 2009, in Cincinnati. Pujols scored on a hit by Chris Duncan. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

"That was really important," said Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan, who drove in three runs. "We didn't want to get swept."

Bruce, Adam Rosales and Joey Votto also homered for the Reds, who had won three in a row for their best record in three years. Votto was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game because of the flu, but had a pinch-hit homer off Kyle McClellan.

The Cardinals ended Edinson Volquez's scoreless-inning streak at 16 -- he let in a run in the first with his errant throw -- and scored seven times off the right-hander. Skip Schumaker had a pair of doubles and scored twice for the Cardinals, and Duncan drove in three runs with a double and a single.

Albert Pujols' solo homer off Volquez snapped his 0-for-11 drought. Pujols' 12th homer was his only hit during the three-game series.

Noteworthy

* It was Pujols' 14th career homer at Great American,trailing only Lance Berkman's 20 for the most by a visiting player.