Robinson gives Cards instant win with homer

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Kerry Robinson's first homer of the season came at a perfect time for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Robinson hit a 3-2 pitch from Chicago Cubs reliever Mike Remlinger over the right-center field wall leading off the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night, giving the Cardinals a 3-2 win and a share of first place in the NL Central.

Robinson fell behind 0-2 in the count, took three balls, then hit a line drive into the St. Louis bullpen that reliever Jason Simontacchi caught with his cap. It was Robinson's first homer since May 29, 2002, at Houston.

The Cardinals tied Houston for first place, while the Cubs stayed 1 1/2 games behind.

Robinson, shuttled three times this year to Triple-A Memphis, said it was his first game-ending home run.

"I don't think I've ever done it in a video game," said Robinson, who also had an RBI double.

In fact, the 175-pound outfielder figured he wouldn't even bat given the availability of the more powerful Eduardo Perez on the bench.

"I was kind of surprised they left me in there," Robinson said. "I kind of asked, 'Am I hitting?' They said, 'Yeah, get up there."'

Reliever Mike DeJean (5-7) pitched 1 2-3 hitless innings to earn his first win since Milwaukee traded him to St. Louis last week. He escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam in the eighth when Ramon Martinez lined to center fielder Jim Edmonds, whose throw home beat Doug Glanville.

"I don't think anybody in baseball has as much accuracy and with such strength of arm," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said of Edmonds.

It marked the third straight game the Cardinals hit the Chicago bullpen hard. St. Louis scored three ninth-inning runs in Tuesday's 7-4 loss, then rallied from a 2-0 eighth-inning deficit to win 4-2 Wednesday.

"It's frustrating to have a guy who hasn't hit a home run all year beat you," said Remlinger (5-5). "It's unacceptable."

The Cardinals won five of seven games against the Cubs at Busch Stadium this year and 13 of 16 over the past two seasons. St. Louis hasn't lost a home series to the Cubs since the final series of the 1999 season. Since 1996, the Cubs are 12-42 in St. Louis.

The game featured strong showings by both starting pitchers, Chicago's Carlos Zambrano and the Cardinals' Matt Morris.

Zambrano, who has lost once in his past eight starts, allowed just two runs, one earned, in seven innings, striking out six and walking three.

Zambrano was 6-8 with a 3.58 ERA after a 7-2 loss to Florida on July 13. Since then, he's 6-1 with a 1.48 ERA.

Chicago's starting pitchers -- Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Zambrano -- allowed two earned runs in 22 innings during the series. The two teams meet again for a five-game series starting Monday at Wrigley Field.

Morris was also sharp, allowing two earned runs on just four hits in seven innings, striking out two and walking one. It was his second start since missing a month with a broken bone in his pitching hand.

Morris, who blamed mechanical problems for a six-game stretch in which his ERA was 10.37 prior to going on the disabled list, has given up just three earned runs in 12 innings since his return. He retired 13 straight at one point.

Sammy Sosa homered in the first inning to dead center, his 31st of the season and 530th of his career.

The Cubs went ahead 2-0 in the third on a double by Paul Bako, Zambrano's single and a sacrifice fly by Ramon Martinez.

The Cardinals had runners on base in every inning but the eighth. They scored in the sixth on a single by Edgar Renteria, who was 3-for-4, a two-out throwing error by Zambrano and Robinson's double down the third-base line.

Scott Rolen tied it with a two-out homer to right-center in the seventh, his 25th. Rolen has now hit 25 or more homers in six straight seasons.

Notes: When the Cubs were in first place Aug. 16, it marked the deepest into the season they had been atop a division race since 1989, when they won the NL East. ... Albert Pujols reached base 10 straight times before grounding out in the seventh. The Cardinals' record is 12 set by Chick Hafey in 1929 and Edmonds in 2000. ... La Russa needs six more wins to reach 2,000 for his career. Only seven other managers have reached the milestone. ... Cubs pitchers have struck out 10 or more in 44 games this season.