Rolen's double finishes Red Sox

The Associatd Press

BOSTON -- Scott Rolen's double broke a ninth-inning tie and St. Louis beat Boston 9-7 Tuesday night in their first meeting since the Cardinals beat the Red Sox in the seventh game of the 1967 World Series at Fenway Park.

J.D. Drew hit a three-run homer and Albert Pujols added a two-run shot as the Cardinals built a 7-2 lead. Boston came back with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth before St. Louis scored twice in the ninth off Brandon Lyon (2-3).

With one out, Jim Edmonds doubled and scored on Rolen's double to left field. Edgar Renteria struck out before Eduardo Perez singled in Rolen.

Steve Kline (3-4) got the win and Cal Eldred struck out two in the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances.

It was the first game between the teams since Bob Gibson pitched a three-hitter in Game 7 of the '67 Series. Gibson also homered in that game and threw his third complete game of the Series as the Cardinals won 7-2.

The only other times the teams faced each other were in the 1946 World Series, also won by the Cardinals in seven games. The last two games that year were in St. Louis.

Boston seemed headed for certain defeat Tuesday when it trailed 7-2. But it tied the game with three runs in the seventh and Jason Varitek's two-run homer in the eighth.

Woody Williams, bidding to become the NL's first nine-game winner, left with two outs in the seventh after Boston cut the lead to 7-5 on a double by Todd Walker, a triple by Nomar Garciaparra and a two-run homer by Manny Ramirez, his 13th.

Jeff Fassero relieved and got the final out of the seventh. He walked Trot Nixon with one out in the eighth and was replaced by Kiko Calero. Varitek then hit Calero's third pitch for his ninth homer.

Williams entered with a major league-best 1.99 ERA and fell behind 2-0 in the first on RBI doubles by Ramirez and David Ortiz.

But St. Louis made it 4-2 in the fifth against Byung-Hyun Kim, making his first start at Fenway Park since he was traded by Arizona for third baseman Shea Hillenbrand on May 28.

Renteria doubled and went to third on a flyball. With two outs, he scored on Orlando Palmeiro's single. Miguel Cairo then singled and Drew hit his seventh homer.

The Cardinals added three runs in the seventh. Pujols hit a two-run homer, his 17th. Then left fielder Ramirez dropped Edmonds' routine fly for a two-base error and Renteria singled, making it 7-2.

Isringhausen, Girardi activated

The Cardinals activated pitcher Jason Isringhausen and catcher Joe Girardi on Tuesday after both spent the first 61 games of the season on the disabled list.

The Cardinals optioned outfielder So Taguchi to Triple-A Memphis and placed catcher Chris Widger on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised right thumb.

Isringhausen and Girardi both went on the disabled list in spring training.

Isringhausen, who went 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA and 32 saves for St. Louis last year, had offseason shoulder surgery. Girardi, who spent the last three seasons with the Chicago Cubs, suffered a herniated disk in his neck during spring training.

Taguchi was 1-for-3 in nine games with St. Louis this season, while Widger went 2-for-19 in nine games.

Noteworthy

With 14 hits, Boston has at least 10 in 38 of its 62 games.

Pujols extended his hitting streak to 11 games, while Ramirez's reached nine.

St. Louis 1B Tino Martinez left with a strained right hamstring after he pulled up while running out his double-play grounder in the seventh. He is day-to-day.