Simontacchi leaves Phillies at a loss

PHILADELPHIA -- Jason Simontacchi scrapped the slider and found better results.

The rookie right-hander allowed two hits over seven strong innings and Scott Rolen hit a two-run double as the St. Louis Cardinals snapped Philadelphia's five-game win streak, beating the Phillies 5-1 Saturday.

"I got away from working on my fastball and changeup and it hurt me," said Simontacchi, who had a 12.67 ERA in his previous four starts. "I'd been putting too much attention on my No. 3 pitch and it wasn't working.

"I've spent the last bullpen session working exclusively on my fastball and changeup," he said.

Simontacchi (9-4) gave up one run -- Jeremy Giambi's homer in the seventh -- in his best start of the season. He pitched the NL Central leaders to their eighth win in 11 games.

"When we get the pitching, we're tough to beat," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

Simontacchi established his fastball early and kept Phillies hitters puzzled with changeups mixed in. He retired 21 of the 24 batters he faced and struck out a career-high seven en route to his second straight victory.

"I was able to get ahead of the hitters quickly, that was the key," Simontacchi said.

The 29-year-old gave up a one-out double to Marlon Anderson in the first. Anderson was later stranded at third when Simontacchi struck out Pat Burrell.

Simontacchi set down 18 of the next 19 batters before Giambi connected for his 11th homer. He threw 103 pitches, 62 for strikes.

Phillies manager Larry Bowa was impressed, "He kept us off-balance through the entire game."

Rolen, traded from the Phillies to St. Louis on July 29, was greeted by a chorus of boos, mixed in with some cheering, from the Veterans Stadium crowd of 20,242 each time he came to the plate.

The attendance was 10,000 less than the previous night when the fans booed unmercifully.

"I think more people came to watch baseball this time," Rolen said. "(Friday night), people came to welcome me back."

Rolen went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. He is batting .480 (12-for-25) during a seven-game hit streak.

Mike Crudale pitched the eighth and Steve Kline got the final three outs.

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the second off David Coggin (2-4) on Edgar Renteria's RBI sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals broke open with a three-run third inning, capped by Rolen's two-out, two-run double.

Simontacchi and Fernando Vina put together consecutive singles to start the burst. One out later, Jim Edmonds stroked a RBI single to make it 2-0.

With two outs, Rolen lined a smash past third baseman Placido Polanco and into the left-field corner, easily scoring Vina and Edmonds.

Tino Martinez padded the lead to 5-0 in the fifth with a RBI single off reliever Brandon Duckworth.

Coggin, who made his first start since May 25, allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.

"It's a little more difficult at the start of the game settling in," said Coggin, who had a 2.79 ERA in 30 appearances out of the bullpen. "I tried to keep that mentality like I was coming out of the bullpen."

Noteworthy

Rolen wasn't the lone target of boos from the crowd as RF J.D. Drew also felt the wrath. Drew, who didn't play on Friday, was back in the starting lineup. Drew was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1997 draft by the Phillies and refused to sign, drawing major criticism by Philly fans. ... Giambi has 20 home runs between Oakland and Philadelphia this season. ... The Cardinals are 9-9 since the Rolen trade. ... Simontacchi is 3-3 with three no-decisions in his last nine starts.