Tony Batista is not welcomed in St. Louis—not after last night. Batista blasted a two-run homer off Jason Isringhausen to tie the Expos and Cardinals 6-6 in the ninth, and then he hit a grand slam off Danny Haren in the top of the 12th to down St. Louis 10-6. The Cardinals loaded the bases in the bottom of the 12th with two outs, but Hector Luna flied out to end the game. Haren was charged with the loss. Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols both hit two-run homers in the loss. Edmonds has 29 and Pujols has 30—he became the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs in each of his first four seasons. The Cardinals loss combined with the Cubs 5-3 win over the Rockies, cut St. Louis’ lead in the N.L. Central to 9 1/2 games.
