Albert Pujols drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the top of the 13th inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals snuck past the New York Mets, 8-7, in the second test of a three-game series from Citi Field. Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer and drove in a total of three runs for the Cardinals, who bounced back from an 8-2 loss in the opener of this series. Starter Jaime Garcia went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He also knocked in two runs and scored once. Mike MacDougal (1-0) tossed a perfect 12th to pick up the win. Ryan Franklin recorded his 19th save of the year. Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran homered for the Mets, who are 3-10 in their last 13 contests. Mike Hessman and Ike Davis each had two RBI. Johan Santana got rocked in 5 2/3 frames, giving up seven runs on a career-high 13 hits. Pedro Feliciano (2-6) allowed one run on one hit in 1 2/3 innings of relief to take the loss.
Royals Send Podsednik to LA
The Los Angeles Dodgers made a move to bolster their outfield by acquiring former All-Star Scott Podsednik from the Kansas City Royals for two minor league players – catcher Lucas May and pitcher Elisaul Pimentel.
Podsednik is hitting .310 with five homers and 44 RBI this season. It marked his first campaign with the Royals after he was signed as a free agent in the offseason.
Before that, the 34-year-old spent the 2009 season with the White Sox, hitting .304 with seven homers and 48 RBI. He has also played for Seattle, Milwaukee and Colorado.
The move to get Podsednik could prove as insurance due to injuries to Manny Ramirez (strained right calf) and Reed Johnson (back spasms).
“Scott brings a lot to our club,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. “He has speed, is a good hitter and has been a solid run producer this season. He is also someone who was a key member of a World Series champion in Chicago.”
Podsednik currently ranks third in the American League with 30 steals and has stolen at least 30 bases in six of the last eight seasons, including a career high 70 in 2004.
May was on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and is batting .296 with 11 homers and 45 RBI as the catcher for Triple-A Albuquerque. Pimentel was 9-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) for Single-A Great Lakes this season.
Royals Swept by Twins
Delmon Young hit a three-run homer and Jason Repko added a solo shot, as the Twins completed a three-game sweep of the Royals with a 6-4 win. It wasn’t the same result as the past two days, when Minnesota pounded KC by 19-1 and 11-2 finals, but the offense did enough with 14 hits to back starter Brian Duensing (4-1), who fired six innings of two-run ball on eight hits. Young and Repko each had three hits, as did Denard Span, who drove in a run. Jon Rauch finished things up by notching his 21st save and first since the All-Star break. The win was Minnesota’s fifth straight, completed a 6-1 road trip and improved the club to 10-4 since the break. Brian Bannister (7-10) gave up 11 hits and five runs in six-plus innings to take the loss, Kansas City’s fourth in a row and sixth in seven games. Rick Ankiel led the offense with two hits and two RBI.
Arlington hearing starts today (AUDIO)
Reports that hundreds, maybe thousands, of burials at Arlington National Cemetery have been mishandled will get a critical look from a United States Senate committee today. Some of the participants will not speak willingly.
The government has spent five and a half million dollars in the last seven years to have burials conducted properly at Arlington. But Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Claire McCaskill says the several private companies contracted to carry out that work did not do it right, leaving the cemetery with an inadequate and outdated system and inadequate burial management records. [Read more...]
Audit highlights issues with MOHELA’s Lewis & Clark Discovery Initiative (AUDIO)
State Auditor Susan Montee
The Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative was controversial when it was created in 2006, and it’s now the subject of a state audit.
The LCDI was a plan to essentially take $350 million out of MOHELA, the state’s student loan agency, to help pay for building projects at Universities across the state. State Auditor Susan Montee says MOHELA isn’t paying out the money as planned. It paid out $230 million up front, but has come up more than $20 million short on its quarterly payments of $5 million over the last 2 years.
“Right now with no money, there isn’t really a recommendation we can make as to what happens here. So in this particular case it’s kind of a look back,” Montee said. [Read more...]
