Rick Ankiel got plenty of support from his teammates, and won for the first time in a month as the Cardinals beat the Pirates 5-2. Ankiel cruised into the 7th inning with a 3-0 lead, but allowed a pair of homers to trim the cushion to 3-2. After a one-out triple in the 8th, Jason Christiansen came in to strike out John VanderWal, and Dave Veres got Keith Osik to pop up, stranding the tying run at third. The Cardinals added two runs in the bottom of the 8th, to give Veres breathing room for his 22nd save. Ankiel is 8-7. Jim Edmonds and Will Clark homered. The Cards picked up a game on the Reds and now lead by 8 and 1/2.