Cards Drop Heartbreaker

Craig Counsell’s stunning three-run home run off of Mike Matthews (0-1)in the top of the seventh inning snapped a 2-2 tie and helped give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game #3 of their National League Divisional Series. Arizona now leads the series 2-1. The Cardinals jumped to an early 2-0 lead when Jim Edmonds hit a two-run home run off eventual winner Miguel Batista (1-0)in the fourth. The Diamondbacks got one back in the sixth on a Luis Gonzalez home run before a four-run seventh inning, capped by Counsell’s blast. Edgar Renteria sliced the lead to 5-3 with a solo home run in the seventh, but St. Louis could get no closer. The D-Backs ave a chance to eliminate St. Louis today in Game #4. Bud Smith will start for St. Louis, Albie Lopez will go for Arizona.