Suppan Shuts Out Cards

With the trade deadline approaching, rumors about possible deals are swirling around the major leagues. On such possibility for the Cardinals is a deal involving Pirates pitcher Jeff Suppan. Perhaps they should have made that deal on Monday morning. Suppan, a former Royal, handcuffed the Redbirds on Monday, tossing a complete-game, seven-hit shut out as Pittsburgh got the best of St. Louis 3-0. The Cardinals put just eight base runners aboard as Suppan notched his third complete game of the season. Reggie Sanders got the Pirates on the board in the second inning with a two-run homer off Brett Tomko, who dropped to 6-7 on the season and is winless in 10 starts at Busch Stadium. He allowed three runs off eight hits in seven innings. Albert Pujols was 1-4, keeping his hitting streak alive at 12 games. He’s hitting .376. St. Louis missed a chance to gain ground on the Astros, who were off. Instead they dropped three games in back of first place Houston in the N.L. Central.