The Skinny: Leading 3-2 in the 7th inning, with 2 runners on, Brandon Webb faced MVP-candidate Albert Pujols. If you’re the St. Louis Cardinals, you wouldn’t want any other hitter at the plate with a chance to deliver at least the tying run. Webb struck out Pujols, got out of the jam, and helped the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-2 in St. Louis to open a 4-game series.

The D-Backs were in the thick stuff in the 8th. Brandon Lyon had replaced Webb, and allowed a leadoff single to Ryan Ludwick. The next hitter, Troy Glaus hit a line drive that bounced off the glove of a diving Chris Young in center field. Ludwick, who was running on the pitch, held up at third base. The next batter Aaron Miles hit a liner to second, that was gloved by David Eckstein, who then flipped to the bag to double off a snoozing Glaus at second. Lyon then got catcher Mark Johnson to fly out to center to end the threat and the inning.

The Diamondbacks struck on offense early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an rbi double by Conor Jackson which scored Stephen Drew. The Cardinals evened it up when Webb balked in Skip Schumaker in the bottom of the inning. Drew added an rbi double in the 4th that plated Chris Snyder. Drew also homered in the 6th, and Chad Tracy drove in a run with a double in the 8th.

The win was the Diamondbacks’ third straight, and seventh in their last 8 games.

Repercussions: The Diamondbacks picked up another half-game on the idle Los Angeles Dodgers, and now trail by two games with 6 to play. The Dodgers will open a 3-game series vs. the Padres Tuesday night.

Webb back on for Cy?: Webb won his 3rd straight start, and notched his 22nd win of the season. He now is 22-7, and has 5 more wins than any other pitcher in the National League, including Cy Young candidate Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants. Lincecum does lead the NL in ERA with a mark of 2.46, while Webb lowered his ERA to 3.24 on the season.

Drew joins rare company: Stephen Drew with a double and a home run, became only the third shortstop in Major League history to have 20 home runs, 40 doubles and 10 triples. The others to accomplish the feat were Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers, who did it twice, in 1980 and 1982, and Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox in 1997.

MLB.com : Recap | Boxscore

Here’s what others are saying about Webb’s 22nd win and Drew’s incredible feat…

D-Backs hold off Cardinals [AZCentral]

Webb, Drew lead Diamondbacks to win [East Valley Tribune/AP]

Webb, Drew lead Diamondbacks to win [STL Today.com]

The series continues Tuesday at Busch with Randy Johnson making his 7th attempt at career win #295. He’ll be faced by St. Louis right-hander Kyle Lohse. First pitch is at 5:15 Arizona time.

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