Cardinals 5 Astros 3

(St. Louis-AP) -- Scott Rolen snapped a fifth-inning tie with a two-run single to vault the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-to-3 victory over Houston. Rolen leads the majors with 57 R-B-I's. <br/><br/>The

Monday, May 31st 2004, 5:41 am

By: News On 6

(St. Louis-AP) -- Scott Rolen snapped a fifth-inning tie with a two-run single to vault the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-to-3 victory over Houston. Rolen leads the majors with 57 R-B-I's.

The Cardinals have won five in a row and eight of nine to pull within a game of N-L Central-leading Cincinnati. They're 6-and-4 against the Astros.

St. Louis won without manager Tony La Russa, serving the first game of a two-game suspension for his shouting match with Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon on Thursday. La Russa still got credit for his two-thousand-40th win. That ties him with Walter Alston for sixth on the career list.

The opener of a three-game series drew a sellout crowd of 47-thousand 373 -- with the other two games also sold out.

Rolen's go-ahead hit off Wade Miller gave him four hits in seven at-bats with four R-B-I's since getting beaned by the Pirates' Ryan Vogelsong on Tuesday. Rolen isbatting .436 during a ten-game hitting streak with four homers and 16 R-B-I's.

Matt Morris evened his record at 5-and-5 despite giving up two homers. He leads all pitchers by giving up 18 homers this season.

Roger Cedeno, Marlon Anderson and Jim Edmonds drove in a run apiece for the Cardinals, and Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.