Cards Back On Field After Hancock's Death

Tuesday, May 1st 2007, 7:33 am

By: News On 6

Jeff Suppan made it look routine, even though it was anything but simple. Suppan pitched his 16th career complete game Monday night to lead Milwaukee to a 7-1 win over St. Louis in the Cardinals' first game since reliever Josh Hancock died in a car accident.

Suppan (4-2), Hancock's teammate with the Cardinals until he signed with Milwaukee in the offseason, struck out five, walked one and allowed eight hits.

``I am not going to say it was easy,'' Suppan said. ``I don't know how to describe it. It's tough. I am not a Cardinal anymore, so I don't know what it is like in that locker room.''

For Scott Spiezio, it was too much to handle. He was overcome with emotion just before the first pitch when he saw Hancock's jersey and the black No. 32 patch the team would be wearing, and manager Tony La Russa pulled him from the starting lineup.

``I got a little caught up right before gametime,'' Spiezio said. ``Seeing the patch, seeing the jersey. It's hard to escape, you know? Usually, you've got stuff going on and when you get to the park, you can escape it. Here, you can't.''

In other NL games, it was: Washington 3, San Diego 2; Arizona 9, Los Angeles Dodgers 1; Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 2; Florida 9, New York Mets 6; San Francisco 9, Colorado 5; and Pittsburgh 3, Chicago Cubs 2.

At Milwaukee, Kip Wells (1-5) balked in a run in the second and gave up seven runs in six innings to take the loss against the Brewers.

The 29-year-old Hancock was killed shortly after midnight Sunday when his SUV struck the rear of a flatbed tow truck on a St. Louis highway. The Cardinals' scheduled home game against Chicago on Sunday night was postponed.

The Cardinals will wear the patches on their sleeves for the rest of the season. Pitcher Tyler Johnson held one of Hancock's jerseys during the national anthem Monday and outfielder Preston Wilson draped his arm around teammate So Taguchi's shoulder in the dugout.

Nationals 3, Padres 2

At San Diego, Washington's John Patterson allowed one run in six innings to outpitch Jake Peavy and get his first win in more than a year.

Austin Kearns and Kory Casto drove in runs against Peavy (3-1), who was coming off a 16-strikeout, seven-inning performance in his last outing, a no-decision at Arizona on Wednesday.

Peavy had 10 strikeouts against Washington, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings.

Patterson (1-4) won for the first time since April 15, 2006. He made eight starts last season due to forearm trouble that landed him on the disabled list twice and required surgery in July.

Chad Cordero pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in seven chances.

Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 1

At Los Angeles, Brandon Webb allowed one run over seven innings and Chris Young hit two solo homers for Arizona in its sixth straight victory.

Webb gave up four hits and walked three. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has allowed four earned runs in 23 innings over his last three starts.

Dodgers starter Randy Wolf (3-3) was charged with six runs, 10 hits and four walks over 5 2-3 innings.

Young drove Wolf's second pitch of the game to right-center for his third homer. Eric Byrnes ended a 1-for-18 drought with an RBI double in a three-run fifth.

Braves 5, Phillies 2

Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for Atlanta.

Pitching with a ``JH'' on the front of his jersey, Braves starter Tim Hudson allowed only four hits over eight innings but didn't get a decision. Hudson was good friends with Hancock after the two played together at Auburn in 1997 and led the Tigers to the College World Series.

In the ninth, Kelly Johnson led off with a single, Chipper Jones walked and Andruw Jones hit a towering drive into the left-field seats off Antonio Alfonseca (1-1).

Chipper Jones also homered for the host Braves.

Mike Gonzalez (1-0) picked up his first win for the Braves with a scoreless ninth.

Marlins 9, Mets 6

Hanley Ramirez homered, Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs and Florida chased emergency New York starter Chan Ho Park early.

Alfredo Amezaga also homered and Josh Willingham had a two-run single during visiting Florida's five-run rally in the third inning, which started with a two-out single by pitcher Scott Olsen (3-1), who gave up four runs _ two earned _ and 10 hits in six-plus innings.

Carlos Beltran was 4-for-5 with a home run for New York, his third four-hit game this season.

Park (0-1) was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans to start in place of Orlando Hernandez, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis in his right shoulder. Park lasted only four innings, allowing seven runs and six hits.

Giants 9, Rockies 5

Pedro Feliz hit a three-run homer and San Francisco's Noah Lowry beat Colorado for the first time in more than two years.

Rich Aurilia hit two doubles, drove in a run and scored twice as San Francisco opened a season-long 10-game homestand by ending a three-game losing streak.

Lowry (3-2) won his third straight, ending a six-start winless stretch and four-game losing streak to the Rockies dating to a victory over Colorado on April 15, 2005. He lasted only five innings, marking just the fifth time this year that a Giants starter failed to go six.

Troy Tulowitzki matched his career high with four hits for the Rockies.

Josh Fogg (1-2) allowed five hits and five runs, including Feliz's homer in the second, in five innings.

Pirates 3, Cubs 2

At Pittsburgh, Jason Bay hit a one-out homer in the eighth and Ronny Paulino had a two-run double for the Pirates.

Bay's homer, an opposite-field shot off Michael Wuertz (0-1) that barely reached the right-field bleachers, was his fourth of the season and his 100th with Pittsburgh.

Salomon Torres pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save. Matt Capps (2-0) got the win.

Cubs starter Rich Hill limited the Pirates to two runs over seven innings and helped himself with an unlikely run-scoring double, but couldn't hold a 2-0 lead.