Joel Pineiro and three relievers combined on a six-hitter, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick hit solo homers and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 on Tuesday night.

Pineiro (3-4) allowed five hits and walked three in 6 1-3 innings for his first win since April 29. The right-hander was 0-2 with seven no-decisions in his previous nine starts.

Ron Villone got two outs in the seventh, Kyle McClellan pitched a perfect eighth and Ryan Franklin finished for his 12th save in 16 chances.

Cole Hamels (9-6) was the hard-luck loser for struggling Philadelphia, which maintained a slim lead in the NL East.

The Phillies have lost nine of 11 at home. They have dropped four of five since completing their second three-game sweep of Atlanta on the road within a month. They went 5-13 after sweeping the Braves June 6-8.

Ankiel drove an opposite-field shot to left-center for his 19th homer to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the fifth.

Ludwick ripped an 0-2 pitch deep to left-center for his 18th homer in the sixth.

Hamels gave up one other hit in seven innings, striking out eight. He lost 1-0 to Washington in the second game of the season. Continued...