Knowing that he had been pitching poorly and that injured Kyle Lohse was making a rehab start on the same night, Todd Wellemeyer responded to the challenge with one of his best games of the season Thursday.

Wellemeyer blanked San Francisco for seven innings before allowing a two-run homer to Aaron Rowand in the eighth inning. Showing some renewed focus, Wellemeyer threw 65 strikes out of 99 pitches.

In his last start, Wellemeyer had wrapped up a dismal June (1-3, 6.89 ERA) by working only 2 1/3 innings against Minnesota, his shortest outing of the season.

Wellemeyer had a 30-minute conversation with pitching coaches Dave Duncan and Marty Mason and watched film. He discovered an issue with his balance.

"When you figure it out, it feels good," Wellemeyer...

A 30-minute talk with two coaches and some intense film study helped Todd Wellemeyer rebound impressively from his worst start of the season. On Saturday, the right-hander lasted just 2 1-3 innings, giving up three runs against Minnesota. The half-hour conversation with pitching coach Dave Duncan and bullpen coach Marty Mason and looking at some tapes worked well as Wellemeyer allowed two runs and...

Colby Rasmus got a break when third baseman Pablo Sandoval dropped his foul pop in the 10th inning. Then Bob Howry had to come after the rookie with a full count and Albert Pujols on deck. None of that was on Rasmus' mind when he led off the 10th inning with his first game-ending home run, lifting the St.

The Cardinals' Mark DeRosa has a strained tendon in his left wrist and expects to miss three or four games. St. Louis also said third baseman Troy Glaus will report to its spring training complex to continue therapy in an often troubled rehab from right shoulder surgery in January. The 32-year-old could begin a rehab assignment in a few weeks.

Albert Pujols has more home runs than strikeouts against Randy Johnson after going deep two more times off the big left-hander. So what if the St. Louis Cardinals' star is 11 for 24 with five homers, 14 RBIs and four strikeouts against the Big Unit? Johnson did enough against everybody else to earn his third straight decision and 303rd of his career in the San Francisco Giants' 6-3 victory...

Francisco Liriano pitched so well, his unsightly stats coming into the game must have been a typing mistake. The Minnesota left-hander worked seven strong innings backed by Justin Morneau's three-run, first-inning home run in the Twins' 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Liriano entered 3-8 with a 5.88 ERA but won his second straight starts during a turnaround June, and this...

The Minnesota Twins successfully challenged Albert Pujols the night before. Then they tried it again. Pujols made them pay by lining two-run homers in his first two at-bats Sunday, doing most of the damage against Kevin Slowey in a 5-3 victory on Saturday. His crucial ninth-inning strikeout against Joe Nathan in a two-run loss the previous night was on his mind.

Another National League team got rude treatment from the Minnesota Twins. Glen Perkins worked seven innings of four-hit ball in 92-degree heat and Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer had key hits in a 3-1 victory over the slumping St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. Joe Mauer was 1 for 2 with two walks and is batting .396 for the Twins, who are 38-37 overall but 11-5 in interleague play.