Old, reliable Moyer just can't act his age

ST. LOUIS - Nothing takes the starch out of a baseball team like a long losing streak. And nothing prevents long losing streaks quite like a starting pitcher who somehow, some way manages to get a win when he takes the mound in the game after his team has taken a beating.

That's called being a stopper and it's hard to overestimate the value of having one.

Which is why the Phillies had to be happy to have Jamie Moyer's turn come up last night at Busch Stadium.

The last time we saw the Phillies, Wednesday evening in Cleveland, they were walking off the field after an unsightly loss to the Indians.

Moyer helped make that a distant memory with six shutout innings as the Phillies thumped the disappointing Cardinals, 6-0, to remain two games behind the Mets in the National League East. They also moved ahead of Atlanta and into second place in the division.

There's a pattern here. Moyer is 7-5. All his wins have come in starts after Phillies losses. And the Philleis are 9-1 in games he starts after defeats.

Oh, and after Moyer loses? He's 4-0 with a 2.75 earned run average in his next outing.

"I want Jamie to be out there as much as possible, but I don't particularly like to see us lose first," manager Charlie Manuel joked. "I'd rather see us run off four or five in a row."

Moyer insisted he's unaware off his success following the team's losses.

"I wasn't aware of it," he said. "To me, every game is important. I've played long enough to know that you can't take any situation lightly. That's how I was brought up in this game.

"I don't know if I consider myself a stopper. You just go out and pitch. The 4 days between starts, you prepare yourself and hope to contribute to a winning effort. It doesn't always work out, but that's what you try to do."

Moyer is 44 years old, but you wouldn't have known it watching him throw his body around last night.

In the third inning, he scored from second on Shane Victorino's base hit, sliding across the plate ahead of the throw.

"When I hit the ground I was surprised. I felt like I was on marbles. And it wasn't because of my speed," he kidded. Then he practically sprinted to the dugout.

Said Manuel: "He runs harder to the dugout than a lot of guys run to first."

In the bottom of the inning, a comebacker by Albert Pujols deflected hard off Moyer's left leg. He chased it down and underhanded the ball to first, finishing in a bellyflop, to record the out.

Ryan Madson pitched the seventh and eighth and Jose Mesa finished off the defending world champions in the ninth.

Anthony Reyes started Game 1 of the World Series for the Cardinals as a rookie last season, and dominated the hard-hitting Tigers to get the win. That seems like a long time ago.

He hasn't won a game in the big leagues since.

Reyes has been struggling big-time. You could look it up.

And the Phillies did what contending teams are supposed to do. They made sure his troubles continued, staggering him with five-run third inning and knocking him out by loading the bases with one out in the fifth.

That sounds simple enough, but baseball can be a confounding game. In April, the Phillies lost to Washington's Levale Speigner. He was recently designated for assignment with a 2-3 record and an 8.78 earned run average by a Nationals team that's desperate for pitching.

Earlier this month, they lost to Kansas City's Scott Elarton. He's 2-3, 9.17.

"You can throw paper out the window," Manuel said. "I look at St. Louis and they have a pretty good lineup. I know their having some pitching problems, but they're definitely not a team to take lightly."

This time, though, form held. Reyes is now 0-9 with a 6.64 ERA.

Starting with Moyer and one out in the third, six straight Phillies reached base.

Moyer, Jimmy Rollins, Victorino and Chase Utley lined clean singles. The Phillies appeared to get a break when Cardinals rightfielder Juan Encarnacion overran Utley's hit, allowing him to go all the way to third, but it turned out not to matter. Ryan Howard followed with a double, Aaron Rowand singled and Greg Dobbs topped it off with a sacrifice fly before Reyes was finally able to get out of the inning.

For the Cardinals, it was already too late.

It was announced after the game that righthander Jon Lieber will have precautionary X-rays on his sprained right ankle . . . With last night's win, the Phillies are 8-1 after losing the previous game while giving up at last 10 runs . . . Shane Victorino extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his single in the third . . . Abraham Nunez started at third base, in part because Charlie Manuel wanted his best defensive team on the field with Jamie Moyer, a groundball pitcher . . .

Righthander Tom Gordon (rotator-cuff strain) could begin a rehab assignment by the end of next week, according to Ruben Amaro Jr. The assistant general manager also said Brett Myers (right shoulder strain) threw well yesterday and should throw in the bullpen today . . .

Third-base coach Steve Smith returned to the lines last night after serving his three-game suspension for arguing balls and strikes last Sunday . . .

Lefthander Eude Brito has been taken off the 40-man roster but will remain with Triple A Ottawa. *