Blanton teaches Cardinals a lesson

ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols was one of five St. Louis Cardinals who took a called third strike against Joe Blanton. It was a solid indicator that the Phillies’ right-hander was on his game.

Blanton won for the first time since joining Philadelphia in a mid-July trade with the Oakland Athletics, helped by home runs from Ryan Howard and Greg Dobbs to a 2-1 victory on Saturday night.

His biggest strikeout froze Pujols with two on to end the third.

“Sometimes as a starter, those at-bats can kind of be the ones that make or break the game,” Blanton said. “I wanted to make tough pitches and hopefully make something good happen.”

Dobbs, who leads the majors with 20 pinch hits, hit his fourth homer of the season on the first pitch of the third from Braden Looper (10-9).

Howard hit his 31st for his National League-leading 96th RBI with two out in the fourth.

The East Division-leading Phillies have homered in 11 consecutive games, totaling 19, and have won six of seven.