ST. LOUIS, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A home run by Bobby Abreu leading off the 14th inning Friday night lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Abreu, who collected three hits and also drove in a run in the first inning, smacked a 2-1 pitch from rookie reliever Kevin Joseph (0-1) over the wall in left-center. His 15th homer put an end to the longest game for both teams this season (five hours, 13 minutes).
Terry Adams (5-8) yielded two hits with four strikeouts over three innings and notched win.
Mike Lieberthal belted his 15th homer in the sixth for Philadelphia, and Placido Polanco had an RBI double in his first game back in St. Louis since being traded to the Phillies.
The Phillies took a 4-3 lead in the 10th on a run-scoring by Tomas Perez, but Jose Mesa blew his ninth save in 43 chances in the bottom of the inning when his bases-loaded wild pitch allowed Albert Pujols to score the tying run.
Scott Rolen, the key figure in the trade involving Polanco, tied a career high with four hits in his second series against the Phillies, and is 7-for-11 with four RBI against his former team.
Eli Marrero had three hits and scored twice for the Cardinals, who lost for only the third time in their last 14 games and saw their lead in the National League Central over the Houston Astros shrink to four games.
