DENVER — Scott Rolen homered twice, including a tiebreaking two-run drive in the ninth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 8-5 Wednesday night and cut their magic number to four.

        St. Louis had five homers and three doubles, remaining 7 1/2 games ahead of second-place Houston in the NL Central.

        St. Louis had only three hits — all solo homers — until the ninth. Jim Edmonds led off with a walk off Justin Speier (5-1), Rolen homered and pinch-hitter Ivan Cruz followed with a solo shot, the second time the Cardinals hit consecutive homers in the game.

        Edgar Renteria doubled and scored on Mike Matheny's double, and Fernando Vina added a run-scoring double.

        The game drew 25,330, the lowest crowd in the 10-season history of the Rockies. The game was delayed 1 hour, 19 minutes by rain in the top of the third and it was played in 50-degree temperatures.

        Ben Petrick had two solo homers and a double for the Rockies. Pinch-hitter Ross Gload also hit a bases-empty homer.

        Rolen has his second multihomer game this season — his first with the Cardinals — and the 12th of his career. Tino Martinez and Renteria hit solo shots for the Cardinals.

        Rick White (4-6) pitched a scoreless eighth, and Steve Kline finished for his sixth save.

        Colorado's Denny Stark allowed three runs and three hits in six innings.

        Andy Benes gave up one run and six hits in six innings. Since returning from the disabled list on July 16, he is 5-2 with a 2.15 ERA.

        Petrick homered in the first, but Benes escaped a bases-loaded jam when Gary Bennett flied out.

        Martinez and Renteria hit consecutive homers in the second, the sixth time this season the Cardinals have gone back-to-back. It was Martinez's 20th homer and Renteria's 11th, and it was Renteria's 76th RBI, matching a career high. Rolen's homer made it 3-1 in the fourth.

        Colorado tied it in the seventh on a solo homer by Gload — off Gabe Molina — and Petrick's second shot — off Jeff Fassero.

        Petrick drew a bases loaded walk off Dave Veres in the ninth and another run scored on Todd Helton's double-play grounder.

        Notes: Cardinals 2B Fernando Vina, who was not with the team on Tuesday while attending to private business in California, rejoined the squad. ... Rockies LHP Mike Hampton is to miss his second straight start on Friday because of a strained ligament in his right foot. ... RHP Aaron Cook, one of the Rockies' top prospects, will be shut down the rest of this season. Cook has pitched a combined 195 innings in Double-A, Triple-A and with the Rockies. ... Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight, a friend of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, was in the St. Louis dugout before the game. ... As the grounds crew put the tarp on the field in the third inning, one crew member got caught underneath. The crowd cheered as his indentation could be seen scurrying for an opening. He was unhurt but lost his cap.

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