‘The Natural’ Rick Ankiel did it again on Saturday afternoon for the St. Louis Cardinals. The former pitcher turned slugging outfielder hit two home runs and had three hits in the Redbirds 6-1 win over the punchless Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ankiel homered twice and drove in three runs, the latest power display by the former pitcher, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Saturday.

Ankiel, who scored three times, hit the first pitch he saw in the first and seventh innings to right field, giving him three home runs since he was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

The home crowd gave Ankiel a standing ovation and demanded a curtain call - as they did Thursday - after his first home run against the Dodgers. The second one was met with a quick doff of the cap, and the right fielder got another standing ovation as he jogged off the field after making two strong defensive plays in the eighth.

Rick will eventually slump like every Major League player but look for him to have some great at bats the rest of this year and be the Cardinals starting right fielder next year.

photo: Christopher Schellenbach