Vidro answers the call

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Jose Vidro waited all season for a moment like this.

Nearly two months after his last RBI, Vidro singled home two runs in the ninth inning as the Nationals staged their latest rally to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 yesterday before 21,322 at RFK Stadium.

The veteran second baseman, who this season has struggled with a succession of knee and ankle injuries, delivered a bases-loaded line drive to right field on a 1-0 fastball from Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen.

Halfway up the first-base line, Vidro pumped his right arm as he watched his hit fly past first baseman Albert Pujols.

"There's always a [traffic] light that's red when I go out of my apartment, and this morning it was green, so [I thought] maybe this was going to be a good day or me," Vidro said. "It turned out to be so. I've missed a lot of chances to come through for the ballclub. This has definitely been the biggest hit of the year for me."

Lately, Vidro -- mired in a 5-for-32 slump -- has been relegated to the bench. With the Nationals (61-78) mired in last place, some of the club's established veterans are seeing decreased playing time.

In Vidro's case, the club wants to get a long look at young second baseman Bernie Castro to see whether he can play at this level. But Vidro capitalized on his start yesterday, going 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.

"It's good to see anybody come through, but especially him -- he's been struggling," manager Frank Robinson said. "It was good to see him get the big hit."

Vidro's heroics led the Nationals to their fifth comeback win on this nine-game homestand. Overall, Washington went 6-3 before beginning a two-city, seven-game road trip tonight in Colorado.

Vidro's clutch base hit picked up closer Chad Cordero, who blew his first save since the All-Star break. With the Nationals leading 5-4, Preston Wilson treated Cordero and his former team rudely when he blasted a slider into the upper deck in left field for a two-run homer in the ninth inning to give the National League Central-leading Cardinals (74-64) a 6-5 lead.