Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Curtis Granderson finished 4-for-5 and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as Detroit edged St. Louis, 3-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Comerica Park.

Granderson greeted Mike Parisi (0-4) by grounding a single to right. The speedy outfielder was quickly sacrificed to second by a Ryan Raburn bunt and, after Carlos Guillen was intentionally walked, advanced to third when Magglio Ordonez flied out. Cards manager Tony La Russa then decided to intentionally walk the dangerous Miguel Cabrera to load the bases. The move backfired badly on the veteran mentor when Parisi issued another free pass to Clete Thomas that forced in the winning run.

Thomas was 1-for-3 and knocked in two runs for the Tigers, who won the last two games of the series in their final at-bat. Gary Sheffield added a solo home run.

Nate Robertson scattered 11 hits over 6 1/3 innings and gave up just one run with five strikeouts and two walks. Bobby Seay (1-1) earned the win with a scoreless 10th inning.

The Tigers have gone 14-4 since dropping a season-low 12 games under .500 on June 6.

Albert Pujols returned from the disabled list in a big way for the Cardinals, finishing 4-for-4 with an RBI before leaving the game for a pinch runner in the ninth inning. The St. Louis slugger, who had been sidelined since June 11 with a strained left calf, drove in the go-ahead run in the top of ninth but it failed to hold up.

Aaron Miles was 3-for-5 with a double for the Cardinals, who have dropped three of four games.

Todd Wellemeyer started on the hill and tossed five shutout innings, allowing five hits while fanning three and walking none.

The Tigers finally broke a scoreless tie against Ron Villone in the sixth. After Granderson led off with a single, Placido Polanco was called out on strikes and ejected by home plate umpire Paul Schreiber for arguing. That seemed to wake up Detroit a little bit as Guillen walked and Ordonez singled up the middle to load the bases. Villone did flirt with getting out of the trouble by striking out Cabrera but the veteran left-hander then issued a walk to Thomas, forcing in a run to make it a 1-0 game.

The Cards quickly evened things in the seventh. Brendan Ryan started things with a single and came around to score when Miles slapped a one-out double to right. Ryan stopped at third on the play but Ryan Raburn, who came into the game for Polanco, air-mailed a throw past everyone, enabling the Cards shortstop to cross the plate and deadlock things at one.

The Cardinals took the lead in the ninth off Todd Jones. Pinch hitter Skip Schumaker sliced a one-out single to left and advanced to second on a Miles bloop single, setting the stage for Pujols, who promptly came through with a run-scoring single to left to make it a 2-1 game.

Ryan Franklin had a chance to close things for St. Louis but Gary Sheffield had other ideas, reaching down to golf a Franklin fastball over the wall in left for his fifth homer of the season.