Wainwright set down Detroit in order in the ninth to the delight of another crowd that practically appeared dipped in Cardinal red.

With NL championship series MVP Jeff Suppan on the mound for St. Louis, one sign read: Cold Night. Hot Supp.

The right-hander, sporting his full, dark beard, was quite a contrast to the boyish-looking Jeremy Bonderman, who made his Series debut for Detroit only two days shy of his 24th birthday.

Suppan allowed three runs in six innings. Bonderman, making his first start in 12 days, was staked to a three-run lead and was visibly steamed when he was pulled after 5 1-3 innings with the score 3-2. He slammed his glove and hat on the bench, knocking over a full cup, and kicked the ground.

But Rodney preserved the lead — for one inning, at least — when he struck out Miles and pinch-hitter John Rodriguez with runners at the corners.

Rodney whiffed Rodriguez with a 97 mph fastball as catcher Ivan Rodriguez popped out of his crouch and pumped his fist.

In the second, Sean Casey golfed a 1-0 pitch into the Cardinals’ bullpen in right field for his first career postseason home run. It also was the first homer off Suppan this postseason. Rodriguez then grounded a single to right, ending an 0-for-23 slump since Game 1 of the ALCS.

Granderson doubled to start the third, his first hit in 15 World Series at-bats, and scored on Casey’s two-out single. Rodriguez followed with an RBI single, making it 3-0.

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But La Russa stayed aggressive, calling for a hit-and-run with Suppan batting in the third. Suppan swung through a strike as Miles stole second against Rodriguez, an 11-time Gold Glove winner who led major league catchers by throwing out 46 percent of attempted basestealers this season.

The gamble paid off when Eckstein hit a two-out double over a leaping Carlos Guillen at shortstop. La Russa yelled “Yeah!” and did a little spin in the corner of the dugout.

Scott Rolen strained for a one-out double in the fourth, diving headfirst into second and clutching the outside of the bag with a firm-fingered grip after Monroe got twisted around on a slow retrieval of the ball.

With two outs, Molina hit an RBI double past a diving Inge at third, cutting it to 3-2.

Notes: Eckstein was the 57th player to get four or more hits in a Series game and the first since Larry Walker of the Cardinals in Game 1 in 2004. ... Rolen has a nine-game hitting streak in the postseason. ... Bonderman entered 0-for-19 with 12 career strikeouts at the plate. He went .

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