The Cardinals snapped their losing streak on August 6, beating San Diego 10–5. St. Louis scored ten runs on ten consecutive hits in the fifth inning, becoming the 12th team in MLB history to get ten base hits in a row. Three days later, Scott Spiezio, the Cardinals' utilityman and third base backup, was placed on the restricted list due to unspecified substance abuse problems. LaRussa told reporters that "What we want more than anything else is to do whatever is best for him." Spiezio's replacement was both a surprise and a familiar face: Rick Ankiel. Ankiel, once a promising young pitcher for the Cardinals—striking out 194 batters in 175 innings in 2000 at the age of twenty—suffered a catastrophic attack of wildness in the 2000 postseason, throwing nine wild pitches and walking eleven batters in only four postseason innings. Further wildness sent him back to the minors in 2001, and after four years struggling to overcome his wildness and subsequent injuries, Ankiel quit pitching in 2005 and announced he would try to make it back to the big leagues as a hitter. After hitting 31 home runs in 2007 for the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis's AAA affiliate), Ankiel was called up to the big leagues to fill Spiezio's roster spot. In his first game back, Ankiel hit a three-run homer and the Cardinals won 5–0.