Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Late blast lifts Reds past Cards

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

Monday, September 27, 1999

Late blast lifts Reds past Cards
Cincinnati overcomes McGwire's 60th, 7-5
By Joe Kay
Associated Press

CINCINNATI - Pokey Reese hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning as the Cincinnati Reds overcame Mark McGwire's 60th homer and continued their headlong rush toward the playoffs Sunday with a 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
   The Reds blew a two-run lead in the ninth - Fernando Tatis hit his second homer to tie it - and fell behind on Edgar Renteria's double in the top of the 12th before rallying for their 21st last at-bat victory.
   With two aboard and one out, Reese hit his 10th homer off Ricky Bottalico (3-8), prompting the Reds to spill out of the dugout to form a jubilant cluster around home plate.
   The Reds have won five of six games, positioning themselves for their first postseason appearance since 1995. The Reds moved a game ahead in the NL wild-card race as the New York Mets lost to Philadelphia 3-2.
   The Reds also moved within a half-game of Houston in the NL Central as the Astros lost at Milwaukee 11-3.
   At 93-63, the Reds have their most victories since the Big Red Machine went 102-60 in 1976 on its way to a second consecutive World Series championship.
   McGwire's solo shot in the eighth inning off Scott Sullivan made him the third player to hit 400 homers in a decade. Babe Ruth had 467 in the 1920s and Jimmie Foxx had 415 in the 1930s.
   It also made McGwire the second to get 60 homers twice. Sammy Sosa reached the 60-60 mark eight days earlier in Chicago.
   The crowd of more than 40,000 politely applauded the homer, which left the Cardinals down 4-2. Tatis drained the emotion out of the stadium with a two-run homer in the ninth off Danny Graves.
   Graves, who pitched two innings in Saturday's game, blew a save for the ninth time in 36 chances. Scott Williamson (12-7) got the win despite giving up the go-ahead run in the 12th.
   Before McGwire's 373-foot shot provided an historic footnote, Mike Cameron put the Reds ahead with a three-run homer and helped them reach a nice, round number that was noteworthy as well.
   His homer off Manny Aybar put the Reds up 4-1 in the seventh and gave them 200 for the season, only the second time in its history that Cincinnati has reached the mark. The 1956 Reds hit 221 homers.
   McGwire finished 2-for-5 with a double, a homer and a fly out to the warning track in right field. He's 7-for-39 career in Cincinnati with four singles, a double and two homers.
   Juan Guzman gave up five hits in seven innings, including Tatis' solo homer in the second, as he continued to make the Reds' July 31 trade with Baltimore pay off in the stretch run.
   Guzman is 3-0 in five starts in September with a 1.69 ERA.
   The Reds got a break before the game: The Cardinals scratched Kent Bottenfield, their top starter, for the final game of the series on Monday. Bottenfield won't pitch anymore this season because of fatigue.
   Notes: The Cardinals hired former Colorado GM Bob Gebhard as a special assistant. He'll join the team this week. ... Instead of Bottenfield, the Cardinals will start Garrett Stephenson (6-2) in the final game of the series. ... Tatis also singled and stole his 20th base, making his the first Cardinals infielder to steal 20 and hit 20 homers in a season. His 32 homers equal Ken Boyer's club record for a third baseman. ... After McGwire homered in the eighth, one fan bought 1,500 tickets as memorabilia, pushing the gate to 43,613.
   St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
   Renteria ss 6 0 1 1 0 2 .273
   Kennedy 2b 6 0 0 0 0 1 .247
   Bottalico p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   McGwire 1b 5 1 2 1 0 0 .274
   Lankford lf 5 0 0 0 0 4 .306
   THoward rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .294
   1-Marrero pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .193
   McEwing cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .276
   Tatis 3b 5 2 3 3 0 1 .291
   Croushore p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
   Mohler p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   Polanco 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
   Drew cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .239
   Slocumb p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
   Paquette 3b 0 1 0 0 1 0 .297
   Jensen c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .280
   Thompson p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000
   a-EPerez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .421
   Aybar p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083
   Painter p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   Acevedo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .050
   c-McGee ph-rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .257
   Totals 44 5 9 5 2 12
   Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
   Cameron cf 3 1 1 3 2 1 .259
   Larkin ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 .297
   Casey 1b 6 0 1 1 0 2 .334
   GVaughn lf 6 0 0 0 0 4 .243
   DYoung rf 1 0 0 0 2 0 .304
   Tucker rf 2 0 1 0 0 1 .251
   e-Hammonds ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .278
   Taubensee c 5 0 2 0 1 2 .315
   2-Robinson pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000
   ABoone 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .282
   Graves p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   d-MaSweeney ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .407
   SWilliamson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   f-BJohnson ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .231
   3-LaRue pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .218
   Reese 2b 6 2 3 3 0 1 .280
   JGuzman p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .120
   b-Stynes ph 0 1 0 0 0 0 .234
   Sullivan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   DReyes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   MLewis 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 .265
   Totals 43 7 10 7 7 15
   St. Louis 010 000 012 001-5 9 1
   Cincinnati 100 000 300 003-7 10 0
   One out when winning run scored.
   a-grounded out for Thompson in the 7th. b-safe on sacrifice plus fielder's choice for Guzman in the 7th. c-flied out for Acevedo in the 9th. d-grounded out for Graves in the 10th. e-struck out for Tucker in the 12th. f-walked for Williamson in the 12th. 1-ran for T.Howard in the 9th. 2-ran for Taubensee in the 12th. 3-ran for Johnson in the 12th.
   E-McGwire (12). LOB-St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 12. 2B-Renteria (33), McGwire (21), Jensen (4), MLewis (16). 3B-Larkin (4). HR-Reese (10) off Bottalico; McGwire (60) off Sullivan; Cameron (20) off Aybar; Tatis 2 (32) off Graves, JGuzman. RBIs-Renteria (61), McGwire (138), Tatis 3 (101), Cameron 3 (63), Casey (97), Reese 3 (50). SB-Tatis (20), Drew (19), Cameron (37), Tucker (11). S-Jensen, Stynes. GIDP-Casey, Taubensee. Runners left in scoring position-St. Louis 6 (Kennedy, THoward, Drew, Thompson 2, EPerez); Cincinnati 6 (Casey, GVaughn 3, Taubensee, MaSweeney). Runners moved up-Lankford, Jensen, Casey. DP-St. Louis 2 (McGwire and Renteria), (Tatis and McGwire).
   St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
   Thompson 6 3 1 1 4 7 96 2.25
   Aybar 2 3 3 0 0 10 5.29
   Painter 1 1 0 0 0 3 19 4.70
   Acevedo ¡ 0 0 0 0 1 8 6.05
   Slocumb 2 1 0 0 2 2 38 2.47
   Croushore 1 0 0 0 0 14 4.09
   Mohler L, 1-1 1 1 2 2 1 2 23 4.63
   Bottalico 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 4.91
   Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
   JGuzman 7 5 1 1 1 6 109 2.64
   Sullivan ¡ 1 1 1 0 0 10 2.90
   DReyes 1 1 1 0 1 7 3.60
   Graves 2 1 1 1 0 2 13 3.13
   SWilliamson W, 12-7 2 1 1 1 1 3 32 2.27
   Bottalico pitched to 1 batter in the 12th, DReyes pitched to 1 batter in the 9th.
   Inherited runners-scored-Bottalico 2-2, Mohler 3-0, Acevedo 1-0, Graves 1-1. HBP-by Croushore (Larkin), by Thompson (Cameron). WP-Aybar. PB-Jensen. Umpires-Home, Williams, C.; First, Gibson; Second, Rapuano; Third, Hernandez. T-4:13. A-43,613 (52,953).

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |