Mac mashes No. 63
Pinch-hit shot in 9th pushes McGwire ahead of Sosa again
Posted: Wednesday September 16, 1998 09:17 AM
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Back to business: McGwire had three hits, all singles, in 18 at-bats since breaking the record AP |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- It took Mark McGwire
only one at-bat to regain the lead in the home-run derby. Hours
after saying he didn't care whether he or Sammy Sosa
reigned as the new home run king, McGwire hit No. 63 to move ahead in the
great race. He ended a six-game homer drought with a solo shot off
Jason
Christiansen in St. Louis' 8-6 loss to Pittsburgh in the first game of
a doubleheader Tuesday night. "He's been doing it for a year and two
months, people cheering 'C'mon Mark, we want you to hit one,'" Cardinals
manager Tony La Russa said. "Boom, he hits one! How does he do it? I have
no idea, except that he's remarkable." McGwire didn't appear at all
impressed with himself. "It's not a record," he said. "It's not a
record 'till the season is over." McGwire's swing went out of sync
after he hit his 62nd home run September 8, and he was 3-for-18 with three
singles in six games before hitting his sixth career pinch homer in only 32
at-bats. He doesn't like pinch-hitting, but he's good at it, with 13 hits,
and he figured he'd get a chance. "I've been with Tony too long,"
McGwire said. "I was getting ready in the second inning." McGwire
had an RBI double and a bases-loaded walk in the Cardinals' 9-3 victory in
the second game, and just missed on a couple of other at-bats, hitting high
fly balls to right in the third and center in the fifth. He also walked
twice, extending his NL record to 154 walks. McGwire did not start
the opener as a precaution for his ailing back, and to allow more fans a
chance to see him play. The games were sold out, but only about 10,000 fans
were watching when the first game began at 4:10 p.m. EDT. The
ballpark was filled and everyone was standing when McGwire, batting for
leadoff hitter Delino
DeShields, made his third pinch-hit appearance of the season with one
out and nobody on in the ninth. On a 1-0 fastball that was down and
in, he hit a 385-foot drive into the left-center field bleachers. It
was a gratuitous appearance, given the Cardinals were down three runs, but
La Russa said this was a special case. He would have liked to have had
McGwire hit for reliever Jeff Brantley,
who was up fifth that inning, but didn't know if it would last that long.
"You sit around and wait for that, you may not get there," La Russa
said. "I gave him a shot." Pirates manager Gene Lamont had no
complaints. "Under ordinary circumstances, you wouldn't send McGwire
up in that situation," Lamont said. "But I understood why Tony did it. It
was a good idea." The historic significance was lost on
Christiansen.
A season to remember: Going into the season, McGwire's career batting average was .263 and he averaged 32 homers a season -- he is currently batting .294 with 63 homers AP | |
"A home run is an earned run and that upsets me
anytime I give up an earned run," Christiansen said. "It really doesn't
matter if it's a guy's first homer or his 100th." McGwire has three
homers against Pittsburgh pitching and is 13-for-27 with seven RBIs, but
none of the homers hurt the Pirates. "I've enjoyed all three because
they didn't affect the games," Lamont said. The fan who caught the
ball had no immediate plans to give it back. McGwire has received every
ball from homer No. 56 on, but John Grass, 46, was looking to cash in.
"The ball is worth something to someone and I'd like to have something
for it myself," Grass said. "He makes millions of dollars, I don't think
there is anything wrong with something coming to me." Cardinals
general manager Walt Jocketty said he didn't expect the team to negotiate a
deal for the ball. "I don't know how you would figure out what it's
worth," Jocketty said. "It might not be worth much, depending on how many
home runs he hits." McGwire wasn't concerned. "That's all
right," he said. "He can keep it." The homer was McGwire's 173rd in
three seasons and 450th overall, leaving him two behind Carl Yastrzemski
for 20th place on the career list. Kevin Young's
three-run home run snapped a fifth-inning tie in an opener that featured
six homers, two by Cardinals rookie J.D. Drew. Young's homer off Donovan
Osborne (4-4) snapped a 2-for-35 slump. Drew's two-homer game
was the first by a Cardinals rookie since Bernard
Gilkey on Oct. 5, 1991. Drew hit two doubles in the second game - he
went 4-for-8 in the doubleheader and also hit into three double plays.
Jose
Guillen added a two-run homer in the third for the Pirates, who snapped
a three-game losing streak and won for only the fourth time in 18 games.
Ray
Lankford had a two-run homer for the Cardinals. He hit a two-run single
in the second game, giving him a career-high 100 RBIs. Sean Lawrence
(2-1), the third Pittsburgh pitcher, allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings. Rich Loiselle
got two outs for his 19th save. In the second game, Drew and Brian Jordan
also had RBI doubles in a three-run first against Jose Silva (6-5).
A fourth run scored on a two-out throwing error by third baseman Aramis
Ramirez in the third. Manny Aybar (5-6) allowed two runs, one
earned, on five hits in 6 1-3 innings.
Juan Acevedo
got four outs for his 10th save. Notes: The Cardinals haven't led
the league in home runs since 1944, when they hit 100. They have 202, two
behind Atlanta. ... Pirates reliever Jeff Tabaka left after facing three
batters in the fourth with a strained left side. ... The Cardinals have
split all four of their doubleheaders. ... DeShields had four hits in the
second game.
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