K.C. climbs over Cards 6-4
Palmer reads he's an All-Star, then writes up 3 RBIs
Posted: Thursday July 02, 1998 12:33 AM
| |
Belcher held McGwire and the Cardinals to four runs in seven innings (AP) |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Dean Palmer
capped his big day with a big night.
After becoming an All-Star for the first time, Palmer celebrated with
two hits and three RBIs in the Kansas City Royals' 6-4
victory over the St.
Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.
"It was good news," Palmer said. "I think all day I've been walking
around with a little extra skip. I wouldn't mind 162 days like this."
Tim
Belcher won for the fifth time in six decisions and Jeff Conine also
had three RBIs as the Royals continued their hottest streak of the season.
The Royals have won five of six and eight of 10, and they've also won five
straight on the road.
Both teams being below .500 took some of the luster off their first
meeting in St. Louis since the 1985 I-70 World Series. The paid attendance
of 36,144 for the second game of a three-game set was the Cardinals' lowest
gate since May 28.
Most fans that did show up also seemed more excited about watching Mark McGwire,
who was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
"Knock wood, I've had pretty good success against him in the past,"
Belcher said. "Obviously, he's very, very hot and very home run hot, so you
never feel completely comfortable."
The Cardinals have lost seven of eight and are a major league-worst
3-9 in interleague play.
"The guys are angry -- I'm dodging equipment in the runway," manager
Tony La Russa said. "I like that. I just don't like depression.
"If they have major league meetings this winter, I'm going to avoid
every National Leaguer I see."
Belcher (7-7) allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings. He
struck out seven and walked two. The right-hander gave up a two-run single
in the first by league-leading hitter Brian Jordan,
snubbed for the All-Star team earlier in the day, and a two-run homer to John Mabry in the
seventh.
Johnny
Damon, a defensive switch in left field in the seventh, kept the
Cardinals from tying it 5-5 by robbing Gary Gaetti of a
homer with a leaping catch above the wall for the third out. Belcher said
Damon's defense and the fact Gaetti hooked the ball saved him.
"I thought it was crushed, I thought it was hit better than the ball
Mabry hit," Belcher said. "When it left the bat, I didn't think it had a
chance in the world of staying in the park."
Damon said Belcher was very appreciative.
"He pretty much broke my hand on a high five," Damon said. "Tim was
pretty pumped up about it."
Jeff
Montgomery, the Royals' fourth pitcher, got two outs for his 17th
save.
Palmer, named an American League All-Star reserve earlier in the day,
had a two-run single in the first as the Royals took a 3-0 lead and had a
sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Conine has 27 RBIs this season, five in the last two games. He had a
sacrifice fly in the first and a two-run single in the second off Kent Mercker
(5-5).
Mercker lasted only 1 2/3 innings, surrendering five runs and six hits
as his ERA soared to 6.08. Mercker retired the first two Royals in the
second before Belcher singled to start a two-run rally that put Kansas City
ahead 5-2. Conine's two-run single chased Mercker, activated from the
disabled list earlier in the day.
"You'd like to say 'Forget about it,' but it's hard to forget,"
Mercker said. "I didn't give us a chance."
Notes: McGwire hit eight home runs in 21 batting practice swings,
two rattling off the scoreboard beyond the visitor's bullpen and three
reaching the upper deck. ... The Royals were 15-13 in June, their first
winning month since September 1996 when they were 13-11. ... Luis Ordaz,
subbing at shortstop for the injured Royce Clayton
for St. Louis, is 3-for-24. ... St. Louis' Willie McGee,
who struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh and again in the ninth, is
hitless in his last 15 at-bats and in a 1-for-26 slump.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
