Opportunism
Giants surge on, stay tied with Cubs for NL wild card
Posted: Saturday September 26, 1998 08:06 PM
DENVER (AP) -- The Giants got hot at the right time and, amazingly,
San Francisco is tied for the lead in the NL wild-card race heading into
the final day of the regular season.
Stan
Javier homered twice to double his season total as the surging Giants
won their sixth straight, beating the Colorado Rockies 8-4
Saturday.
San Francisco (89-72), which trailed Chicago by five games just nine
days earlier, began the day in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Mets for
the wild-card lead. New York (88-73) lost 4-0 at Atlanta, falling one game
back, but Chicago beat Houston 3-2, setting up a dramatic season
finale.
The Giants, who have won nine of 10, haven't had sole possession of
the wild-card lead since July 18, when they were a half-game ahead of the
Cubs.
"We still need some help from our friends down in Houston," Giants
manager Dusty Baker said. "We got some help from the Braves, so tomorrow is
the biggest game of the season."
Kirk
Rueter (16-9) pitches for San Francisco on Sunday against Jamie Wright
(9-14).
Rockies manager Don Baylor said the Giants are playing extremely well
despite the pressure.
"They're getting hits when they need to get hits. They're getting
pitching when they need to get pitching," he said. "They got hot at the
right time. This [Giants] team has a lot of momentum."
Colorado's Larry Walker
went 3-for-4 with his 23rd homer to raise his league-leading average to
.362, nine points ahead of New York's John Olerud.
Orel
Hershiser (11-10) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Colorado's Darryl
Kile (13-17) gave up seven runs and 10 hits in six innings.
"I threw the ball well even though I was in trouble early," Hershiser
said. "It wasn't a great game for me but in this ballpark, anytime you can
keep your team in the game, it's a good thing."
With the score 1-1, San Francisco broke open the game with a five-run
fourth.
Barry
Bonds doubled, and Jeff Kent lined a
single over the head of second baseman Mike Lansing
for a 2-1 lead. J.T. Snow then
singled and Kent scored when Walker made a throwing error to third. Charlie Hayes
followed with a two-run homer, his 12th of the season. Marvin Benard
added an RBI double later in the inning to make it 6-1.
Visibly frustrated after the game, Kile said he wouldn't discuss the
Giants' rally.
"It really doesn't matter," he said. "They did what they had to do to
win the game and you've got to give them some credit. I try to do the best
job I can, and I got beat."
Colorado got a run in the bottom half on a run-scoring double-play
grounder by Todd Helton.
Javier homered in the sixth, but Colorado closed to 7-4 in the bottom
half on Walker's 23rd homer and Lansing's RBI double, which chased
Hershiser.
Javier homered again in the eighth off Jim Stoops, giving him the
second multihomer game of his career. He hit two for Oakland against Texas
on June 17, 1994.
"The key with me is I never stop working on my hitting," Javier said.
"Anytime I hit the ball over the wall, I'm more surprised than
anybody."
Kent's RBI double put the Giants ahead in the first, but Lansing's
second-inning sacrifice fly tied it. Notes: Kile had won his
previous three starts and six of eight decisions dating to August 9. ...
Hershiser has made 34 starts for the first time since 1988, when he won the
NL Cy Young Award. ... Walker, bothered by pain his in lower back, started
for only the third time in 10 games. ... The Giants are 5-6 against
Colorado this season, winning the last three. ... Bonds, who needs two
steals for his sixth 30-30 season, was thrown out attempting to steal
second in the seventh inning. ... With his two RBIs, Kent tied Rogers
Hornsby for the most RBIs ever by a Giants second baseman. Hornsby
collected 125 RBIs in 1927.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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