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Movin' on up McGwire passes Killebrew with No. 574 in Cards' win
Updated: Sunday August 12, 2001 1:33 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- When Mark McGwire connects these days, it's almost certain to be a long ball. Big Mac, slowed by a sore knee, moved past Harmon Killebrew into fifth place with his 574th career homer, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 victory against the New York Mets on Saturday. "If I can get going and keep playing, there will be more milestones," McGwire said. "There's no reason to think just about one." McGwire's last 10 hits have all been homers, the longest such streak in at least the past 25 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. There is no research done before that. He hasn't had a hit that didn't go over the fence since singling in his first at-bat July 18, against Houston. "When he connects, the ball carries," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's just one of those freak stats." McGwire, who didn't start the past three games, hit a two-run shot off Glendon Rusch (6-7) in the fifth inning for his 20th homer of the season and first since Aug. 1.
The blast even drew cheers from the partisan fans at Shea Stadium. "It's a great day when you see Mark McGwire hit a home run," La Russa said. "I don't care what else there is in sports now, having him hit a home run is tied for first for the best sports achievement you can see. They got to see it." There wasn't much else to cheer about for the Mets' fans. Dustin Hermanson (10-9) allowed three runs in six innings, Mike Matheny hit a two-run homer and Placido Polanco extended his hitting streak to 20 games for St. Louis. Dave Veres relieved with two on and none out in the ninth. He got Mike Piazza on a foul pop and Robin Ventura to hit into a double play for his 12th save. The Cardinals improved to 4-1 against the Mets this season -- the same margin in last year's NL Championship Series loss to New York. But McGwire was mostly a spectator that series because of his knee, making four pinch-hit appearances as an underutilized threat. His lethal bat has been a missing element for St. Louis for much of this year, too.
Mighty Mac has played in only 63 of 115 games and is hitting .190 as the Cardinals have struggled without their biggest star. They are in third place in the NL Central. "I'm trying to get out of some bad habits that accumulated because of the knee surgery," he said. "I want to start driving the ball better. For the first time in may career, I realize how much the legs mean. They're everything to me." McGwire produced in his return to the lineup Saturday. He reached on an error by Ventura at third base to start St. Louis' four-run fourth inning and homered in the fifth. "He's the strongest guy in baseball," Rusch said. "Any time you leave that pitch out over the plate where he can extend his arms, he can do some damage." McGwire's opposite-field shot snapped an 0-for-15 slump. He struck out 10 times in 13 at-bats before the homer moved him within 12 of tying Frank Robinson for fourth place. Only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays have hit more. "He's one of the great hitters of all-time," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said. "It's inevitable that he would pass Killebrew. He'll pass a lot of other people, too, if he stays healthy. Of course, there aren't that many ahead of him." McGwire reached to open the fourth when Ventura couldn't handle a hard one-hopper. McGwire advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Albert Pujols' double. "Right now, I'm just glad to put the ball in play," McGwire said. "I'm just trying to get a hit." Craig Paquette added an RBI single and Matheny's fourth homer put St. Louis up 4-2. McGwire wasn't as sharp in the field, botching a rundown in the fifth inning. With two outs, Jay Payton hit an RBI double to left field. Shortstop Edgar Renteria cut off Pujols' throw home and caught Payton too far off second base. Renteria threw to McGwire, who chased Payton toward third. Payton reversed field and eluded McGwire, who lofted an off-balance throw high to Renteria covering at second base. Payton went to third on the error, but was stranded when Rey Ordonez grounded out. Payton also singled and scored the first run of the game on Joe McEwing's sacrifice fly in the second inning. Zeile added an RBI single in the third to make it 2-0. "I had a hard time getting started," Hermanson said. "But once the guys got the lead, I was able to shut them down." Notes: The game started in a drizzle after a delay of 1 hour, 2 minutes. ... St. Louis' four runs in the fourth inning were more than Rusch had allowed in nine of his previous 10 starts. ... Cardinals OF J.D. Drew missed his fourth consecutive game with a stiff lower back. ... The Mets left the bases loaded twice in the first three innings. They have one hit in their last 29 at-bats with the bases loaded. ... Hermanson improved to 57-57 in his career.
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