Rally capped

Renteria's three-run homer completes wild comeback

Edgar Renteria's blast was the third walkoff home run of the season for the Cardinals. AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Edgar Renteria had all the motivation he needed.

"Sometimes, when the game is on the line, I concentrate better," Renteria said after his three-run ninth inning homer gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 10-9 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.

Renteria said he wasn't trying to hit a home run off Cubs closer Antonio Alfonseca.

"I was just looking for a pitch to hit somewhere, I hit it pretty good," Renteria said.

Renteria drove in four runs as the Cardinals came back from a 6-0 deficit after three innings.

The Cardinals entered the ninth trailing 9-4, but Fernadno Vina led off the inning with an infield single. An RBI double by pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo scored Vina and an RBI single by Jim Edmonds brought in closer Antonio Alfonseca, who walked Albert Pujols, struck out J.D. Drew and then gave up an RBI single to Tino Martinez.

Alfonseca (1-2) then gave up Edgar Renteria's towering shot to left-center to end the game.

Dave Veres (4-6) pitched the final two innings for the win.

Renteria, a .279 career hitter, is batting .312 this season.

"He's a winning ballplayer who is having a great year," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

Cubs manager Bruce Kimm said he felt repsonsibile for the loss but would not be specific about which moves he thought were mistakes.

"Let's just say I made some mistakes that cost us the game," he said.

One of his moves was to remove starter Matt Clement in the sixth inning after the Cardinals scored their first run and had two runners on with one out.

Clement had little to say when asked about being removed from the game. "He's the manager," he said.

Moises Alou and Corey Patterson each drove in three runs for the Cubs and starter Matt Clement allowed two runs in his first start since allowing six runs against Philadelphia last Tuesday, but the Cubs' bullpen let them down.

The Cubs are 3-17 at Busch Stadium since 2000.

After Patterson's three-run homer gave the Cubs a 6-0 lead, the Cardinals began to chip away.

St. Louis scored four runs in the sixth inning after shortstop Mark Bellhorn's throwing error.

Edmonds walked and scored from first when Bellhorn threw Pujols' groundball into right field. Pujols went to third on the error and Clement was relieved by Jeff Fassero, who gave up an RBI double to Drew.

Renteria drove in Drew with a single to make the score 6-3. After Mike DiFelice doubled to send Renteria to third, Kyle Farnsworth relieved Fassero and walked Kerry Robinson to load the bases with one out. Vina hit a fly ball to right that got away from a diving Sammy Sosa to score Renteria and make the score 6-4.

The Cubs scored twice in the first inning to end Morris' 14-inning scoreless streak. Sosa walked and Fred McGriff singled and both scored on a double by Alou.

Chicago added four more in the third when Alou hit a two-out single to drive in Sosa, who walked and went to third on a single by McGriff. Patterson homered to score McGriff and Alou, giving the Cubs a 6-0 lead.

Morris (12-7) gave up five hits with four walks and four strikeouts in his four innings, his shortest outing of the year.

The Cubs added two runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Todd Hundley and a sacrifice fly by Farnsworth. Bill Mueller's fourth home run in the eighth made the score 9-4.

Notes: Vina's fielding error in the fourth inning made it a season-high 10 straight games by the Cardinals with at least one error. ... Game-time temperature was 95 degrees. ... Sosa had only two singles, along with four walks in the series. ... All three games were sellouts, The Cardinals have sold out their last five home games. ... Alou was 5-for-12 in the series with six RBIs.

 

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