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Friday, Apr. 28 7:05pm ET
Cardinals win without leaving yard | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Mark McGwire had a go-ahead two-run double and three RBI as the St. Louis Cardinals opened a four-run lead, lost it amid a flurry of strikeouts, then rallied to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 Friday night. The Cardinals, whose 52 homers are a major league record for April, failed to homer for only the second time in 23 games. They need six homers Saturday and Sunday to tie Baltimore's 1987 record of 58 homers in any month. Phillies starter Robert Person's wildness kept the Cardinals in the ballpark, but also kept him in constant trouble even as he struck out 10 in five innings. He had six consecutive strikeouts between the second and fourth innings and seven in a span of eight batters, but also walked three, allowed seven hits, threw a wild pitch and committed a balk. Most of that wildness came in the first two innings as the Cardinals, winning their fourth in five games, opened a 4-0 lead. Jim Edmonds' sacrifice fly followed leadoff singles by Fernando Vina and Edgar Renteria in the first. The Cardinals started a three-run second with Fernando Tatis' double, J.D. Drew's RBI single and Mike Matheny's single ahead of Vina's run-scoring force-play grounder and Renteria's sacrifice fly. Scott Rolen was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI, but the Phillies still lost their ninth in 11 games and 11th in 14 games. Rolen had an RBI single in the fourth and a two-run double following Bobby Abreu's double in the fifth off Garrett Stephenson (3-0). Stephenson was lifted for a pinch-hitter with the score tied at 4 in the sixth, but got the win when Phillies reliever Carlos Reyes also struggled with his control. After two excellent defensive plays by shortstop Desi Relaford and third baseman Rolen retired the first two batters, Reyes (0-2) walked the bases full. McGwire followed with his double down the left-field line. Rolen made one of the best plays by a major league infielder this season, throwing out pinch-hitting Eric Davis while sitting on his backside behind third base. McGwire added a sacrifice fly in the eighth off reliever Scott Aldred, and Vina went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. Rolen, who was 3-for-3 at the time, was up with two on and two outs in the seventh, but reliever Mike James picked Abreu off first in the Phillies' second major baserunning blunder. Doug Glanville took the bat out of Rolen's hands by getting picked off second by Stephenson with two outs in the first. Cardinals relievers James, Heathcliff Slocumb and Dave Veres combined for four scoreless innings, with Veres finishing up for his fifth save. Game notesSt. Louis' only other homerless game was April 7 against Milwaukee. ... The Cardinals are 15-0 when they don't commit an error and 0-8 when they do. ... Tatis has a 13-game hitting streak (19-for-47). ... Stephenson started 5-0 last season before finishing 6-3. ... The Phillies don't have an official team record for consecutive strikeouts, but Steve Carlton (1981) and Curt Schilling (1996) each struck out seven in a row. ... Relaford is the only NL starting shortstop without an error. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard St. Louis Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS Baltimore 4 Texas 3
St. Louis 7
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