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Saturday, Jul. 8 4:10pm ET
Burks leads way again for Giants | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The San Francisco Giants have an eight-game winning streak, and now they might be getting Barry Bonds back. Ellis Burks had three hits for the second straight game and Alan Embree got another big out in relief as the Giants rallied from an early four-run deficit in a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. "This whole week, we've been playing good ball," Burks said. "We're getting great pitching, timely hitting and great defense, and that makes you win eight in a row. We've just got to keep it rolling." Bonds didn't start for the seventh straight game because of a hairline fracture to the tip of his right thumb. But he struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth in his first at-bat in a week and played left field in the bottom of the ninth and is expected to start on Sunday, the last game before the All-Star break. After the game, Bonds said there was swelling in the thumb. "I'm going to try and give it a shot," Bonds said. "Even if I get a bit of tenderness, it's at the point where I can't make it any worse." Burks led off the fourth with his 10th homer, doubled and scored in the fifth and had an RBI infield hit in the sixth. He's 6-for-8 the last two games with three doubles and is a career .389 hitter against the Cardinals. "I don't want to look for an explanation, I just keep doing it," Burks said. "Some teams you have success against and some teams you don't." Embree retired Fernando Vina with the bases loaded in the seventh inning for the second straight game, preserving a 7-5 lead. On Friday, Embree got Vina to ground into a double play, and on Saturday he struck him out. "We used about everybody in the pen and they all did the job," manager Dusty Baker said. "He really gutted it out." The Cardinals have lost three in a row for the first time since June 3-5 and their NL Central lead was shaved to seven games over Cincinnati despite a 13-hit attack. St. Louis left 14 runners on base. "The way I look at it is, how'd those 14 guys get on base?" manager Tony La Russa said. "Our guys played as hard as they could." Mark McGwire, who has decided to skip the All-Star Game to rest his sore right knee, sat for the second straight game. He won't play Sunday, either. Cardinals starter Garrett Stephenson (9-5) squandered a four-run lead after three innings. Stephenson, whose start was pushed back two days because of the flu, has lost five of his last six decisions. He had trouble keeping his fastball down, allowing six runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings. "Everything today was my fault," Stephenson said. "You're not going to have a whole year and be stellar, that's just the way it is." Shawn Estes (8-3) also struggled, allowing five runs -- four earned -- and 10 hits in five innings. Shawon Dunston had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals and Jim Edmonds had three hits and an RBI. Edgar Renteria, picked as McGwire's replacement, had two hits, walked twice and scored three runs. Dunston's RBI single off Felix Rodriguez narrowed the gap to 7-6 in the eighth. Robb Nen worked the ninth for his 17th save in 22 chances. Game notesBurks is batting .429 his last 23 games overall with five homers and 17 RBIs. ... The Cardinals lead the majors with 146 homers, five shy of Seattle's 1999 record of 151 before the All-Star break. ... The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 98-44 in the first inning. ... The Giants have outscored their opponents 63-34 in the fourth. ... The Giants have won 7 of 11 on the road after a 3-13 stretch. ... The Giants have outscored their opponents 38-21 during the winning streak. They last won eight in a row from Aug. 28-Sept. 4, 1999. ... A crowd of 47,227 was the Cardinals' 18th sellout this season and 10th in 11 games. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard San Francisco Clubhouse St. Louis Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 4 NY Mets 2
Chicago Cubs 9
San Francisco 7
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