| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Houston manager Larry Dierker made up his mind too late, and it cost the Astros a grand slam and, perhaps, a win.
Chris Holt had just loaded the bases, with the Astros leading St. Louis 6-3 in the seventh inning. He visited the mound, went back to the dugout and noticed that switch-hitting Thomas Howard was pinch-hitting for Mike Matheny.
|  | | St. Louis' Thomas Howard came through in a pinch with a grand slam that thrilled even Mark McGwire. |
Dierker attempted to return to the mound to bring in Doug Henry, but plate umpire Dan Iassogna stopped him because Howard already had been announced.
"We had been looking for a break and we got it," said Howard, whose first career slam led the Cardinals to a 10-7 win.
"I knew he wanted to take him out," Howard said. "So I got real anxious and real aggressive. He left one up and I jumped on it."
It was the Cardinals' first pinch slam since Ron Gant connected off Mark Gardner on May 8, 1996.
St. Louis, which wasted a 3-0 lead, loaded the bases when Holt (0-2) walked to Mark McGwire and Eric Davis around a single by Jim Edmonds. Then came Howard, and Dierker was stunned by the turn of events.
"I did not see when the umpire brought him into the game," the manager said. "I wanted to bring a left-hander in. I was asking for a ruling on why I couldn't, but I couldn't very well contest it when they said Howard was already in."
The Cardinals knew what was going on.
"The only way you can make a switch when you have a pinch-hitter is to let them throw a pitch," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "You have to understand we have a very potent lineup and they made a couple of mistakes and we took advantage of them.
The Astros know Howard from his stint with Houston in 1997.
"I think it's personal," joked Jeff Bagwell. "I know he just had a baby so I guess he thinks he needs to make some more money. He's a tough hitter."
Holt then walked pinch-hitter Eli Marrero and Fernando Vina. Henry finally relieved and Edgar Renteria homered for the second straight night, getting a career-high four RBI.
Edmonds also homered for the Cardinals, who hit into four double plays but won their fourth straight and improved to 7-1, matching their best start ever (1986).
Edmonds had three hits and is 7-for-7 in his last two games, raising his average to .529 (13-for-25). He has reached in nine consecutive plate appearances.
Bagwell and Moises Alou hit two-run homers for the Astros, who dropped four games behind St. Louis in the NL Central. Houston had gone ahead with a six-run third.
There have been 19 homers in five games at Enron Field, which opened last Friday, including nine by the Astros, just 1-4 at their new ballpark. On Tuesday, the teams combined for eight homers, a record for a major league game in Houston.
The game drew 37,463, the fourth straight time since the opener that the Astros failed to sell out.
Garrett Stephenson (2-0) allowed six runs and seven hits in six innings, while Holt gave up nine runs, seven hits and five walks in 6 1/3 innings, his ERA rising to 8.74.
Edmonds, who was 3-for-3, homered in the second, and the Cardinals made it 3-0 in the third on Vina's RBI triple and Renteria's sacrifice fly.
Houston came back in the bottom half on Roger Cedeno's two-run triple, and the homers by Bagwell and Alou.
Game notes
The grand slam was the first of Howard's career. ... The Cardinals upped their major league-leading home run total to 23. ... St. Louis is 10-for-10 in stolen-base attempts. ... Richard Hidalgo's steal in the third was the first allowed by the Cardinals in six tries this season ... Bagwell's homer was his first in 60 at-bats since last Sept. 9 at St. Louis. ... Houston RHP Scott Elarton allowed one earned run and one hit in six innings during a rehab start at Triple-A New Orleans. He struck out seven and walked three against Albuquerque.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 13
Minnesota 4
Detroit 5
Seattle 2
Texas 0
NY Yankees 0
Chi. White Sox 13
Tampa Bay 6
Kansas City 7
Baltimore 5
Anaheim 5
Toronto 4
Cleveland 5
Oakland 1
Los Angeles 6
San Francisco 5
Montreal 7
Pittsburgh 3
St. Louis 10
Houston 6
Cincinnati 10
Colorado 3
San Diego 3
Arizona 2
|
