| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Curt Schilling looked like Curt Schilling and the Phillies still looked like the Phillies.
Schilling, starting his first game after offseason shoulder
surgery, struck out eight in six innings but it wasn't enough as
the St. Louis Cardinals beat Philadelphia 4-3 Sunday.
|  | | Schilling threw 107 pitches, 68 for strikes, in his first outing for the Phillies since Sept. 8. |
The Phillies have lost three straight and 13 of 16.
"It's been so long. I wanted to give this team a lift,"
Schilling said. "To go out and not do my job, it's frustrating. I
had the stuff to get the job done. I just didn't do it."
Mark McGwire hit a two-run homer and Jim Edmonds had two RBI,
including a solo homer as St. Louis swept the series. The Cardinals
finished April with 55 home runs, tying the 1947 New York Giants
for most homers in a month by a National League team. The Giants
hit 55 in July 1947.
"I felt good, but I never got in a consistent groove,"
Schilling said. "I threw a pitch I shouldn't have thrown. It was
up in the strike zone and McGwire did what he does with those
pitches. The bottom line is if I don't make that pitch, we win."
Darryl Kile (5-1) allowed seven hits and three runs in seven
innings to improve to 14-3 lifetime against the Phillies. He struck
out six and walked one. Mike James got the last five outs for his
first save as the Cardinals had their first sweep at Philadelphia
since July 1979.
Schilling (0-1), who underwent surgery on his right shoulder
last December, looked strong early despite a first-inning run. He
allowed seven hits, walked two and threw 107 pitches in his first
outing since Sept. 8.
"He looked like Schill," Phillies manager Terry Francona said.
"For what he's been through, he had good pop on his fastball, good
command on both sides of the plate. He made a bad pitch to
McGwire."
St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said Schilling "looked like he
hasn't missed a beat."
And neither have the struggling Phillies. Philadelphia had a
runner on third with one out in the seventh and eighth innings but
failed to tie the game.
Rico Brogna and Mike Lieberthal led off the seventh with
back-to-back doubles to make it 4-2. Desi Relaford was hit by a
pitch with one out and pinch-hitter Rob Ducey made it 4-3 with a
ground-rule double.
With runners on second and third, Kile escaped the one-out jam
by striking out Doug Glanville and Ron Gant on sweeping curve
balls.
Bobby Abreu led off the eighth with a double off reliever Mike
Mohler. He advanced to third on Scott Rolen's fly out to center.
After Brogna walked, Lieberthal lined to second off James and
Mickey Morandini grounded to short.
"We have to find ways to win," Francona said. "We had guys on
base, we took great swings. It just didn't work."
The Phillies, who entered the season with high expectations,
finished April in last place in the NL East at 7-17.
"It doesn't matter what month it is, we have to start
winning," Francona said.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the first on a single by Edmonds
that scored Fernando Vina, who led off with a double.
But Schilling settled down and ended the first by striking out
McGwire on a fastball that reached 96 mph. Schilling struck out the
side in the second and brought the fans to their feet by blowing a
fastball past J.D. Drew.
Drew, who was booed unmercifully for spurning the Phillies after
they drafted him in 1997, struck out looking in the fifth before
singling in the sixth and eighth.
Edmonds made it 2-0 by leading off the fourth with an
opposite-field homer, his eighth of the season. Edmonds, acquired
from Anaheim before the season, faced Schilling for the first time
Sunday.
Schilling got the Phillies within 2-1 on a RBI grounder in the
fifth, but ran into trouble after walking Edmonds in the sixth.
McGwire then launched his eighth homer of the season off the facing
of the upper deck to give St. Louis a 4-1 lead.
McGwire, who also struck out in the fourth, is 2-for-15 off
Schilling with eight strikeouts. Both hits were homers.
"He's always been tough on me," McGwire said. "He throws 95,
98 and the ball is always moving. I was lucky to get a slider off
the plate. When I first hit it, I thought it was just going to go
straight up."
Game notes
McGwire's homer was his 530th. He is four shy of Jimmie
Foxx for No. 9 on the all-time list and six behind Mickey Mantle
for eighth place. ... Rolen went 0-for-3 against Kile and is
3-for-20 against him. ... James' save was his first with St. Louis.
... The 17 losses in April were the most by the Phillies in club
history. They lost 16 in April 1997.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 2
Cleveland 1
Detroit 4
Chi. White Sox 3
NY Yankees 7
Toronto 1
Texas 8
Baltimore 4
Kansas City 6
Seattle 3
Oakland 8
Minnesota 2
Anaheim 5
Tampa Bay 2
St. Louis 4
Philadelphia 3
Cincinnati 6
Pittsburgh 2
Milwaukee 4
Houston 3
Arizona 6
Chicago Cubs 0
NY Mets 14
Colorado 11
Montreal 4
San Francisco 3
Los Angeles 7
Florida 1
Atlanta 7
San Diego 4
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Curt Schilling is frustrated with his first start after offseason shoulder surgery.
wav: 167 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
