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Sunday, May 7 1:15pm ET
Griffey's sixth-inning homer beats Cards | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Ken Griffey Jr. sure can pick his spots. Griffey hit his second decisive homer of the series Sunday, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that gave the Cincinnati Reds a 9-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Griffey's ninth homer completed a four-run rally off Darren Holmes (0-1) and provided the final lead change in a back-and-forth game that turned on homers. The Cardinals' Eric Davis hit a grand slam in the ballpark where he's had so many big hits, but Griffey came up with the most important homer of the day. That's the way it's gone for Griffey in his hometown -- his few bright moments at the plate have been awfully important. He's hitting only .214 but leads the team with nine homers and 28 RBI. Three of the Reds' last four wins have featured go-ahead homers by Griffey, who doesn't seem to get too excited over them. "It doesn't really matter, as long as we get the win," Griffey said. "It could be on a wild pitch or a walk. I couldn't care less." Davis' homer had a hint of nostalgia. His homer off Oakland's Dave Stewart in the same stadium put the Reds ahead to stay in Game 1 of the 1990 World Series and led to Cincinnati's sweep. "I've hit a lot of homers in this park," said Davis, who has hit 90 of his 276 in Cincinnati. "I've hit a lot of grand slams here. The fans were great to me. It was awesome. The only thing that would have been better is if we would have won the game." They didn't because Rick Ankiel couldn't find his control and the Cardinals' bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Davis' slam off Denny Neagle (4-0) put the Cardinals ahead 6-3 in the fifth. Neagle also gave up a solo shot to Eli Marrero in his worst outing of the season -- seven runs in six innings, although he got the win. Ankiel wasn't much better. He threw four wild pitches, one of them a breaking ball that barely made the dirt cutout in front of home plate during Cincinnati's three-run third. The left-hander also gave up a two-run homer to Dante Bichette that started the Reds' comeback in the fifth. "After that one inning, I felt really in control. Then I left a pitch over the plate to Bichette," Ankiel said. The Reds sent eight batters to the plate in the sixth off Holmes, who was making his first appearance since the Cardinals signed him as a free agent from Arizona last Thursday. After Pokey Reese's run-scoring groundout tied it, Holmes walked Alex Ochoa and went to a full count on Griffey, who pulled the next pitch over the wall in right-center. Griffey also hit a solo homer in the sixth inning of the series opener Friday night for a 3-2 victory. He outhomered Mark McGwire 2-1 in the series, although McGwire's drive was memorable -- a 473-foot homer that was the longest in stadium history. McGwire missed Saturday's game because his brother was seriously injured in a car accident in the Detroit area. He singled twice through the Reds' infield shift Sunday, walked and grounded into a double play. The series was the first time that McGwire and Griffey faced each other in the regular season since 1997 in the American League. They've gone head-to-head 55 times, with McGwire hitting 16 homers and Griffey 13. Scott Williamson pitched the last two innings for his third save in four chances. Tempers flared on both sides during the topsy-turvy game. After giving up Davis' grand slam high off the left-field foul screen, Neagle pumped his left arm and yelled to himself as he left the field following the final out of the fifth. He then kicked over a drink dispenser in the dugout. Neagle also twice kicked a partition to the photographers' booth after giving up Marrero's homer in the sixth. The Reds' rally got him the win and extended his winning streak to 10 straight decisions in 14 starts since last August. The Cardinals' Shawon Dunston was ejected from the dugout by home plate umpire John Shulock after striking out in the eighth. Dunston, who had disputed a check-swing strike call, left the dugout, walked to home plate and yelled at Shulock before leaving. Game notesDavis' last grand slam was July 12, 1998 against Boston. ... Before Sunday, Ankiel hadn't had a problem with wild pitches. He threw two last season and hadn't thrown one this season. ... Ankiel singled in three at-bats, leaving him 7-for-16 this season. ... Second baseman Placido Polanco's error in the fifth ended a streak of 40 errorless innings by St. Louis. ... Cincinnati's Dmitri Young singled, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games. ... It was Jack McKeon's 700th victory as manager. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard St. Louis Clubhouse Cincinnati Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 9 Tampa Bay 7
Kansas City 12
Cincinnati 9
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