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Wednesday, Jun. 14 10:05pm ET
Stephenson has NL's number | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Garrett Stephenson got reacquainted with the NL on Wednesday night and, naturally, he won. Stephenson allowed just five hits in 7 1-3 innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat San Diego 3-1 for their second three-game sweep of the Padres this year. Stephenson (9-2) won his ninth straight decision against NL teams. His only two losses were consecutive defeats to Cleveland and Detroit in interleague play. After giving up Al Martin's homer with one out in the first inning, Stephenson shut down the Padres. "The key thing was not getting frustrated and coming back and being aggressive the rest of the game," Stephenson said. "We played great defense and we scored when we had to." Although the Cardinals continue to lead the majors in homers -- they didn't have any this night, though -- they showed again that they're not just about power. "When you have three very experienced pitchers on your staff, me and (Rick) Ankiel don't have to go out and put pressure on ourselves to be perfect every time we pitch," Stephenson said, referring to Darryl Kile, Andy Benes and Pat Hentgen. "All we have to do is be mentally tough and throw strikes. When you don't score that many runs, the pitching staff needs to pick them up. When you score a lot of runs, then they pick us up. It's kind of gone that way, and we're in first place." Matt Morris pitched 1 2-3 innings for his second save in as many opportunities. Stephenson allowed Martin's one-out infield single in the eighth and made way for left-hander Jesse Orosco to face lefty Tony Gwynn. Gwynn singled to right, bringing on Morris, who struck out Phil Nevin and got Ryan Klesko to foul out. Stephenson struck out three and walked two in his first career start against San Diego. "He's not real nasty," Martin said. "He just hits spots all day long. When he has to make a pitch, he does. He never gives you a meaty pitch to hit." Two San Diego pitchers, meanwhile, lost control as the Padres lost their sixth straight game to the Cardinals this year. The Cardinals scored three runs in the sixth inning, with the go-ahead run scoring when starter Stan Spencer walked Ray Lankford with two outs and the bases loaded. Kevin Walker came on and grazed J.D. Drew with his first pitch to bring in an insurance run. It was the first time in the six games against the Padres that the Cardinals didn't hit a home run. St. Louis, which leads the big leagues with 111 homers, hit four in the first two games of this series. Spencer allowed three singles and two walks in the sixth, including Fernando Vina's base hit to tie it at 1 with one out. Edgar Renteria followed with a single and Mark McGwire drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Lankford walked to force in Vina and chase Spencer, and Walker's first pitch grazed Drew's shirt sleeve to force in Renteria. "I didn't want to make a mistake to McGwire and let the game get out of hand," Spencer said. Spencer (2-2) gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 2-3 innings, with two strikeouts and two walks. Martin homered to right-center in the first on a down-and-away pitch, his 10th. Game notesRF Tony Gwynn, bothered this season by his degenerative left knee, made consecutive starts in the field since May 26-27. He had been taking alternating games off to rest the knee. He was the Padres' designated hitter in all six games of a trip to Seattle and Oakland. ... Lankford made his first start in the outfield since June 3. He started as the designated hitter last Sunday, but had to leave with a sprained right hand following his second at-bat. He also has been slowed by tightness in his left hamstring. ... The first two Cardinals batters reached base and then tried to steal second against Spencer, known for his slow delivery, but were thrown out by C Wiki Gonzalez. ... It was St. Louis' first sweep in San Diego since July 1992. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard St. Louis Clubhouse San Diego Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 2 Boston 1
St. Louis 3
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