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Wednesday, Jun. 21 8:10pm ET
Rueter, Giants muzzle Cardinals | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Every time Kirk Rueter pitches in Busch Stadium, it feels like a homecoming. Rueter, from nearby Hoyleton, Ill., outdueled Garrett Stephenson in the San Francisco Giants' 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night, allowing a run on four hits in seven innings. He also raised his record in St. Louis to 5-0 with a 2.06 ERA in seven career starts. "I love coming back to St. Louis and being around all my family and friends," said Rueter (5-4), who left 45 passes. "It's always going to be special because I grew up coming to the ballpark and rooting like crazy for the Cardinals. "Every time I get to pitch in Busch Stadium, I treat it as an honor." It was another quiet night for Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, the 1-2 home run hitters in the majors with 26 and 25. Bonds, who struck out all three times Tuesday, was 1-for-3 and hit by a pitch. McGwire, whose next homer will tie him with Mike Schmidt (548) for seventh place on the career list, singled in the first, walked twice and popped out. Doug Mirabelli was in an 0-for-13 slump before leading off the eighth against Stephenson with his fifth home run, a drive that barely cleared the left-field wall. It was his first homer since he hit two on April 18. "I thought about pinch-hitting for him, but I changed my mind," manager Dusty Baker said. "I said, 'No, he's going to hit one out of here.' " Baker wasn't sure why he thought Mirabelli was about to homer. "Why do you think anything," he said. "You just think it. Heck, he ain't hit one since April, so I can say it every day almost and be right." The Giants added another run when Jesse Orosco hit J.T. Snow with two outs and the bases loaded. Marvin Benard singled home a run in the ninth to make it 4-1. Stephenson (9-3) allowed three runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and a walk, losing for the first time to an NL team. He has lost three of four starts, and was 8-0 before losing interleague games to Cleveland and Detroit on June 3 and June 9. "I won a couple of games early that maybe I should have lost," Stephenson said. "It just so happens that I lost a game that maybe I should have one. What goes around comes around." Stephenson, who entered the game 0-for-23 at the plate, drove in the Cardinals' only run with a two-out bloop single in the second that barely eluded first baseman Snow and right fielder Ellis Burks. Stephenson was 6-for-88 for his career (.068) before getting his second career RBI. The hit drove in Eric Davis, who led off the inning with a double that made him 18-for-40 against left-handed pitching. "I just threw the ball out there and it fell in," Stephenson said. "I can't really do much of anything else." Curiously, manager Tony La Russa had Mike Matheny bunt with one out in the seventh ahead of Stephenson, and then let him bat. Stephenson grounded out to end the inning. "He was pitching a couple-hitter and there were two outs," La Russa said. "I thought he was the guy to stay in the game." After that hit, Rueter didn't allow another one until Ray Lankford singled to start the seventh. Robb Nen worked the ninth for his 11th save in 15 chances. The Giants got their first hit off Stephenson in the fifth, a leadoff double by Snow, and he scored on Rich Aurilia's sacrifice fly to the wall in center. Jim Edmonds, who climbed the wall to rob Burks of a home run Tuesday, had another nice effort with an over-the-shoulder catch, banging into the wall a few steps later. Game notesRueter, who's 50-31 with the Giants, has allowed four earned runs in 19 2/3 innings his last three starts. ... The Cardinals were averaging 6.8 runs for Stephenson, second-best in the majors. ... The loss was only the second in nine games for the Cardinals, who held their 6 1/2 game lead in the NL Central as Cincinnati lost. ... Orosco left the game after the eighth with swelling in his left elbow. He could be headed for his second trip to the disabled list, both for the same problem. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard San Francisco Clubhouse St. Louis Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 9 NY Yankees 7
San Francisco 4 AUDIO/VIDEO   Cardinals' Garrett Stephenson looks to pitch an entire game regardless of his performancewav: 171 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||