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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Don't think for a minute the St. Louis Cardinals
don't miss Mark McGwire when he's not in the lineup. They do.
|  | | Eric Davis lost a bat but had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals. |
They also know they can win without him, just as they did
Thursday night in the opener of an interleague series with the
Chicago White Sox matching the leaders in the AL and NL Central
divisions.
Andy Benes pitched seven strong innings, Fernando Tatis homered
twice and Shawon Dunston hit a grand slam as the Cardinals routed
the White Sox 13-5
"Mark deserves a lot of the credit and he gets a lot of
attention. He would be the first to tell you this team is 25 guys,
everybody in this clubhouse has done something this year to help us
win," Benes said.
"When he's not in there, we still have to go out and win without him."
McGwire, tied for the major league home run lead at 30 with Ken
Griffey Jr., went on the 15-day disabled list before the game with
tendinitis in his right knee, just as the Cardinals were beginning
a season-long 11-game road trip.
The Cardinals more than compensated with Tatis, Edgar Renteria
and the veteran Dunston supplying the power.
"I can still play," said Dunston, who had two stints in
Chicago with the Cubs. "The White Sox are the best team in
baseball and when I was here, they weren't. So it's not just
another series.
"And we've still got to play when Mark is not there. He's one
guy, but he's also our biggest guy."
Benes (10-3) won his sixth straight decision, allowing nine hits
and two runs.
The White Sox, who lost their last two games before the All-Star
break to the Cubs, have their first three-game losing streak since
May 5-8.
"They pretty much dominated us. I really kinda stunk it up,"
said White Sox starter and loser Mike Sirotka, who lasted only 3
2/3 innings, giving up eight hits and seven runs. He'd won five of
his previous six decisions.
"I didn't have much to combat their bats," he added. "They
have a quality lineup, but we've seen lineups like Cleveland and
New York, so it's nothing we haven't seen."
Renteria, the game's second batter, hit a solo shot off Sirotka
(8-7), and one out later Tatis also went deep to give the Cards a
2-0 lead.
Eric Davis had an RBI single and Ray Lankford a two-run double
in the third, and Tatis added his 10th homer -- a two-run shot after
a walk to Jim Edmonds -- to make it 7-0 in the fourth and finish Sirotka. Dunston doubled in the fifth, and when White Sox
outfielder Carlos Lee bobbled the ball, Mike Matheny, who singled,
scored all the way from first.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases in the seventh and
finished Kevin Beirne. Dunston then greeted Jesus Pena with a grand
slam to make it 12-1. Edmonds' sacrifice fly made it 13-1.
Paul Konerko's RBI single in the sixth spoiled Benes' shutout, and Jose Valentin had a run-scoring single in the seventh. Chris
Singleton homered off Mike James in the eighth. Mark Johnson scored
on Heathcliff Slocumb's wild pitch and Valentin added a sacrifice
fly in the ninth.
Game notes
McGwire was put on the DL retroactive to July 7. He missed
the Cards' last three games before the break as well as the
All-Star game. It's his seventh career trip to the DL, but his
first since 1996 when he was with Oakland. ... St. Louis leads the
majors with 153 homers. The Cardinals have homered in 72 of their
88 games, including 25 games with at least three homers. ...
Dunston's slam was the fifth of his career and second this season.
He also hit one May 30 at Arizona. ... Tatis has six career
multihomer games. ... The White Sox dropped to 8-5 in interleague
play, while the Cardinals are 5-5. ... White Sox pitchers have
allowed 31 runs in the three-game losing streak.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
Big Mac off track: McGwire goes on 15-day DL
RECAPS
San Diego 2
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Cleveland 4
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Boston 4
NY Mets 3
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Chi. White Sox 5
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