|
|
|
|
 |
|
Scores Schedules Standings Statistics Transactions Injuries: AL | NL Players Weekly Lineup Message Board Minor Leagues MLB Stat Search Clubhouses |
| Sport Sections |
|
|
| |
Saturday, Sep. 30 2:10pm ET
Reds rough up Hentgen in his playoff tuneup | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Another St. Louis Cardinals starter is heading to the postseason on a poor note. Pat Hentgen was battered in his playoff tuneup, allowing five runs on eight hits in four innings in an 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. "Today was just a grind from the first hitter," Hentgen said. "I feel like I gave my team a chance to win the majority of the games I pitched, but today wasn't one of them." Hentgen (15-12) has struggled his last two starts, giving up 11 runs in nine innings. "I'm not worried about it," he sad. "I've been around too long. I've pitched plenty of good games after bad games." The Central champion Cardinals and East champion Atlanta will start their best-of-5 series Tuesday, although where they open remains in question. The team with the best record gets the home-field advantage. St. Louis and Atlanta, which played visiting Colorado at night, began the day with the same record -- if they end up tied, the Cardinals get the edge because they won the season series 4-3. "We've got ourselves behind the 8-ball," manager Tony La Russa said. "But mathematically, we're still in it." Osvaldo Fernandez (4-3) allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings. He won a day after Cincinnati's Ron Villone struck out 16 in beating Garrett Stephenson and the Cardinals 8-1. La Russa, tense the last two days after catcher Mike Matheny suffered a season-ending finger injury, wasn't pleased with the results or the effort. "I'm concerned we've gotten beaten to the punch two days in a row," La Russa said. "It's the opposite of anxious. Not anxious enough." Players were more reasoned about the situation. "It's best to get it out of the way now," Ray Lankford said. "We've been in this situation before and then we explode. Hopefully on Tuesday it just all explodes." Fernandez's only other appearance at Busch Stadium was the shortest of his career. He gave up three runs on six hits in 1 1-3 innings July 6, then went on the disabled list for two months with an elbow injury the next day. This was his fourth start since coming off the DL, and to him it felt like an audition for 2001. "I wanted to do a good job today because I had it in my mind they were watching," Fernandez said through an interpreter, teammate Juan Castro. "I want to be here." Fernandez pitched through a queasy feeling in the sixth inning. "He said he had a pain in his chest," manager Jack McKeon said. "I don't know if he swallowed some chew or what." The Cardinals scored four times in the ninth. Mark McGwire had a pinch-hit, RBI single and Carlos Hernandez hit a three-run homer. Jason LaRue had a two-run homer in the fourth, singled and scored three runs for the Reds. Brian Hunter had two singles, stole two bases, scored twice and walked twice. "You can't give up just because you're out of the pennant race," LaRue said. "I've never faced Hentgen before, so I can't answer if he was sharp or not." Sean Casey also drove in two runs with an RBI single in the first and a run-scoring groundout in the third. Game notesThanks to the acquisition of Ken Griffey Jr., the Reds broke the major league road attendance record previously held by the 1993 Braves. They've played in front of 37 sellout crowds and a total of 2,968,541 fans, 24,000 more than the Braves with one sellout to go on Sunday. The sellout of 47,099 was the 36th at Busch Stadium this season. ... Chris Stynes doubled in the second and is 15-for-37 (.405) with four homers and nine RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak. ... The Reds have won their last three on the road after losing four in a row. ... Dmitri Young's pinch-hit single in the Reds sixth marked his first RBI in nine games, ending his longest dry spell of the season. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Cincinnati Clubhouse St. Louis Clubhouse RECAPS Cleveland 6 Toronto 5
Cincinnati 8
| |||||