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  Sunday, Oct. 1 2:10pm ET
Benes puts in his bid to be a starter
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ST. LOUIS -- After making a strong pitch for a starting spot in the playoffs, Andy Benes said he's ready for a relief role, if needed.

Will Clark
St. Louis' Will Clark connects for a two- run home run in the first inning as the Cardinals grabbed the home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"We're going to have a good starter no matter who it is," Benes said Sunday after the St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Benes (12-9) won his second consecutive start since coming off the disabled list Sept. 2 and made a bid for a start against the Atlanta Braves.

Benes gave up two runs and six hits in six innings, and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he is not certain what Benes' role will be.

Darryl Kile and Rick Ankiel are the only definite starters.

"The fair thing to do is let cooler heads prevail when we make a decision," La Russa said. "It's a tough call. Is Andy 100 percent?"

Benes said he would like to be a starter. but would have no problem if he was assigned to the bullpen.

"I feel like I've thrown the ball pretty well the last couple of times," he said, "but those decisions aren't made by the players."

Will Clark and and Craig Paquette drove in three runs each for the Cardinals.

Atlanta was one out away from securing home field, but Todd Helton hit a three-run homer in the ninth following a two-out error by third baseman Chipper Jones, leading the Rockies over the Braves 10-5.

St. Louis and Atlanta each finished the regular season 95-67, and the Cardinals gained home field because they won the season series from the Braves 4-3.

In the playoff opener Tuesday, Kile (20-9) pitches for the Cardinals against Greg Maddux (19-9).

Cincinnati, a spring training favorite to win the National League Central, dropped from 96-67 last year, when it lost to the New York Mets in a tiebreaker playoff for the wild card, to 85-77.

Ken Griffey Jr., acquired by the Reds from Seattle in February, did not play and finished with a .271 average, 40 homers and 118 RBI. The average, homers and RBI were his lowest since his injury-shortened 1995 season (.258, 17, 42).

Cincinnati's Steve Parris (12-17) gave up six runs, eight hits and four walks in six innings. He finished the year with three consecutive defeats after winning seven in a row.

"Today, was the story of our year. We got behind the hitters and they hurt us," said Reds manager Jack McKeon, whose job is in jeopardy. "Parris gave it his best shot, but he came up short."

With the score 2-2 in the fifth, Fernando Vina doubled and scored on Clark's single. Paquette hit a three-run homer in the sixth.

Trip Cromer's first-inning homer put Cincinnati ahead but Clark hit a two-run homer in the bottom half. Chris Sexton tied the score with a run-scoring single in the fourth.

Game notes
Mark McGwire turned 37 Sunday and flied out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Since coming off the disabled list, McGwire, limited to one at-bat per game, was 4-for-14 (.286) with two homer and three RBI. ... The crowd of 47,533 raised the Cardinals' record home attendance to 3,336,493, earning McGwire a bonus of $536,493. He gets $1 for each ticket sold over 2.8 million. ... Mike Matheny, out for the rest of the season after cutting his finger with a hunting knife, received a standing ovation when he brought out the lineup card before the game. ... Dmitri Young was scratched from the starting lineup with an illness. ... Sean Casey hit .372 (90-for-242) after the All-Star break to finish the season with a .315 average.
 


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Costly error, shaky Rocker lose homefield for Braves


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