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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals sent a clear message
from the start: Don't stock up on those subway tokens just yet.
Left for dead after losing the first two games in St. Louis, the
Cardinals jumped on Rick Reed and the Mets early and delayed New
York's Subway Series planning with an 8-2 win Saturday in Game 3 of
the NL championship series.
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Game 3 at a glance
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Every game a hero
The Cardinals needed much more than a win from Andy Benes. They needed him to pitch deep into the game. Benes delivered on both accounts, allowings two runs over eight innings. He even singled in the fourth and scored from second on Edgar Renteria's base hit.
Key play
After the Cardinals touched Rick Reed for two runs in the top of the first, the Mets came right back with singles from Timo Perez and Edgardo Alfonzo. But Benes got Mike Piazza to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. The play scored one run, but it killed any chance of the Mets having a big inning that could have demoralized the Cardinals.
Key number
Three teams have lost the first two games of a best-of-7 series at home and came back to win the series. All three took place in the World Series: 1985 Royals (over St. Louis), 1986 Mets (over Boston) and 1996 Yankees (over Atlanta).
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"In St. Louis, nobody is talking about the Subway Series,"
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "You come to New York and
obviously that's what people are pulling for the home teams. We're
not going to give in or give up. We come from the Midwest and
that's not what people want there."
Andy Benes pitched eight strong innings for his first postseason
win, Edgar Renteria had two RBI and two runs scored, and all nine
Cardinals starters had hits as St. Louis' offense broke out after
being held to seven runs at home.
History, however, is still on the Mets' side: Only three teams --
none in an LCS -- have won a best-of-seven series after dropping the
first two games at home. Game 4 is Sunday at Shea Stadium, with
Darryl Kile starting on three days' rest for St. Louis against
Bobby J. Jones.
"You can't measure the heart of the guys in this dugout over
here," Benes said. "Our guys have fought all year, and you know
it's going to be a really great series."
Mark McGwire finally got a chance to swing the bat for St.
Louis. Mighty Mac, reduced to pinch-hitting duties by tendinitis in
his right knee, was limited to an intentional walk in the first two
games.
La Russa didn't wait long to use his biggest weapon, pinch
hitting McGwire for Ray Lankford with the bases loaded and two outs
in the fourth against Glendon Rusch.
With the fans on their feet waving white towels, McGwire skied a
fly ball to left field that Benny Agbayani caught well in front of
the warning track, keeping St. Louis' lead at 5-1. That was about
all the crowd of 55,693 had to cheer about.
"We were just trying to add to the lead," La Russa said.
"There was a lot of game left. This is one of those situations
that works best for Mark so I took a shot."
With the Yankees and Mets both moving within two wins of the
World Series, talk around New York has centered on the possibility
of the city's first Subway Series in 44 years.
The Cardinals dampened that quickly. After trailing 2-0 before
even batting in the first two games, St. Louis returned the favor
at Shea Stadium.
|  | | Andy Benes allowed just six hits in eight innings to earn the win. |
"They had scored early against us," Benes said. "It was nice
to break out early. It was comfortable to know I'd have a few runs
to work with."
Fernando Vina lined a leadoff single to left and Renteria
reached when third baseman Robin Ventura misplayed his sacrifice
bunt for an error.
Jim Edmonds, held in check by the Mets' tough left-handers in
St. Louis, lined a two-run double to left field off the
right-handed Reed to make it 2-0 just eight pitches into the game
and give St. Louis its first lead of the series.
"It's a tough lineup to deal with right-handed or
left-handed," Reed said. "They seem to handle left-handers OK,
but they really knock around right-handers."
It was a rare clutch hit in the series for the Cardinals. They
went 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position in St. Louis, before
going 7-for-16 in Game 3.
Benes, pitching for the first time in 13 days, allowed two runs
and six hits in his first postseason appearance in four years. He
was held out of Arizona's division series loss to the Mets in 1999
and wasn't used this year by the Cardinals in their first-round win
against Atlanta.
"I had a divine appointment today," Benes said. "I didn't get
to pitch here last year. I had to sit in the bullpen and watch. I'm
just thankful I had the opportunity to go out there."
The Mets looked like they would exploit Benes' rustiness in the
first when Timo Perez and Edgardo Alfonzo opened with singles to
put runners on first and third. Mike Piazza then hit into a
run-scoring double play that killed any rally.
New York's only other run also came on a double-play grounder by
Jay Payton in the fourth that made it 5-2. The Mets nearly had more
that inning, but Edmonds made a running catch in center field to
rob pinch-hitter Darryl Hamilton of a hit with runners on first and
third and two outs.
"He made really good pitches when he had to," Mets manager
Bobby Valentine said. "We had him on the ropes a couple of times,
but we couldn't put him away."
Lankford had an RBI single in the third and Fernando Tatis added
a sacrifice fly that made it 4-1. Reed was knocked out the next
inning after Renteria's RBI single. The Cardinals broke the game
open with three runs in the fifth off Rick White.
Game
notes
The Cardinals were 78-44 against right-handed starters this
year and 17-23 against lefties. They also hit 21 points higher
against right-handers. ... Keith Hernandez, who won the 1982 World
Series with St. Louis and in 1986 with the Mets, threw out the
first pitch. ... Piazza made a leaping grab to snare a foul popup
by J.D. Drew, taking a souvenir from Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt
Jr. The play drew applause from New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who
was sitting one row behind DeWitt. ... Alfonzo has hit in nine
straight postseason games, longest in Mets history. ... Cardinals C Carlos Hernandez painted his finger nails white to help Benes read
his signs.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
NY Mets Clubhouse
Stark: Bad knee, good Benes
Stark: Big Mac finally gets to hack
Stark: Kile tries to beat three-day odds
RECAPS
NY Yankees 5
Seattle 0
St. Louis 8
NY Mets 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Andy Benes and Tony La Russa each talk about the Cardinals' Game 3 win.
RealVideo: | 28.8
 ESPN's Jeremy Schaap talks with St. Louis savior Andy Benes after the Cardinals' Game 3 victory.
wav: 549 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bobby Valentine says Andy Benes had it working on Saturday.
wav: 133 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Todd Zeile says the Mets will not panic after dropping Game 3 to the Cardinals.
wav: 148 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mike Piazza says the Mets are not going to let up.
wav: 120 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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