McGwire Fever Still Climbing at No. 53

Mark McGwire isn’t just making St. Louis and major league history. He’s helping other teams make history, too.

For the first time in its history, Three Rivers Stadium was sold out for consecutive games for baseball and, once again, McGwire didn’t disappoint the Pittsburgh fans.

After hitting home run No. 52 Saturday, McGwire hit No. 53 Sunday to become the first National Leaguer to hit that many in 49 years as the Cardinals lost, 4-3, to the Pirates.

It was the Pirates’ seventh consecutive victory, as they overcame not only McGwire’s homer but a five-for-five performance by Cardinal third baseman Fernando Tatis.

McGwire became the third NL player to hit as many as 53 homers in a season, joining the Pirates’ Ralph Kiner (54 in 1949) and the Chicago Cubs’ Hack Wilson, who hit a league-record 56 homers in 1930.

McGwire, who went two for three with two walks, hit a 2-2 pitch from Ricardo Rincon deep into the left-field seats with two outs in the eighth inning.

McGwire’s sixth homer in five days left him eight short of tying Roger Maris’ record of 61 in 1961 with 32 games to play, and it rated him the rarest of ovations --a curtain call on the road.

“They kept clapping for about a minute, so I ducked my head out and gave them a wave,” McGwire said. “I hope the Pirates didn’t mind. I wish everybody in baseball could feel the reception I’m getting.”

McGwire’s experiences haven’t all been positive lately, however.

Recently, McGwire has admitted using Androstenedione, a nutritional supplement which helps build muscle mass and promotes recovery after injury.

The drug’s legal in baseball, but is banned by the NFL, NCAA and International Olympic Committee.

In response to controversy surrounding his use of the drug, McGwire and the Cardinals issued a statement before Sunday’s game.

“Androstenedione is a natural substance which is a natural precursor of testosterone,” the statement said. “It has no proven anabolic-steroid effects nor significant side effects. It stimulates a slight increase in one’s natural testosterone levels for a short period of time (1 hour). Taken approximately one hour before workouts, it may make one’s workout more efficient.”

McGwire, 35, also has said that he uses creatine, an over-the-counter nutritional supplement that aids in building muscle mass. Major league baseball has no policy regarding creatine.

Pirate starter Jason Schmidt (11-9) realizes what pitching to McGwire means.

“Jon Lieber and I were talking about that,” Schmidt said. “We’re part of history. This will be with us for the rest of our lives, but I don’t care. He’s such a great guy, everybody is excited.”

The Cardinals plan to rest McGwire in today’s series finale. McGwire said he probably will not start only one more game this season after today.