McGwire’s 38th Homer Is a Real Winner

Mark McGwire isn’t ready for a day off yet.

McGwire ended his second-longest homerless drought of the season with a two-run, 11th-inning shot into the upper deck off Billy Wagner as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros, 4-3, Saturday at St. Louis.

After regaining the major league homer lead with No. 38, one more than Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr., McGwire said he hasn’t been pressing.

“Why, because I haven’t hit any home runs?” McGwire said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been feeling all right, I’ve just been about a millimeter off.

“There isn’t a guy that’s played the game for six months that’s been dead on all year. If there has, I’d like to talk to him.”

McGwire had been homerless in 21 at-bats before he hit a 97-mph, 0-2 pitch from Wagner (2-3) an estimated 485 feet, and above the Big Mac section in left. It was his first home run since June 30.

McGwire’s longest homerless streak came from April 4-14, a stretch of 29 at-bats.

Wagner had converted 19 consecutive save opportunities since April, and this was only his second blown save of the year.

“He hit the tar out of that ball,” Wagner said. “I looked up and I couldn’t see it. I thought it was out of the stadium.”

McGwire said he wasn’t really trying to pulverize the ball.

“It was probably one of the easier swings I made all day and it went a long way,” he said. “Ball met bat and hit it squarely.”

Before the homer, it had been another quiet game for McGwire. He started for the 31st consecutive game and was hitless in his first three at-bats.

McGwire has played in 83 games, more than any other Cardinal. Before the game, Manager Tony La Russa said McGwire needed a day off, but that he couldn’t afford to give him one against the NL Central leaders.

“That’s the first one he’s hit in a while, isn’t it?” La Russa said. “Why don’t we just not talk to him about it? Bet he’s feeling a little fatigued.”

Pinch-hitter Bill Spiers’ bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 11th had given the Astros a 3-2 lead. Spiers is 0 for 12 as a pinch-hitter, but his fly ball to medium left off Lance Painter (3-0) was enough to score Moises Alou from third.

The Cardinals won for the fourth time in 15 games and are 11 1/2 games behind the Astros. Houston has lost two in a row to St. Louis but has won seven of 11.

Chicago 11, Milwaukee 8--Henry Rodriguez hit two home runs, Jose Hernandez hit a two-run shot and Mark Grace added a solo homer at Milwaukee.

Sammy Sosa was not part of the Cubs’ four-homer attack, going one for five with an RBI single.

Florida 4, Atlanta 3--The Marlins scored twice in the eighth inning at Miami to snap Greg Maddux’s 10-game winning streak and hand the Braves’ ace his first road loss in over a year.

Derrek Lee started the eighth-inning rally with a one-out single off Maddux (12-3). Todd Dunwoody followed with his third hit, and Edgar Renteria tied it with an RBI single. After Mark Kotsay walked to load the bases, Todd Zeile drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.

Matt Mantei (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings as the Marlins won for the seventh time in 10 games.

New York 8, Montreal 4--John Olerud homered twice and Rick Reed pitched 8 1/3 innings at New York as the Mets ended a five-game losing streak.

Todd Hundley, playing a position other than catcher for the first time in his career, went one for four in his first game since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery last Sept. 26. Hundley started in left field and had no trouble with the few balls he had to field.

Olerud hit a solo homer in the first off Carl Pavano (2-3) and added another in the seventh off Miguel Batista. He also singled twice, just missing a homer with a single off the wall in the second, to go four for four.

Philadelphia 1, Pittsburgh 0--Pinch-hitter Kevin Jordan’s single broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning at Pittsburgh, and the Phillies won their fifth consecutive game behind Mark Portugal’s pitching.

Portugal (4-2) and Jason Schmidt, with only one victory between them in six weeks, each pitched seven scoreless innings.

The Pirates lost their fifth in a row and 10th in 12 games. Mark Leiter pitched the ninth for his 18th save.

Cincinnati 8, Arizona 0--Mike Remlinger threw a three-hitter and Barry Larkin hit two home runs at Phoenix in the Reds’ sixth consecutive victory.

Former Dodger Paul Konerko also homered for the Reds, who have won 11 of 12 since losing 11 in a row.