McGwire Gets the Roar of Approval

He hears it in every roar from every eager crowd, in every ooh and ah, in every groan. Fans love what Mark McGwire is trying to do this season, what he can do every time he is at the plate.

McGwire gave the people, all 35,002 of them, what they wanted Saturday night at the Metrodome: his 36th homer, on a high, arcing line to left-center field in the seventh inning of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 7-2 victory over the Twins.

McGwire, who has more homers before July 1 than any player in major league history, needs 26 in the final 83 games to break Roger Maris’ record of 61 set in 1961. McGwire’s total is the highest for the Cardinals since Stan Musial hit 36 in 1949. The team record is 43 by Johnny Mize in 1940.

The 431-foot, two-run homer gave McGwire still another chance to describe how it feels to be the biggest attraction baseball has had in years.

“It amazes me,” he said. “It’s overwhelming. It’s almost like I’m sort of speechless. What do you say? Basically, thank you.”

That was the fans’ response as they let out an ear-splitting roar when McGwire drove a 2-2 pitch from Mike Trombley over the wall to give St. Louis a 6-1 lead. Most observers considered it the loudest outburst from a Metrodome crowd this season.

“The best thing going now in baseball is Mark McGwire,” said Todd Stottlemyre, who pitched a five-hitter for his third complete game of the season. “Baseball needs it. I think it’s a great thing. The fans ought to be applauded for recognizing that he’s got a chance to do something special every time he steps to the plate.”

Brian Hunter also homered and drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who ended a four-game losing streak. Gary Gaetti, the last active member of Minnesota’s 1987 World Series championship team, added three hits and scored twice, including the go-ahead run in the sixth.

Stottlemyre (9-5), who got the Cardinals’ last victory before this week’s slump, allowed leadoff singles in the first, second, third and ninth innings. But he got out of all of those situations unscathed, giving up only an unearned run in the fifth and Scott Stahoviak’s solo homer in the seventh.

He kept the Twins from taking the lead in a bizarre fifth, when Minnesota scored its only run but missed a chance for more.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead into the fifth on Hunter’s leadoff homer in the second. Todd Walker drew a leadoff walk and was at second base when Stahoviak hit a routine fly ball to center field. Brian Jordan appeared to make the catch and then drop the ball taking it from his glove to make a throw.

But second base umpire Al Clark ruled that Jordan dropped the fly, giving the Twins runners at the corners with one out.

Walker scored on Stottlemyre’s wild pitch. Another error, on a routine grounder to second baseman Delino DeShields, kept the inning alive, but Stottlemyre retired Matt Lawton to end the threat and preserve the 1-1 tie.