McGwire Walks His Way to Record

Mark McGwire tied another record Thursday night--this one for walks--but once again came up empty in Cinergy Field, where he has never had an extra-base hit.

The new home run king walked twice, tying Barry Bonds’ NL record of 151, but was hitless in three at-bats as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Reds, 8-7. His record home run total remained at 62.

And a lot of it was his own doing.

“The first ball was right down the middle,” said Gabe White, who got him to pop out on the first pitch in the eighth inning. “I said, ‘Thank you.’ That was a situation where the hitter gets himself out. But he is awesome.”

Since breaking Roger Maris’ record in St. Louis in an emotional game two nights ago, McGwire has failed to get a hit in two games. It’s the first time he’s gone consecutive games without a homer since Aug. 28-29.

He declined interviews afterward.

Another huge crowd turned out on what would have been Maris’ 64th birthday to see the man who broke his record. The 50,971 fans booed loudly when he walked twice and they started for the exits after he popped out in the eighth.

Cinergy Field, known as Riverfront Stadium when it opened 28 years ago, remains one of only two major league parks where McGwire has failed to hit a homer. Turner Field, the other one he has yet to conquer, opened last year.

John Hudek walked McGwire again in the sixth, allowing him to tie Bonds’ mark from 1996. He’s 19 shy of Babe Ruth’s 1923 major league record.