Paquette a Hit Again for Cardinals, 6-5

Another day, another game-winning hit for Craig Paquette.

Rescued from the minor leagues in a trade-deadline deal that generated little attention, Paquette was the St. Louis Cardinals’ late-game hero for the third consecutive game, with a two-run, ninth-inning double that beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5, Tuesday night.

“If you saw a movie you would say, “Wow, it’s doggone Hollywood,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said. “You just can’t believe it; it’s not possible, really, that he could do it three days in a row.”

He hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth Sunday to beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5, and a three-run homer in the sixth Monday in a 4-2 victory over the Phillies.

“I was thinking while I was out in the field that somehow, something would happen where I would be coming up to the plate in the same situation,” he said.

St. Louis has won five of six and is three games over .500 for the first time since May 27.

Mark McGwire was one for two with a double, a sacrifice fly and two walks, remaining at 47 homers, the same number he had after 121 games en route to his record 70 homers last year.