Cardinals Put Their Power on Full Display

It used to be that Mark McGwire would hit all the home runs and the St. Louis Cardinals would lose. Now a lot of the Cardinals are hitting home runs, and they’re winning.

McGwire homered for the third game in a row, and Edgar Renteria, Ray Lankford and J.D. Drew also went deep as the Cardinals defeated the Astros and Jose Lima, 8-7, Monday night at Houston.

St. Louis, tied with Arizona for the best record in the major leagues at 6-1, has 20 home runs, most in the majors. In Enron Field’s fourth game, the teams combined for eight home runs, two more than the previous record for a game at Houston.

“There are some American League parks like this that give you some breaks,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said. “I really don’t think you can judge this park until we’ve played in it longer.”

McGwire homered in his 35th major league ballpark, one shy of the record held by Tampa Bay’s Fred McGriff. McGwire has 525 career homers and needs nine to tie Jimmie Foxx for ninth on the career list.

Arizona 8, San Diego 4--The Padres’ home opener turned into Diamondback batting practice as Arizona tied a team record with five home runs in a victory at San Diego.

Erubiel Durazo hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, and Jay Bell, Steve Finley and Kelly Stinnett also connected. Todd Stottlemyre was hit on the right knee by Ryan Klesko’s line drive in the first but stayed in the game, holding the Padres to three runs and seven hits in six innings. X-rays after the game were negative.

Philadelphia 9, New York 7--Mike Lieberthal hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the fifth inning as the Phillies overcame a four-run deficit and defeated the Mets at Philadelphia.

Milwaukee 4, Florida 3--Geoff Jenkins homered and the Brewer bullpen had another strong outing, giving up only two hits in four innings, as they defeated the Marlins in County Stadium’s final opener. Miller Park, nearly completed and only 100 feet behind the current field, will open in 2001.

Chicago 4, Atlanta 3--After a road trip that saw them travel to Tokyo, St. Louis and Cincinnati, the Cubs returned to Wrigley Field for their home opener, and scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Braves.

Shane Andrews hit a game-tying three-run home run, then Jeff Reed singled in Damon Buford as the Cubs won in temperatures in the 30s.