Kile Will Remember 10th Win

The most searing memory for Darryl Kile of his 10th win will be the line drive off Damian Jackson’s bat that screamed into his glove and left him sitting on the mound, gathering his senses.

He looked into his glove to see if the ball was still there.

“I was actually looking to see if it was deformed,” the St. Louis pitcher said after beating the San Diego Padres, 8-3, Tuesday at San Diego to become the third 10-game winner in the majors. “I’ve had a few balls hit at me. That was by far the hardest one that happened to find my glove.”

Making the play to end the fourth inning earned Kile a pat on the backside from Mark McGwire on the way back to the dugout.

It was the most adventuresome moment in a game in which Kile pitched seven strong innings and hit a single as the Cardinals beat the Padres for the fifth straight time.

Kile (10-3) gave up three runs--two earned--and nine hits in seven innings to join Arizona’s Randy Johnson and Toronto’s David Wells as 10-game winners. Kile already has two more wins than he did all last year, when he was 8-13 in his second season in Colorado.

Chicago 4, New York 3--Pinch-runner Damon Buford scored from second on a throwing error by shortstop Kurt Abbott in the eighth inning, lifting the Cubs to a victory over the Mets at Chicago.

With the score tied 3-3 and one out in the eighth, Henry Rodriguez singled off John Franco (2-2) and was removed for Buford. Joe Girardi singled, advancing Buford to second, and pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill hit a grounder to first baseman Todd Zeile. He threw to Abbott at second for the force, but Abbott’s throw to Franco, covering first, was wide and bounced against the fence near the Mets dugout.

Philadelphia 4, Florida 3--Scott Rolen’s two-run single broke a tie and Ron Gant homered and drove in two runs as the Phillies spoiled Chuck Smith’s major league debut with a victory over the Marlins at Philadelphia.

Smith left after Florida took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh. But Gant tied it with an RBI single off Joe Strong (0-1) before Rolen’s bases-loaded single against Armando Almanza provided the final margin.

Montreal 9, Milwaukee 4--Vladimir Guerrero’s two-run single keyed a seven-run third inning for the Expos in a rain-delayed game at Milwaukee.

After a delay of 2 hours, 12 minutes before the game, the Expos broke to an 8-0 lead after three innings against Steve Woodard (1-5) and coasted from there.

Houston 6, Colorado 3--Ken Caminiti homered and drove in three runs, and Shane Reynolds won for the first time in six starts for Astros at Denver.

Houston, which lost 12 of 13 on the road, built a 5-1 lead against Rolando Arrojo (4-5), and Reynolds (6-3) pitched six innings for his first win since May 10.

San Francisco 3, Cincinnati 2--The Red not only lost to the Giants at San Francisco, they may also lose Aaron Boone, who was struck in the face by a pitch while batting in the seventh inning against Russ Ortiz.

Boone fell to the ground in pain as teammates and trainers rushed to tend to him. He appeared to be bleeding from the nose.

Boone then walked off the field with help from team trainers, a towel wrapped around his face. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital for precautionary tests and X-rays.