McGwire Passes Killebrew

When Mark McGwire connects these days, it’s almost certain to go far.

McGwire, slowed by a sore knee, moved past Harmon Killebrew into fifth place with his 574th career home run, helping the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday.

“If I can get going and keep playing, there will be more milestones,” McGwire said. “There’s no reason to think just about one.”

McGwire’s last 10 hits have been home runs, the longest such streak in at least 25 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. There is no research done before that.

He hasn’t had a hit that didn’t go over the fence since hitting a single in his first at-bat July 18 against Houston.

“When he connects, the ball carries,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said. “It’s just one of those freak stats.”

McGwire, who didn’t start the previous three games, hit a two-run shot off Glendon Rusch (6-7) in the fifth inning for his 20th homer of the season and first since Aug. 1.

The blast drew cheers from the fans at Shea Stadium.

“It’s a great day when you see Mark McGwire hit a home run,” La Russa said. “I don’t care what else there is in sports now, having him hit a home run is tied for first for the best sports achievement you can see. They got to see it.”

There wasn’t much else to cheer about for Met fans. Dustin Hermanson (10-9) gave up three runs in six innings, Mike Matheny hit a two-run homer and Placido Polanco extended his hitting streak to 20 games for St. Louis.

Dave Veres relieved with two on and none out in the ninth. He got Mike Piazza to foul out and Robin Ventura to hit into a double play for his 12th save.

The Cardinals improved to 4-1 against the Mets this season--the same margin in last year’s National League championship series loss to New York.

But McGwire was mostly a spectator that series because of his knee, making only four pinch-hit appearances. His lethal bat has been a missing element for St. Louis for much of this year.

McGwire has played in only 63 of 115 games and is hitting .190 as the Cardinals have struggled without their biggest star.

“I’m trying to get out of some bad habits that accumulated because of the knee surgery,” he said. “I want to start driving the ball better. For the first time in my career, I realize how much the legs mean. They’re everything to me.”

McGwire produced in his return to the lineup. He reached on an error by Ventura at third base to start St. Louis’ four-run fourth inning, before his home run in the fifth.

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500-Home Run Club

The 17 players who have hit 500 home runs and their statistics in four other categories:

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Player HR 40+ Best HR per Led 162 Gms League 1. Hank Aaron 755 8 47 37 4 2. Babe Ruth 714 11 60 46 12 3. Willie Mays 660 6 52 36 4 4. Frank Robinson 586 1 49 34 1 5. Mark McGwire 574 6 70 50 4 6. Harmon Killebrew 573 8 49 38 6 7. Reggie Jackson 563 2 47 32 4 8. Mike Schmidt 548 3 48 37 8 9. Barry Bonds 544 5 50 38 1 10. Mickey Mantle 536 4 54 36 4 11. Jimmie Foxx 534 5 58 37 4 12t Willie McCovey 521 2 45 33 3 12t Ted Williams 521 1 43 37 4 14t Ernie Banks 512 5 47 33 2 14t Eddie Mathews 512 4 47 35 2 16. Mel Ott 511 1 42 30 6 17. Eddie Murray 504 0 33 27 1

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Key: 40+--Seasons with 40 or more homers. Best--Highest season total. HR/162G--Homers for every 162 games played. Led League--Times led league in homers.