Hampton Goes On the Offensive

Mike Hampton hit his fifth home run, the most by a pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1972, and got his ninth victory Sunday to lead the Colorado Rockies over the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-3.

Hampton, hitting .297 this season with 10 runs batted in, put the Rockies ahead for good in the third inning when he broke a 1-1 tie with his home run against Dustin Hermanson (5-5).

Hampton hadn’t hit one in 372 career at-bats before this season.

Backed by two Todd Helton homers, Hampton (9-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings in winning his fourth consecutive start at Coors Field. He is 5-0 with a 2.88 earned-run average at Coors Field and has a 2.98 ERA overall.

“Today, I was a better hitter than a pitcher,” said Hampton, who has three homers in his last five at-bats. “I didn’t have a whole lot, and I was fortunate to come out with a lead.”

Helton, who leads the National League with 68 RBIs, hit a two-run homer off Mike Timlin in the sixth inning and a solo shot off Gene Stechschulte in the eighth. He has 21 homers this season.

Neifi Perez had a home run and two RBIs, and Jeff Cirillo drove in two runs as the Rockies won for the sixth time in eight games.

Albert Pujols homered for the third time in as many games, but the Cardinals have lost five of six.