Person Beats Cardinals

Robert Person wasn`t going to let J.D. Drew beat him. The fans might`ve never forgiven him. Person pitched a four-hitter and Doug Glanville homered as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Saturday in a matchup of division leaders.

With the crowd at Veterans Stadium standing and cheering wildly, Person struck out Drew – Phillies fans` No. 1 enemy – on a 3-2 pitch to end the game. "I wasn`t going to give in," said Person, who struck out five and walked one in his second complete game of the year. "I knew the fans wanted it more than anything else."

Drew, who spurned the Phillies after being selected No. 2 overall in the 1997 draft, continues to receive boos each time he steps to the plate or makes a catch in Philadelphia. Fans threw the ball back onto the field after he hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

Person (4-4), who is pitching under appeal of a six-game suspension for hitting Arizona`s Reggie Sanders with a pitch last week, gave up just two hits until Drew`s shot.

"Person was outstanding," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "It was a great performance. His pitch count was low, he minimized his pitches and he had good stuff."

The Phillies, who tied the Chicago Cubs for worst record in the majors last year, have won three straight and have the best record in the NL at 25-16.

St. Louis (24-17) has lost two in a row after a 10-game winning streak.

"I can`t say if other teams are starting to take notice, but they ought to," said Pat Burrell, who had two hits, including an RBI double. "We`re playing good ball and we`ve beaten some good teams."

Cardinals starter Andy Benes (3-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out four and didn`t walk a batter.

Glanville gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead by leading off the first with his seventh homer, tied for the team lead.

The Phillies got two runs in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Scott Rolen, Travis Lee and Burrell. With two outs, Rolen lined a double down the left-field line and Lee followed with a shot to the gap in right-center for a 2-0 lead.

After just missing a home run a couple of inches to the left of the foul pole, Burrell drilled a liner that nearly put a hole in the left-center field wall to make it 3-0.

"He`s experienced enough to know what to do when the other guy is pitching well," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He made a terrible pitch to Burrell and not a great pitch to Lee with a runner in scoring position."

Person cruised until the seventh when he issued his first walk to Jim Edmonds to start the inning. With one out, Drew nailed his 16th homer into the upper deck in right field.

"I left a pitch up, but I didn`t get flustered," Person said.

Philadelphia failed to add runs despite getting a runner to second with no outs in the first and second.

"They`re a scrappy team," Benes said. "They had runners on early and I pitched out of trouble. I made more than three bad pitches in the sixth, but three put us down 3-0."

Notes: Person has both of the Phillies` complete games this year. He said he won`t drop the appeal of his suspension. ... Glanville extended his hitting streak to 15 games and is 14-for-31 off Benes. He has seven leadoff home runs. ... Benes is 17-7 with a 2.79 ERA in 29 games against the Phillies. ... Drew has nine more homers and 11 more RBIs than any Phillies hitter. ... The Phillies are 11-6 in May and have won five of their last six series.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC - Action News