Phils Go Down In St. Louis

It was a night of firsts for the Cardinals` Miguel Cairo.

Cairo hit his first career pinch-hit home run -- a three-run shot -- and earned his first curtain call Saturday night in leading St. Louis to its 10th consecutive victory, a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cairo, claimed off waivers on Aug. 10 from the Chicago Cubs, hasn`t been with the Cardinal long enough to have his picture on the Busch Stadium scoreboard.

When he came to bat for Kerry Robinson, he quickly endeared himself to Cardinal fans with his winning homer.

The fans demanded Cairo come out of the dugout and he obliged with a wave and a tip of his cap.

"That was my first time, man," Cairo said about the curtain call. "I got chills. That was my first time and it was unbelievable. The fans here are just great. They asked me to come out and I got chills, everything."

The Cardinals, who won 10 games in a row from May 7-17, have put together two 10-game winning streaks in a season for the first time since 1941.

St. Louis has the best record in the National League since the All-Star break at 24-12, and trails Houston by 2½ games in the NL Central.

With one out in the seventh, former Cardinal Cliff Politte (0-1) hit Fernando Vina with a pitch on the left foot. Center fielder Doug Glanville then misjudged Placido Polanco`s fly ball, which fell in for a double.

Dennis Cook relived. Cairo hit a 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence for the first pinch home run of his career. The three-run shot in his fifth at-bat for the Cardinals made it 6-3.

"I was trying to go in with it," Cook said. "I thought it was a pretty good pitch. I was just trying to pitch the way I`ve been pitching and tonight I didn`t get the job done."

But Cairo did.

"I went up there with confidence and tried to swing at a good pitch," Cairo said. "Every time I go out there, I try and center on a pitch I can hit. If I don`t play, I get ready to pinch hit or play defense or whatever.

"I came here to help. I feel like I`ve been here a few months. I just go out there and try to help."

That`s what manager Tony La Russa wanted when he claimed Cairo off the waiver wire.

"We talked about him in spring training," La Russa said. "We liked him. I think he brings a lot to the club. His versatility. We think he brings us a lot."

La Russa enjoyed Cairo`s reaction to the clutch hit.

"I enjoyed that smile and he was so thrilled by it, his face in that dugout was lit up like a Christmas tree," La Russa said. "He did it off a great pitch in Mr. Cook. He knows how to pitch and he`s been in that situation many, many times."

Left-handed reliever Steve Kline (3-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win. Dave Veres pitched the ninth for his 15th save.

"Right now, we`re just getting beat by a better team," Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa said. "They`re just playing better than we are."

And the Cardinals want to keep it that way.

"We`re playing hard and we`ve got to keep doing that," Kline said. "This was a good for us and another hero. I bet they have his (Cairo`s) picture up on the scoreboard tomorrow. He had a great at-bat there, especially after getting down 0-2 in the count."

Philadelphia`s Scott Rolen hit the first pitch of the fifth inning for his 17th homer of the season to tie it at 3.

The Cardinals scored three times in the third to take a 3-2 lead. Eli Marrero led off with a double and scored on a one-out single by Vina. Robinson, starting for the second night in a row in place of Mark McGwire, kept the inning alive with a two-out single. Rookie Albert Pujols doubled down the third-base line, scoring both runners and giving him 90 RBI.

Pujols also contributed a big defensive play in the ninth in right field. Pat Burrell hit a single in the gap off Veres after a leadoff walk was given up by Kline. Pujols tracked it down and cut down Burrell at second base.

"That was a major league play," La Russa said. "That young man can play this game. He understands the game."

Philadelphia scored a run in the first on an RBI single by Bobby Abreu, and went ahead 2-0 in the third when Felipe Crespo hit a single to left with two outs, scoring Abreu, who singled and advanced on a walk to Burrell.

Both teams started rookie pitchers. Philadelphia`s Brandon Duckworth pitched six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks. The 21-year-old Bud Smith pitched five innings for the Cardinals. He gave up three runs and eight hits with a walk.

Game notes:
McGwire entered the game in a double switch in the seventh inning. He struck out on three pitches against Politte in the seventh and popped out foul to first in the eighth ... The Cardinals have hit six pinch-hit home runs this season ... Kline hit in the seventh and singled. It was the first hit in eight at-bats in his four-year career ... Smith and Duckworth faced each other on July 11 in the Triple A All-Star game in Indianapolis. Smith started for the PCL, pitching two innings. He allowed two unearned runs on one hit. Duckworth started for the International League and pitched two innings. He set a record with five strikeouts -- later tied -- and allowed one unearned run.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News