51 DOWN, 10 TO GO; MCGWIRE BELTS TWO HOMERS, NEARS MARIS : ST. LOUIS 2-4, NEW YORK 0-5.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Start the countdown. Mark McGwire McGwire hit his 50th and 51st homers to creep nearer to breaking Maris' record of 61 homers in a season as the St. Louis Cardinals For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see . The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. split a doubleheader with the New York Mets
In the first game, McGwire became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons with a high drive in the seventh inning of the Cardinals' 2-0 win. McGwire wasted no time hitting No. 51, connecting in the first inning of the second game, but St. Louis blew a three-run lead and lost 5-4. Since spring training, McGwire has been hounded by questions asking whether he or anyone else could break baseball's most hallowed record. He's maintained all along that getting to 50 early would be the key. ``That's what I truly believe,'' he said Thursday afternoon. ``Ever since I was a young kid hitting home runs. I mean if someone gets to 50 by September 1, they have a shot down the stretch run.'' If McGwire believes, then so should everyone else. After all, he hit 15 homers last September for St. Louis. Brian Jordan Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres hit a two-run homer in the second game for New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , which rallied to win with two runs in the seventh. Rey Ordonez hit an RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in double to tie it against Darren Oliver Darren Christopher Oliver (born October 6, 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Oliver is the son of former infielder Bob Oliver. Oliver played baseball and basketball at Rio Linda High School in Rio Linda, California. (1-2) and Tony Phillips The Mets, who were playing their second of three doubleheaders this week, lead Chicago by a half game for the wild card. The Cubs beat San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden 7-3 Thursday. After Jordan led off the seventh inning of the first game with a homer off Willie Blair (4-16), McGwire made history by sending a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left-center. McGwire pumped his right fist above his head as he rounded first base as the Shea Stadium crowd of 40,308 saluted him with a rousing standing ovation. Only Babe Ruth (1920-21 and 1927-28) and McGwire have hit 50 or more homers in back-to-back seasons. McGwire hit 52 homers in 1996 for Oakland and 58 for the A's and Cardinals last year. ``It's nice to be a part of major-league history, and to have done so in such a historic baseball city as New York,'' McGwire said in a statement. ``Ironically, I broke Babe Ruth's record just across town from the stadium he played in.'' In the first inning of the second game against Rick Reed (15-7), McGwire lined a 3-2 pitch into the left-field seats for No. 51. It was his fourth homer in three games. He hit Nos. 48 and 49 on Wednesday in Chicago. With McGwire in town and their club in the NL wild-card chase, Mets fans came out early to see batting practice, two games for the price of one and a little history. They cheered McGwire during BP and most of them kept it up when he came to the plate in the game. Only a couple of wise guys behind home plate chanted ``So-sa, So-sa,'' referring to the Cubs' Sammy Sosa, who has 48 homers. Donovan Osborne (3-2) shut out the Mets on four hits in eight innings. The left-hander allowed just two walks through five innings before Phillips flared a single to left with one out in the sixth. One out later, Matt Franco grounded a single to right, but Osborne worked out of the jam by striking out Piazza. Former Met Juan Acevedo pitched the ninth for his third save. Blair didn't look like a pitcher who now leads the major leagues in losses. The right-hander gave up three hits - two homers - and two runs in seven innings. McGwire, who earlier this season hit his 400th homer here off Reed, is the sixth NL player to hit 50 in a season and the first since George Foster hit 52 in 1977 for Cincinnati. The milestone ball was caught by fan Mike Scelsi, 31, of Yonkers, N.Y. ``I was in the right place at the right time. I'm a happy guy,'' said Scelsi, who was offered $10,000 for the ball. ``I want to talk to Mr. McGwire to see what he wants to do,'' he said. Reed allowed six hits and four runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Mark McGwire answers cheers rounding the bases after hitting his 50th home run Thursday. John Dunn/Associated Press |
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