COUNSELL-ING SESSION D'BACKS' INFIELDER'S 3-RUN HOMER BEATS CARDINALS ARIZONA 5, ST. LOUIS 3.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS - Craig Counsell had been a Dodger and a postseason hero. Of course, not at the same time.

There was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for Florida that he tied the score in the ninth with an RBI single, then scored the series-winning run against Cleveland in the 11th.

Friday night, the frail-looking second baseman who rekindled his career in Arizona after the Dodgers released him two springs ago, was at it again. Counsell hit an improbable three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Improbable because he has just 11 home runs in his career. But not impossible because Counsell always seems at his best in big games.

``He wasn't just our MVP tonight, he has been our MVP all year,'' said Luis Gonzalez, who hit 57 homers during the regular season and added No. 58 on Friday. ``Everywhere we put him, he performed. Every time we needed a big hit, Craig got one.

And this was big, and not just because it was the pivotal Game 3 in this best-of-five series.

If the Diamondbacks had lost, they would have been facing elimination this afternoon and forced to bring back Game 1 starter Curt Schilling on three days' rest. Instead, they will use right-hander Albie Lopez, who came over from Tampa Bay at midseason, to put away the Cardinals and rookie left-hander Bud Smith.

It was big because the Cardinals put five runners on base in the final two innings. They loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Jim Edmonds, who homered earlier, flied to center.

A hobbling Mark McGwire came to the plate representing the winning run with one out in the ninth. Everyone in the Busch Stadium crowd of 52,273 seemed to be carrying flashbulbs, but McGwire grounded into a double play against Arizona's fourth pitcher, Byung-Hyun Kim, and gave the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead in the series.

``It was such a big win for us,'' Counsell said. ``It gave us back the momentum. It would be great to wrap it up tomorrow.''

Arizona did it by overcoming an early 2-0 lead. Miguel Batista, an 11-game winner during the regular season, rebounded from a shaky start to allow just three hits and two runs in six innings.

Batista was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh when the Diamondbacks took the lead for good and wound up the winning pitcher.

There was some controversy because Cardinals manager Tony La Russa went with left-hander Mike Matthews when Darryl Kile faltered in the sixth. Usually a one-batter kind of pitcher, Matthews faced six hitters even though Mike Timlin was ready.

Timlin had appeared in two World Series. This was Matthews' first postseason appearance. It showed, as he allowed three hits even before Counsell came to the plate.

``They had left-handers coming up and they had left-handers on the bench,'' La Russa said. ``He is my best in that situation.''

The day Counsell arrived with the Dodgers in 1999, the gruff Kevin Brown gave him a big hug in the clubhouse. That alone is worth a playoff share, but the Dodgers have not won a postseason game since 1988.

Brown was on that Marlins team, too. So was Gary Sheffield. They owe part of their series rings to Counsell.

But in spring training 2000, the Dodgers were trying to convert Mark Grudzielanek from shortstop to second base to make room for Alex Cora. At that point in his career, Counsell had never played anything but second. He was released in mid-March and picked up by the Diamondbacks three days later.

``That was a very dark time for me,'' Counsell said. ``There weren't any big-league jobs out there. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I knew I would have to go back to the minors and pretty much start over.

``But the great thing was (Arizona GM) Joe Garagiola thought I might be able to play more than one position. That gave me the confidence to try some things. They played me everywhere and it was great.''

TODAY'S GAMES

--Game 4: Arizona (Lopez, 4-7, 4.00 ERA) at St. Louis (Hermanson, 14-13, 4.45), 10:12 a.m., Fox Family

--Game 3: Seattle (Sele, 15-5, 3.60) at Cleveland (Sabathia, 17-5, 4.39), 1:20 p.m., Ch. 11

--Game 3: N.Y. Yankess (Mussina, 17-11, 3.15) at Oakland (Zito, 17-8, 3.49), 4:50 p.m., Ch. 11

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

Arizona second baseman Craig Counsell is congratulated after hitting a three-run homer Friday in St. Louis.

Scott Rovak/Agence France Presse

Box:

(1) MLB PLAYOFFS (see text)

(2) DIVISION SERIES: AMERICAN LEAGUE

(3) DIVISION SERIES: NATIONAL LEAGUE