For the second straight game, Albert Pujols upstaged Ken Griffey's quest for 500 homers.
Pujols' three-run homer in the seventh inning led the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night, their sixth straight win. Pujols hit the game-winning homer leading off the 10th Friday.
Griffey remained stuck on 499 homers for the fifth straight game, althoughhe contributed to the offense with two singles, an RBI and a walk.
PHOTO: AFP
He was2-for-3 Saturday and is 5-for-20 with three RBIs since his last homer on Sunday at Cleveland.Both games in St. Louis, flashbulbs have popped throughout Griffey'sat-bats, a fan trait reminiscent of Mark McGwire's 70-homer season in 1998.
He walked on a full count in the first, hit an RBI single in the third forthe game's first run, was held to a single in the fifth when right fielderJohn Mabry cut off his drive to the gap and grounded out to second in the eighth.
Griffey is 13-for-29 (.448) against Woody Williams with five homers,although he didn't come close to a longball on Saturday. Griffey's second shot at 500 in St. Louis drew a sellout crowd of 48,641, but that likely was due to Camera Day. Friday's game, featuring no giveaways or special promotions, drew a crowd of 37,946.
Williams threw seven strong innings and Jim Edmonds was 3-for-4 with a homer for the Cardinals, who have won 15 of 19. Edmonds is 8-for-12 with two homers for his career against Reds starter Jose Acevedo (3-6). Jason La Rue homered in the sixth to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. Edmonds countered with his 15th homer leading off the bottom of the sixth.
ony Womack and Ray Lankford hit consecutive one-out singles in the seventh off Acevedo, and Pujols lined his 19th homer -- one more than Griffey -- over the left-field wall on the first pitch. Williams (5-6) has won four of his last five starts and is 3-0 against the Reds the last two seasons.
He allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings with five strikeouts and three walks, also working around two wild pitches and a hit batter.
Jason Isringhausen got the last four outs for his 15th save in 18 chances. In his first at-bat of the season he gave himself a nice cushion with a two-run, bases-loaded single off Phil Norton in the Cardinals' five-run eighth.
Scott Rolen added a bases-loaded triple with two outs in the eighth on a drive to the left-field warning track that Adam Dunn appeared to have lost in the lights. Rolen leads the majors with 70 RBIs.
Acevedo worked out of trouble before the seventh. In seven innings he gave up four runs on 11 hits and is 0-4 against the Cardinals for his career with a 9.88 ERA.
he Reds have lost nine in a row on the road, their worst skid since they dropped 10 straight June 1-24, 1998.
Devil Rays 11, Diamondbacks 4
Tino Martinez drove in five runs with a homer and a double, powering the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to their 11th consecutive win with an 11-4 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night.
The Devil Rays are a major league-best 10-1 in interleague play and have won 21 of 27 games. On Saturday, they rallied from a 3-0 deficit with seven runs in the second inning, highlighted by Martinez's two-run shot. Reliever Rob Bell pitched seven innings of four-hit ball for Tampa Bay. Jose Cruz Jr. added a two-run triple, Carl Crawford had an RBI double and Toby Hall and Rocco Baldelli hit run-scoring singles in the second.
Martinez lined a bases-loaded double into the gap in the seventh after Crawford singled off reliever Stephen Randolph and Randolph walked two of the next three hitters he faced. Martinez left for a pinch-runner after the double with tightness in his left hamstring. He is day to day.
The victory was No. 1,413 for Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella, tying him with Miller Huggins for 20th on the career list. Shea Hillenbrand had a two-run double for the Diamondbacks, who had seven hits and scored four runs against Tampa Bay starter Dewon Brazelton in two innings.
But Bell (2-3) steadied the Devil Rays with solid relief, allowing an RBI single to Chad Tracy in the third with the run charged to Brazelton. Bell struck out five without walking a batter.
Arizona scored three times in the first on a single by Steve Finley and Hillenbrand's two-run single. But Aubrey Huff led off the second with a double and Martinez followed with a shot into the Tampa Bay bullpen, his team-high 12th homer.
Hall tied it with an RBI single, Crawford made it 4-3 with an RBI double. Cruz tripled in two more runs before Arizona manager Bob Brenly pulled Lance Cormier (0-1), who got four outs while giving up seven runs on six hits and a walk in his major league debut.
Baldelli hit an RBI single off Andrew Good before Good got the last two outs. Good, who was scheduled to start until Brenly brought Cormier up from Triple-A Tucson on Friday, worked 4 2-3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Arizona's Chad Tracy hit an RBI single in the third off Rob Bell, but the run was charged to Brazelton.
Angels 6, Astros 4
Ramon Ortiz pitched six scoreless innings, Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in three runs and the Anaheim Angels handed Roger Clemens his second straight loss by beating the Houston Astros 6-4 Saturday night.
Ortiz (3-5) easily outpitched Clemens, allowing only three hits with five strikeouts in his best start of the season. The Angels' right-hander, who came into the game with a 5.32 ERA, managed to virtually shut down the NL's second-best offense.
But Angels reliever Kevin Gregg nearly blew the victory, giving up four runs in the seventh. Scot Shields replaced Gregg and got the final out of the inning to thwart the comeback.
Shields pitched a scoreless eighth and Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his sixth save, helping Anaheim snap a three-game losing streak.
Houston has now lost seven of its last nine games, continuing its rapid descent down the NL Central standings. The Astros dropped to 34-33, good for fifth place in the division and 6 1/2 games out of first.
After starting the season with nine straight wins, Clemens (9-2) looked nearly as bad in this game as he did last time out.
He lasted only 4 2-3 innings -- his shortest outing of the season -- and gave up five runs on nine hits with only three strikeouts. In his last outing, a 7-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs (news), Clemens allowed five runs on a season-high 10 hits.
Anaheim took an early lead in the second when Robb Quinlan doubled and scored on a single by Adam Kennedy.
Chone Figgins led off the third with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Guerrero, and Jose Guillen hit his 12th homer of the season to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.
Anaheim added two runs in the fifth when Darin Erstad singled, moved third on a double by Figgins and scored when Guerrero grounded out. Garret Anderson drove in Figgins with a single.
Bagwell nearly sparked a late rally, though, leading off the seventh with his 11th homer of the season. Craig Biggio later had a two-run double and Morgan Ensberg added an RBI single to close the gap to 6-4.
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