Tuesday, July 14, 1998

BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Barry Larkin goes over Cardinals' baserunner Eli Marrero during a double play Monday night. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

ST. LOUIS -- Last week, it appeared Eduardo Perez's Cincinnati career was over. After the Reds acquired Paul Konerko in a trade with Los Angeles, giving them four first basemen, Perez was placed on waivers. No team claimed him, and the Reds pulled him back and left him on the roster as the fourth first baseman.

It was a strange twist, that unfolded Monday night as Perez knocked in Bret Boone in the top of the 13th with the game-winning hit, giving the Reds a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and extending their season-high winning streak to eight games.

"It's been crazy," Perez said. "I've had my downs; now I've had my ups. I hope everything turns out for the best."

The victory was the Reds' 13th in their last 14 games. "It doesn't matter who we play. We believe in ourselves," Perez said.

Boone doubled to right to open the 13th, and Perez, who entered in a late-game double-switch, singled him home off Cardinals reliever Bobby Witt.

Reds pitchers did yeoman work, holding the Cardinals scoreless from the second inning on, and a no-brainer strategic move helped set up the winning run.

The Busch Stadium crowed booed heartily, but the common sense of walking Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire with a tie score in the 12th paid off. The Reds intentionally walked McGwire with no one on and one out, and pitcher Gabe White got out of the inning without letting McGwire score.

Earlier, the stage was set for McGwire heroics, but he didn't deliver. With two men on, two out and a tie score in the ninth, McGwire was in perfect position for one of those classic game-winning home runs. Instead, Reds reliever John Hudek got McGwire to pop up to Boone at second base, deflating an excited Busch Stadium crowd and sending the game into extra innings.

Reds reliever Rick Krivda got the first two outs in the ninth, but issued consecutive walks to Royce Clayton and Ray Lankford to bring up McGwire.

Cincinnati manager Jack McKeon then brought in the right-handed Hudek, who started by throwing McGwire two balls. On a 2-1 pitch, McGwire hit a high pop foul near the Cardinals' dugout on the first-base side that nearly ended the drama. It was a tough play for catcher Eddie Taubensee, but he almost made it, dropping it as it fell into the stands.

Scott Winchester lets one loose against the Cardinals during the third inning. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Hudek then threw one low to McGwire to make the count 3-1. But Hudek got McGwire to pop up to kill the threat.

The extra-inning drama was actually set up by two Reds' rallies in the late innings to tie it 5-5.

The Cards had taken a 5-0 lead in the first two innings off starter Scott Winchester with two homers (Ron Gant and Clayton) and RBI singles from Lankford and Placido Palanco.

The Reds started to chip back in the fourth, when Boone hit a two-out double deep to center. He scored when Dmitri Young, the one-time top young bat in the Cardinals' organization who was traded to Cincinnati for reliever Jeff Brantley last winter, doubled off the left-field wall to cut the lead to 5-1.

Winchester then got a single to move Young to third, and Mike Frank, who went into the lineup in the second inning after Reggie Sanders strained a hamstring, singled to score Young to draw within three.

Down 5-2 in the eighth, the Reds got a leadoff double from Taubensee and a run-scoring single from rookie Paul Konerko to draw within two.

Mark McGwire went 0-3 with an intentional walk against the Reds. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

In the ninth, they scored two off Brantley to tie it 5-5.

Chris Stynes led off the inning by beating out a pinch-hit infield single, and Frank sliced a double to right that allowed Stynes to score when the throw from the outfield was mishandled. That cut the lead to 5-4, and after Sean Casey moved Frank to third, Barry Larkin hit a sacrifice fly to tie it.

The Reds had a chance to bring home the go-ahead run in the 11th after Young started the inning by beating out an infield single and Perez reached on St. Louis catcher Eli Marrero's error fielding Perez's bunt.

After Frank sacrificed Young to third and Perez to second, McKeon sent in the slightly injured Pokey Reese to pinch-hit. Reese hit a hot shot up the middle that deflected off pitcher Bobby Witt, and as the ball rolled around the infield, Young started to come home, then hesitated and retreated back to the bag.

The Cardinals got Reese at first for the second out, then got Larkin to pop up for out No. 3.