Friday, August 17, 2001
Edmonds leading Cards back into race
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Another big hit from Jim Edmonds, who is once again living up to his star status, helped the St. Louis Cardinals creep a little bit closer in the NL Central.
Edmonds had a three-run home run for the second straight game as the Cardinals ran their winning streak to eight games with a 8-3 victory over the Reds on Thursday night.
“We're not going to get caught up in what we're doing,” Edmonds said. “We don't want to fall on our face. We just want to do what we've been doing.”
Edmonds' homer, his 18th, to left-center off Jose Acevedo (3-4) in the sixth gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead. Craig Paquette also homered and Albert Pujols extended his hitting streak to 17 games as St. Louis, which hovered around the .500 mark most of the season, pulled 3 1/2 games behind the idle Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
“We're a different club,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I keep saying it, but it's the truth.”
Edmonds, who has been bothered by a sore shoulder most of the season but had four RBIs in an 8-4 victory Wednesday night, was robbed of extra bases by a catch at the left field wall by Brady Clark in the first and a liner to right in the fourth. He is 10-for-23 in his last six games.
Since Aug. 7, Edmonds has four homers and 11 RBIs in eight games. Placido Polanco and Pujols, who is batting .406 (26-for-64) during his streak, singled ahead of Edmonds' two-out homer.
Dustin Hermanson (11-9) beat the Reds for the first time in 11 career starts, allowing three runs on four hits in six-plus innings. Prior to the game, Hermanson, who is from Springfield, Ohio, had an 0-8 record and 5.64 ERA against Cincinnati.
“The Cincinnati curse has been lifted,” Hermanson said. “So hopefully now I can put the Hermanson curse on them, and not let them beat me for a long time.”
Hermanson's outing had a rocky start when he walked Todd Walker to start the first and rookie Adam Dunn followed with his seventh homer.
“I came out too nit-picky, trying to nit pick around the strike zone instead of going right at the guy,” Hermanson said. “And I think I got in trouble.
“After the home run, I pretty much said 'Hey, you've got to get busy now or this thing's going to get out of hand.”'
Luther Hackman bailed out Hermanson after Young homered and Clark doubled to start the seventh, getting three infield outs. Steve Kline extended his scoreless innings streak to 20 2-3 in the eighth and Dave Veres finished.
Acevedo, one of three rookies in the Reds' rotation, faced the Cardinals for the first time. He gave up four runs on five hits in six innings, striking out five and walking none.
“I didn't pitch too bad,” Acevedo said. “You make a mistake, you have to pay for that, and I did.”
The Cardinals' Mark McGwire was ejected for the third time this season for arguing a called third strike, this time after making the first out of the fourth. Home plate umpire Tim Timmons has booted McGwire two times, also doing it on July 21 against Pittsburgh.
“He dropped his bat and the umpire said 'Pick it up or you're out of here,”' La Russa said. “Mac probably thought that's what batboys do.
“It's hard to fault Mac, but I think the umpire was doing his job.”
Cardinals Notes: The Cardinals are 22-12 since the All-Star break. ... First base umpire Terry Craft left after one inning with a sprained right knee, and the crew was a man short the rest of the game. Shortly after Craft left, members of the grounds crew filled a depression around a sprinkler head in shallow right field. Craft will undergo an MRI Thursday to determine whether there is any structural damage.
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Edmonds leading Cards back into race
