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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A perfect homestand put the defending NL
Central champions back on top.
|  | | J.D. Drew, right, and Albert Pujols look joined at the hip after Drew's two-run homer in the third. Pujols hit a three-run HR in the seventh. |
Fernando Vina hit a bases-loaded triple and the St. Louis
Cardinals battered wild Kerry Wood and the Cubs 13-4 Sunday for
their second straight series sweep, replacing Chicago in first
place in the process.
Jim Edmonds and J.D. Drew homered in the third inning and rookie Albert Pujols hit his 13th homer for St. Louis, which has won seven
in a row overall and 11 straight at home over the Cubs.
The Cardinals took four from the Pirates and three from the
Cubs, outscoring them 57-17. It was St. Louis' first unbeaten
homestand against two or more opponents since Sept. 5-11, 1988,
when it went 7-0 against Montreal, Philadelphia and Chicago.
"To come in here and win the whole homestand, I still find that
hard to believe," manager Tony La Russa said. "You just can never
figure this game. Sometimes when you get hot, you get hot."
The three-game sweep put St. Louis a half-game ahead of the
Cubs. Chicago had been either in first place or tied for the spot
since April 15.
"This team has worked too hard to get right where they are, for
us to backslide right now," manager Don Baylor said. "We haven't
hit, we haven't pitched and we haven't caught."
Vina cleared the bases with a second-inning liner into the
right-field corner. He added a run-scoring single in the seventh,
giving him seven RBI in the series -- doubling his output.
"Definitely, it feels good," said Vina, who was 6-for-12 with
three doubles and a triple in the series. "You get excited when
you get up with runners on, and good things have happened.'
Wood (1-4) also gave up a bases-loaded walk to Mike Matheny,
perhaps the biggest pitch of his outing, in the second. He was
still arguing about ball four, a full-count fastball near the
outside corner, two batters later when he backed up the plate on
Vina's triple.
Pitching coach Oscar Acosta was ejected when he joined the
argument with plate umpire Tim Tschida.
"I can't really tell you how I feel about the whole
situation," Wood said. "Even though I have freedom of speech, I
don't want to get suspended, so I'll leave it at that."
Wood lasted four innings, giving up seven runs on five hits with
seven walks and seven strikeouts.
Andy Benes (3-2) struggled through five innings, allowing four
runs on six hits with five walks. The Cubs barely missed getting
two more runs with Augie Ojeda's drive to right just hooked foul.
First-base umpire Gerry Davis initially signaled home run and
Ojeda rounded the bases. But after a conference with other umpires
it was ruled a foul ball and Ojeda, who stranded six runners his
first two at-bats, took a called third strike on the next pitch.
"I was kind of yelling at it to hook, and it hooked," Benes
said. "I knew the home plate umpire had seen it. They got the
right call."
Larry Sutton added his third career pinch-hit homer in the St.
Louis fifth off Todd Van Poppel.
The Cubs lost third baseman Bill Mueller, whose broke his left
kneecap when he slammed into metal under padding in the wall
separating the fans from the field as he dropped the ball on a foul
pop by Bobby Bonilla in the second.
Mueller is expected to miss two months.
"It hurts this team more than getting swept here," manager Don
Baylor said. "Eight weeks is a long time to be without his quiet
leadership."
Mueller had an RBI triple in the first, his third straight hit
after an 0-for-16 slump. Matt Stairs added a two-run homer, his
third, in the fifth.
Pujols' three-run homer in the seventh off Felix Heredia gave
him a team-leading 42 RBI. He was 2-for-2 with two walks, raising
his average to .370.
Drew has 14 homers after hitting 18 all last season. He's
22-for-53 (.415) the last 15 games with eight homers and 18 RBI, raising his average to .312.
Game notes
Cubs C Todd Hundley missed his second straight game with
back spasms. ... The Cubs are 3-18 at Busch Stadium since Oct. 2,
1999. ... Rap singer Nelly, wearing a Cardinals jersey, threw out
the first pitch. ... The Cubs completed a 2-5 trip, their first
losing trip of the season. ... Wood's only career victory against
the Cardinals was April 30, 1998, one start before his 20-strikeout
game against Houston.
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RECAPS
Boston 5
Oakland 4
Tampa Bay 7
Cleveland 0
Anaheim 14
Detroit 2
Baltimore 10
NY Yankees 5
Seattle 7
Toronto 5
Chi. White Sox 6
Texas 3
Minnesota 7
Kansas City 3
Milwaukee 4
Pittsburgh 1
St. Louis 13
Chicago Cubs 4
Montreal 14
Colorado 10
San Francisco 6
NY Mets 3
Los Angeles 3
Atlanta 1
Arizona 6
Philadelphia 1
Florida 10
San Diego 4
Houston 4
Cincinnati 3
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