Cardinals pull off late comeback to sweep A's

The St. Louis Cardinals already had the National League's best record. They showed they can pull off a comeback victory, too. <br/><br/>Pinch-hitter Reggie Sanders capped a three-run rally with a game-winning

Monday, June 14th 2004, 6:03 am

By: News On 6

The St. Louis Cardinals already had the National League's best record. They showed they can pull off a comeback victory, too.

Pinch-hitter Reggie Sanders capped a three-run rally with a game-winning single in the ninth inning, leading the Cardinals to a surprising 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night.

It was the first time St. Louis came back from a ninth-inning deficit after being 0-for-24 in that situation.

``The early part of the year, we weren't able to win those late games,'' Sanders said. ``Everything is clicking right now.''

The Cardinals have won 13 of 17 and swept the A's, who came to St. Louis on an eight-game winning streak.

``Coming back like that against a good team like that is a good sign,'' Sanders said.

With Oakland leading 4-2, Edgar Renteria and Cody McKay opened the ninth with singles, and Ray Lankford was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

A's second baseman Marco Scutaro then booted Marlon Anderson's grounder to allow two runs to score.

Sanders followed with a single off Jim Mecir (0-5) to complete the comeback for the Cardinals, who are 39-27 and hold a two-game lead in the NL Central.

``We have so many clutch players, so many guys that are ninth-inning guys, that it's the first time we've reversed it,'' manager Tony La Russa said. ``We should do it as much as anybody because we've got a lot of pressure, clutch guys.''

In other games, it was: Cincinnati 4, Texas 3; Tampa Bay 4, San Diego 1; Kansas City 10, Atlanta 4; Seattle 6, Milwaukee 3; Boston 11, Colorado 0; San Francisco 8, Toronto 5; Pittsburgh 5, Anaheim 2; Minnesota 6, Montreal 4; Florida 2, the Chicago White Sox 1 in 11 innings; the New York Mets 6, Cleveland 2; Arizona 6, the New York Yankees 1; Los Angeles 4, Baltimore 3; and Philadelphia and Detroit split a doubleheader, with the Phillies winning the first game 6-2 and the Tigers taking the second 5-4 in 11 innings.

In the only NL game, it was the Chicago Cubs 5, Houston 4.

At St. Louis, Ray King (1-0) got the last out in the ninth for the win.

Oakland's short-handed bullpen wasted a good effort by Tim Hudson, who allowed two runs on eight hits.

``Obviously, those guys want to get the job done, but for some reason it's been a struggle,'' Hudson said. ``It's hard to say why it happens but it has been and it's just something we've got to somehow get past.''

The A's were missing closer Arthur Rhodes, who's taking a two-day leave of absence, and Chris Hammond, who was unavailable due to a shoulder problem.

Reds 4, Rangers 3

At Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. failed to hit his 500th homer, but the Reds pulled off another late rally for a three-game sweep.

Sean Casey had a pair of hits and a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh. Griffey went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.

Todd Van Poppel (3-2) gave up six hits in seven innings.

Devil Rays 4, Padres 1

At San Diego, Fred McGriff hit his 493rd homer to tie Lou Gehrig for 21st on the career list, and Tampa Bay extended its franchise-record winning streak to eight games.

The Devil Rays also swept consecutive series for the first time in their seven-year history. Before starting this trip, they beat Colorado three straight in Tampa.

Royals 10, Braves 4

At Atlanta, Darrell May (4-8) beat his former team, and Desi Relaford went 3-for-5 with three RBIs for Kansas City.

The Royals improved their AL-worst road record to 9-21 with their second victory in a row.

Mariners 6, Brewers 3

At Milwaukee, Scott Spiezio hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the eighth inning, sending Seattle to a victory.

Jolbert Cabrera homered and drove in three runs, and Randy Winn also connected for the Mariners.

Red Sox 11, Rockies 0

At Denver, Derek Lowe pitched four-hit ball for seven innings in the 25th shutout in Coors Field history, and David Ortiz drove in a career-high five runs to help Boston avoid a sweep.

Lowe (6-5) allowed just two flyballs and struck out three for his third win in four starts.

Giants 8, Blue Jays 5

At San Francisco, Michael Tucker hit a tiebreaking triple in the eighth, and the Giants completed a three-game sweep.

Pinch-hitter Barry Bonds was intentionally walked leading off the eighth. Ray Durham beat out a bunt single, and both scored on Tucker's drive to center off Justin Speier (1-4).

Pirates 5, Angels 2

At Pittsburgh, Tike Redman and Jack Wilson homered in the Pirates' go-ahead seventh, and Kris Benson (5-6) earned his first home win since May 10, 2003.

Jose Mesa worked the ninth for his 16th save in 16 chances, tying Mike Williams' club record for consecutive saves in a season.

Twins 6, Expos 4

At Montreal, Matthew LeCroy hit his third pinch-hit homer in three at-bats this season, and Minnesota rallied for a three-game sweep.

Torii Hunter's RBI double in the eighth put the Twins ahead to stay, sending the Expos to their sixth consecutive loss.

Marlins 2, White Sox 1, 11 innings

At Miami, pinch-hitter Matt Treanor singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th, and Florida beat Chicago after losing Josh Beckett to another injury.

The World Series MVP left his start in the fourth with a muscle strain on the side of his back. He just returned from the disabled list because of a blister on his right middle finger. He's day to day.

The Marlins acquired reliever Billy Koch and cash from the Chicago White Sox after the game for minor league infielder Wilson Valdez.

Mets 6, Indians 2

At New York, Mike Cameron hit his first homer since May 10, and five Mets pitchers combined on a five-hitter.

Earlier in the day, the Mets tried to bolster their lineup, acquiring outfielder Richard Hidalgo from Houston for pitchers David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths.

Diamondbacks 6, Yankees 1

At Phoenix, knuckleballer Steve Sparks (3-4) allowed one run in seven innings and Juan Brito hit his first major league homer for Arizona.

New York had a four-game winning streak snapped in losing for just the fourth time in 22 games and second in 19 interleague games dating to last season.

Dodgers 4, Orioles 3

At Los Angeles, Adrian Beltre snapped a tie with a homer in the eighth to lift the Dodgers to a three-game sweep.

Beltre's 16th homer came two innings after pinch-hitter Jason Grabowski hit a tying two-run shot off Rodrigo Lopez (5-3).

Eric Gagne got three outs for his 16th save, and extended his major league-record saves streak to 79.

Phillies 6, Tigers 2, 1st game

Tigers 5, Phillies 4, 11 innings, 2nd game

At Philadelphia, Jason Michaels homered and drove in four runs for the Phillies in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

In the nightcap, Carlos Guillen's two-out RBI single off Ryan Madson (4-2) in the 11th helped Detroit earn a split. The game was delayed 51 minutes by rain before the sixth inning, the fourth straight day weather affected a Phillies game.

Brandon Inge tied it at 4 with a one-out, solo homer off Billy Wagner in the ninth inning.

Cubs 5, Astros 4

At Houston, Glendon Rusch (4-1) pitched eight strong innings, Moises Alou drove in three runs and Chicago won its sixth straight.

Chicago completed its first four-game sweep of the Astros since June 23-25, 1967, and first in Houston.