Wednesday, May 28, 2003
St. Louis overcame a late five-run deficit.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- By the eighth inning, the St. Louis Cardinals were asking themselves why they were still playing. It was raining hard, the field was slick and treacherous and they trailed by five runs.
It didn't help they were essentially playing on fumes, drained by a tough three-game series against Houston and an overnight flight that didn't touch down in Pittsburgh until 4:30 a.m.
"It was hard," Albert Pujols said. "But you can't think about it. It hasn't been a great year for us, but you've got to go out and do what you've got to do."
Turning it around
What they did was turn an apparently forgettable loss into a memorable victory, the kind that good teams often point to when the season ends as being significant and pivotal.
Down twice by five runs, and down to their final strike in the ninth, the Cardinals rallied behind three-run homers by Scott Rolen and Tino Martinez and J.D. Drew's go-ahead triple to beat the Pirates 10-8 in 10 innings Friday night.
Pujols also had a big night, with a career-high five hits and two RBIs.
"With the team we've got, we can come back like that," said pitcher Brett Tomko, who contributed a key pinch-hit single in the 10th.
Even if some teams go an entire season without staging a comeback like this.
The Cardinals trailed 7-2 until Martinez's three-run homer in the eighth off reliever Brian Boehringer cut their deficit to two runs.
Then, reliever Mike Williams was a strike away from closing out the game when Rolen hit a 1-2 pitch into the first row of seats in right-center.
"That's why you've got to play it the whole way," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "If you give yourself a shot, sometimes you can pull it off. ... It sounds corny, but if you play nine innings, you're going to have a chance."
Rain delay
Still, Rolen said the Cardinals were beginning to think their long night was a lost night. There was an 80-minute rain delay in the fifth, and it rained hard even after play resumed.
"We seemed a little down, but Tino's homer gave us a big lift and got us right back in the ballgame," Rolen said.
Rolen's homer briefly put the Cardinals up 8-7 and came just an inning after he stopped an 0-for-15 streak with a single ahead of Martinez's homer.
"But I felt good at the plate all night," Rolen said. "I remember one time I had an 0-for-20 or something and I went 3-for-5 with two homers."
Even after the Cardinals' dramatic comeback, the Pirates had a chance to win it. Jeff Reboulet's double off reliever Cal Eldred tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and they had the bases loaded before Kenny Lofton flied out to send the game to extra innings.
In the 10th, Tomko's broken-bat bloop fell between a couple of Pirates before Drew tripled to the center-field wall. Lofton had a chance to make what would have been an exceptional catch, but the ball just eluded him.
Long before that, Lofton homered to run his hitting streak to 21 games, Jason Kendall homered and drove in three runs and Aramis Ramirez had four hits, yet the Pirates still lost their 15th in 20 games.
"I'm sitting here and trying to figure out a way to describe this game," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "I guess unbelievable fits as well as anything. It's a devastating loss. I'll probably lose a lot of sleep, if I ever fall asleep. This loss is as tough as it comes."
Eldred (3-1) got the victory despite giving up the tying run in the ninth, with Brian Meadows (0-1) taking the loss -- the 10th in 14 decisions by a Pirates bullpen that has a 5.65 ERA.
"I'm at a total loss for words about what's going on," McClendon said. "Coming out of spring training, I don't think anybody would have thought our bullpen would pitch like this. I don't have an explanation."
Notes
It was the fourth time the Cardinals have rallied from four or more runs down, but they are only 2-2 in those games.
Pujols' five hits were a career high, but he failed to homer for what would have been a team record-tying fifth straight game.
The Pirates had four extra-base hits in a span of five batters to chase Cardinals starter Jason Simontacchi in a four-run third.
The Cardinals are 14-3 in PNC Park.
St. Louis won for only the fifth time in its last 16 road games.