McGwire Twice Dials Long Distance

Mark McGwire provided more highlight footage Friday. He hit the ball twice, and his two home runs traveled a combined 962 feet.

The Cardinals’ new slugger took the major league lead in home runs with two upper-deck blasts, including an estimated 500-footer, to power St. Louis past the Florida Marlins, 7-3, at Miami.

“It’s just basically effortless,” McGwire said. “Bat meets ball and it jumps off of it. Right at contact, you know it’s gone.”

McGwire hit his 40th homer in the third inning, a two-run shot against Tony Saunders that landed about 10 rows into in the upper deck in left-center field.

In the ninth, McGwire won a power-versus-power showdown against Robb Nen for his 41st homer. McGwire swung and missed at pitches clocked at 98 and 97 mph before connecting with a 100-mph fastball. The three-run blow landed in the first row of the upper deck and traveled an estimated 462 feet.

McGwire also walked once and struck out twice. Since joining the Cardinals on July 31, he is hitting only .219 but has seven homers.

“It’s an adjustment period,” he said. “Every game I play is an adjustment. But I’m a big boy, and I’m up to it.”

Matt Morris (9-8) benefited from an early 4-0 lead and won a duel of rookies by outpitching Saunders (3-5). Morris gave up seven hits and three runs in seven innings for his first win since July 26.

Atlanta 6, Cincinnati 2--Greg Maddux won his 10th consecutive decision to match his career best, giving up a season-high 11 hits as the Braves defeated the Reds at Atlanta.

Maddux (17-3), who hasn’t lost in 13 starts since Baltimore defeated him June 13, struck out nine and walked none in seven innings. The hits were the most against him since July 2, 1996, when Montreal had 11.

Maddux, who got the benefit of three double plays, also won 10 consecutive decisions in 1995.

Mike Cather followed with two perfect innings as the Braves won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 8-1 against the Reds this season.

Fred McGriff hit a two-run homer, Andruw Jones singled in two runs and Tony Graffanino drove in two with a single and sacrifice fly. Chipper Jones added two doubles.

Cincinnati starter Mike Remlinger (6-5), who has shut down the Dodgers twice after he was inserted into the rotation following John Smiley’s trade to Cleveland in July, gave up six runs, seven hits and five walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Atlanta, hitting .217 in August, scored six runs in a game for the first time since Aug. 4. In the previous 14 games, the Braves had scored more than four runs once.

Houston 9, Colorado 1--Darryl Kile matched Maddux by extending his winning streak to a career-best 10 games and Derek Bell had three extra-base hits and four RBIs as the Astros defeated the Rockies at Houston.

Kile (17-3) held the Rockies to one run on seven hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked one. Kile has not lost since June 14 and has not lost to a National League team since April 30.

Bell had a triple and two doubles to raise his average to a season-high .271. He is hitting .591 in his last four games.

Bell, who had a two-run double in the sixth to complete a seven-run outburst, also had a run-scoring triple in the third and an RBI double in the fifth.

Chicago 3, Montreal 1--Sammy Sosa had three RBIs, including a two-run homer, and Steve Trachsel gave up five hits over 7 2/3 innings to lead the Cubs at Chicago.

Sosa homered in the seventh off Steve Kline (0-2), who started the inning in relief of Expo starter Dustin Hermanson. Hermanson gave up one hit and one walk over six innings, striking out five. He was pulled after throwing 86 pitches.

Trachsel walked one and struck out four. He also had the only hit off Hermanson, a one-out single in the third. Bob Patterson got two outs in the ninth and Terry Adams the final out for his 12th save.

The Expos were surprised in the bottom of the seventh inning when a woman fell into their dugout. She was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital and was listed in serious condition.

New York 9, San Diego 8--Todd Hundley, given a wake-up call by Manager Bobby Valentine this week, hit a tying, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and the Mets defeated the Padres on a bases-loaded walk in the 11th at New York.

Carlos Baerga drew a two-out walk from Will Cunnane that forced home the winning run.

Hundley, told by Valentine that he needed to get more rest in a statement that caused an uproar in New York, helped the Mets win their eighth consecutive extra-inning game.

After a closed-door meeting before the game with Valentine, Hundley had three hits with two walks with three RBIs.

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BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

Player: Mark McGwire

Team: St. Louis

Performance: 2 for 4, 5 RBIs, 2 home runs

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Derek Bell

Team: Houston

Performance: 3 for 4, 4 RBIs, 2 doubles, triple

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Todd Hundley

Team: New York

Performance: 3 for 4, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, home run

Team’s Result: Win

*

PITCHING

Player: Darryl Kile

Team: Houston

Performance: 7 innings, 1 run, 10th consecutive victory

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Greg Maddux

Team: Atlanta

Performance: 7 innings, 9 strikeouts, 10th consecutive victory

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Curt Schilling

Team: Philadelphia

Performance: 8 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 12 strikeouts

Team’s Result: Loss