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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Barry Bonds just had to laugh at the play so embarrassing it almost upstaged Mark McGwire on the night Big Mac moved up another notch on the all-time home run list.
|  | | Mark McGwire connects for his 548th career homer Thursday night. |
McGwire tied Mike Schmidt for seventh place on the career home
run list, hitting No. 548 in the fourth inning of the Cardinals' wild 11-10 win over the Giants.
Bonds, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, committed perhaps the biggest
error of his career when a towering fly ball bounced off his glove
and over the wall, handing Shawon Dunston a three-run, eighth-inning home run that helped the Cards rally from seven runs down.
"You know, my dad told me if you play long enough in your
career, something's going to happen," Bonds said. "I used to
watch this on TV. Well now I get to be on the bloopers reel."
Dunston tied his career high with six RBI, and his second home
run of the game, off Felix Rodriguez, brought the Cardinals back
from a seven-run, fifth-inning deficit to a 10-9 lead. He was
charitable about Bonds' assist.
"Barry helped us, so that's OK," Dunston said. "If he can't
catch it, no one can. He's the best left fielder in the game."
Dunston, who batted leadoff for the first time all season, also
homered in the seventh and had a two-run double in the fifth.
"He should send me a thank you letter, at least," Bonds said.
Craig Paquette's RBI single off the glove of reliever Mark
Gardner was the game-winner.
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Career HR leaders
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Player
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Homers
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1.
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Hank Aaron
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755
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2.
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Babe Ruth
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714
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3.
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Willie Mays
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660
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4.
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Frank Robinson
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586
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5.
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Harmon Killebrew
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573
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6.
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Reggie Jackson
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563
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7.
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Mike Schmidt
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548
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tie.
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x-Mark McGwire
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548
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9.
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Mickey Mantle
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536
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10.
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Jimmie Foxx
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534
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11.
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Willie McCovey
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521
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tie.
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Ted Williams
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521
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13.
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Ernie Banks
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512
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tie.
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Eddie Mathews
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512
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15.
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Mel Ott
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511
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16.
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Eddie Murray
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504
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17.
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Lou Gehrig
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493
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18.
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Stan Musial
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475
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tie.
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Willie Stargell
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475
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21.
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x-Barry Bonds
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471
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20.
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Dave Winfield
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465
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22.
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Carl Yastrzemski
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452
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23.
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Dave Kingman
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442
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24.
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x-Jose Canseco
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438
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tie.
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Andre Dawson
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438
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26.
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Billy Williams
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426
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28.
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x-Ken Griffey Jr.
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419
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29.
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x-Cal Ripken Jr.
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415
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27.
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Darrell Evans
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414
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30.
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Duke Snider
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407
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x-player is still active
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Gardner (4-3) hit McGwire with a pitch to start the ninth and Eli Marrero pinch ran. Ray Lankford singled with one out and Paquette followed with a one-hopper to the mound that appeared to
handcuff Gardner. But the ball squibbed away near the third-base
line.
Jeff Kent had a three-run homer to ignite the Giants' eight-run
fifth against Pat Hentgen, and tied it at 10 with an RBI single off
Dave Veres (1-2) in the ninth. A shaky outing from Shawn Estes
helped the Cardinals climb back into the game.
McGwire's first homer in three games produced the game's first
run with two outs in the fourth. His 26th of the season tied Bonds
for the major league lead. It also was the Cardinals' first hit off
Estes, who contributed a two-run double in the fifth to give him
eight RBI on the year.
Estes struggled after the Giants sent 13 batters to the plate,
failing to retire any of the five batters he faced in the bottom
half of the inning. He walked Larry Sutton with the bases loaded,
threw a bases-loaded wild pitch, then exited after giving up
Dunston's two-run double.
After the game, he said he was bothered by stiffness in his
shoulder.
"The long inning, it really stiffened up on me," Estes said.
"In warmups, it didn't feel good at all. I wanted to just get
through five (innings) and tell them about it, and go from there,
but I didn't make it."
McGwire's homer came on a 2-0 pitch and traveled an estimated
475 feet to straightaway center, giving him 101 homers and 214 RBI
in 212 career games at Busch Stadium. He's on pace to hit 59 homers
this season after hitting 65 last year and a record 70 in 1998.
McGwire reached 548 homers in 5,832 at-bats, while it took
Schmidt 8,352 at-bats. Earlier this season, McGwire passed Jimmie
Foxx (534) and Mickey Mantle (536). Reggie Jackson is sixth on the
career list with 563.
Hentgen walked eight and threw 106 pitches in 4 2/3 innings,
allowing eight runs on seven hits as his ERA rose to 5.85. Hentgen
won his previous two starts.
The Giants had five hits and five walks, two to Bonds, in the
fifth. Hentgen was chased after Marvin Benard, the 10th batter of
the inning, hit a two-run double. Bill Mueller added an RBI single
off reliever Heathcliff Slocumb.
J.T. Snow hit his sixth home run leading off the sixth for the
Giants. Pinch-hitter J.D. Drew tripled and scored on Paquette's
sacrifice fly in the bottom half, and Dunston hit his fifth home
run in the seventh.
Game notes
The Giants are averaging a major league-leading 7.2 runs in
Estes' starts. ... The Cardinals lead the majors with 121 homers
and have connected in all but 14 of their 71 games. ... Before
Thursday, Cardinals starters worked five or more innings in 29
straight games dating to May 19. ... Kent's 70 RBI are the Giants'
highest pre-All-Star break total since Bonds had 68 in 1996.
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RECAPS
Boston 4
NY Yankees 2
Toronto 7
Detroit 4
Chi. White Sox 6
Cleveland 0
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Texas 2
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Milwaukee 6
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NY Mets 5
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Houston 6
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St. Louis 11
San Francisco 10
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