Renteria Becomes First Shortstop In Redbirds History To Get 100 RBIs
Joe Strauss Post-Dispatch
September 27, 2003
PHOENIX - The Cardinals devoted 160 games over nearly six months to pursuing the collective goal of a fourth straight postseason appearance. After that hope was dashed the night before, two of them continued to chase personal milestones Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Edgar Renteria reached his with a third-inning RBI grounder that made him the first shortstop in team history to drive in 100 runs in a season.
Albert Pujols will have to sweat his.
Renteria and Pujols provided drama for the franchise's first "meaningless" regular-season game since the dying days of the 1999 season. With manager Tony La Russa serving his two-game suspension in a penalty box adjacent to the visiting radio booth, his makeshift lineup and starting pitcher Sterling Hitchcock took a 3-2 win before 39,650 at Bank One Ballpark.
Renteria's ground ball scored Pujols while Eduardo Perez dared shortstop Alex Cintron to chase him down between second and third base in the third inning. The run put the Cardinals ahead 3-1 before the Diamondbacks scored in the fourth. Russ Springer, Steve Kline, Mike DeJean and Jason Isringhausen allowed six hits but no damage while getting the final 11 outs. Isringhausen secured his 21st save in 24 chances.
Capping the best season of his eight-year career, Renteria managed one hit to keep his average at .330, fourth-best in the league and 47 points higher than his career mark entering the season.
Renteria's RBI made him the first Cardinals shortstop to drive in 100 runs. It made him the first National League shortstop to reach the mark since Hubie Brooks in 1985.
"I hit sixth or seventh behind great hitters. My teammates gave me the chance. I took the chance they gave me," Renteria said.
La Russa said: "To hit .330 with 100 RBIs, a bunch of stolen bases and great defense. What a year he's had."
La Russa reached a milestone of his own in absentia. Third-base coach Jose Oquendo ran the club while La Russa was credited with win No. 2,008, tying him with Leo Durocher for seventh all-time.
After working radio and television for a half-inning each, La Russa observed, "I felt a lot smarter around the broadcast side. When I walked over by the press box I caught a lot of dumb waves."
Playing first base, an obviously frustrated Pujols endured three hitless at-bats, popping to first, striking out, and crushing a ball more than 400 feet for a seventh-inning out. He remains tied with Ralph Kiner for the most home runs by a player in his first three major-league seasons. Meanwhile, Pujols' once-sizeable lead over Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton has shriveled. Pujols entered Saturday's game batting .360 and exited at .358 - one point better than Helton before the Rockies played at San Diego.
Pujols reacted after each of his five hitless at-bats Friday. He flung his bat after striking out to end the ninth Saturday.
"I think he'll be all right. They're pitching him tough," Renteria said. "He'll have to make adjustments tomorrow. I think he's got a chance to do it. He's a great hitter."
Pujols has carried the batting lead for most of the season but has seen his average fall from .367 to its lowest level since May 30 while going six for 30 in his last eight games. Teams have increasingly pitched around him. Pujols has accepted nine walks in the last seven games while managing only three RBIs in his last 15 games.
Saturday also extended a bizarre streak for the league's fourth-leading run producer: Pujols has driven in runs in only three games since July 30 when he has not homered. He left Saturday without comment.
La Russa recalled only one other time this season when Pujols pressed so obviously - against the San Francisco Giants and left fielder Barry Bonds in July.
At 23 years, 256 days, Pujols would become the National League's youngest batting champ since the Los Angeles Dodgers' Tommy Davis in 1962. He would become the Cardinals' first batting champion since Willie McGee in 1990 and the 22nd in franchise history.
La Russa admitted before the game that he would consider allowing Pujols to sit on his batting lead if he hit the 115th home run of his career Saturday. "I think he'll play tomorrow," La Russa said. "He reminds me a lot of Mark McGwire. Right now he's on fumes. He's been grinding so hard for so long. But he's got one more in him."
Pujols came close to the record-breaker when he drove a ball into center-field no man's land. A ball that would have left the park at Busch Stadium was a routine play for Diamondbacks center fielder Steve Finley.
Hitchcock (5-1) gave the Cardinals another credible start in his eighth appearance since being acquired from the New York Yankees Aug. 22. He lasted 5 1/3 innings before giving way to Springer and gave the Cardinals 32 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Isringhausen escaped a first-and-third jam with none out for the save in his 40th appearance since returning from October shoulder surgery.
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