McGwire Leaves With Injury as Cardinals Lose to Padres

St. Louis lost Mark McGwire to back spasms in the first inning, then watched light-hitting Chris Gomez homer in consecutive at-bats to help the Padres defeat the Cardinals, 3-2, Monday night at San Diego.

The Cardinals said McGwire’s status was day-to-day. The slugger, who leads the major leagues with 27 homers, walked off under his own power after hitting a grounder down the first-base line in the first inning off Sterling Hitchcock (3-0).

San Francisco 16, Cincinnati 3--Jeff Kent and Charlie Hayes each tied career highs with five runs batted in and the Giants used an eight-run fifth inning at San Francisco.

Barry Bonds scored four runs for the Giants, and Mark Gardner (4-2) gave up three runs and six hits over seven innings.

Lenny Harris, a utility player for the Reds, pitched the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order with a strikeout and two flyouts.

Pittsburgh 4, New York 3--Jason Schmidt, the NL’s hottest pitcher, beat the league’s hottest team at Pittsburgh as the Pirates ended the Mets’ nine-game winning streak.

Schmidt (8-1), the NL’s first eight-game winner, had a shutout until Mike Piazza homered with two outs in the eighth. Schmidt gave up six hits before leaving in the ninth following a leadoff single by Carlos Baerga and a double by Edgardo Alfonzo.

Philadelphia 6, Montreal 2--Gregg Jefferies homered and broke an eighth-inning tie with an run-scoring single for the Phillies at Philadelphia.

Scott Rolen followed Jefferies’ hit with a three-run homer off Mike Maddux (1-2) as the Phillies ended a three-game losing streak.

Chicago 10, Florida 2--Sammy Sosa, returning to the lineup after missing three games because of a sprained thumb, continued his long-ball streak with two homers at Chicago.

Sosa hit a two-run homer in the first and a three-run homer in the eighth, his 14th and 15th this year. It was the third time in his last four games that Sosa has hit two homers.

Atlanta 5, Milwaukee 2--Greg Maddux pitched a five-hitter and won his sixth consecutive game as the Braves beat the Brewers in their first game at Milwaukee County Stadium since Sept. 22, 1965.

Maddux (8-2) struck out a season-high 10, one short of his career best, and didn’t walk a batter in helping end the Braves’ four-game losing streak and Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak.

Arizona 6, Colorado 4--Andy Benes pitched a eight strong innings, Devon White drove in two runs at Denver as the Diamondbacks ended a three-game losing streak.