July 13, 2000 - Cards Drop 13-Run Bomb on White Sox

Thursday, July 13, 2000 - At Comiskey Park II (Andy Benes - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent:  Chicago White Sox (Mike Sirotka - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance:  32,263

Four years and one day after the St Louis Cardinals annihilated the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field - 13-3 -  with a franchise-record seven home run attack - the Cardinals dropped another 13-run bomb at Comiskey Park - clobbering the White Sox - 13-5.  Four Redbird home runs were a part of the arsenal this time around - giving Andy Benes (10-3) a relatively easy seven-innings pitched win.

The Cardinals wasted no time in getting down to business - scoring a pair of first-inning runs on a pair of solo home runs - the first by Edgar Renteria and the other by Fernando Tatis.

They tacked on three more runs in the third-inning, on an RBI single by Eric Davis and a two-run double by Ray Lankford - to build a 5-0 lead - which grew to 7-0 in the fourth-inning after Tatis hit his second home run of the game - a two-out two-run shot, which chased starting pitcher Mike Sirotka (8-7).

In the fifth-inning, with Kevin Beirne now pitching for the White Sox, the Cardinals got something going after two were out.  After Mike Matheny singled to left, Shawon Dunston doubled down the left field line, and when left fielder Carlos Lee bobbled the ball, Matheny was able to score an unearned run.  Although Dunston wasn't credited with an RBI this time, he more than made up for it his next trip to the plate - in the seventh-inning.

Before that, however, the White Sox were able to score a run in the sixth-inning - on an RBI single off the bat of Paul Konerko - driving in Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who had doubled previously.

Heading into the seventh-inning with an 8-1 lead, the Cardinals sent ten batters to the plate - starting with a lead-off single by Eric Davis, who would strike out to end the inning.  In between, Ray Lankford followed Davis' single with one of his own - then one out later, Mike Matheny walked to load the bases.  At this point, White Sox manager Jerry Manuel replaced Beirne with Jesus Pena - whose first pitch to Dunston was promptly deposited into the left field bleachers, for a grand slam home run.  The Cardinals added another run on a Jim Edmonds sacrifice fly that scored Fernando Vina from third, to build a very comfortable 13-1 lead.

After Benes allowed another run in the bottom of the seventh, manager Tony LaRussa gave him the rest of the night off - bringing in Mike James to work the eighth-inning - who gave up a solo home run to Chris Singleton.  Then, Heathcliff Slocumb made it through the ninth, after being touched for a couple more cosmetic runs.

In the end, every Cardinal batter in the starting lineup - except Craig Paquette - had at least one hit and scored at least one run.  With one swing of the bat, Dunston had 4 RBI - Tatis drove in three - Lankford added two more RBI - while Renteria, Edmonds and Davis had one apiece.

Missing from the lineup was a gimpy-kneed Mark McGwire, who was still the number one power source for the Cardinals this season - but they had plenty to spare tonight.

June 15, 2001 - Big Mac, Bobby Bo Crush White Sox

Friday, June 15, 2001 - At Busch Stadium II:  The Cardinals used the long-ball to facilitate a 10-3 bashing of the Chicago White Sox - as an injury-plagued Mark McGwire had the type of game reminiscent of 1998 - four hits (including a pair of home runs), three runs scored and four runs driven in.

Cardinals starter Andy Benes (6-4) held the White Sox to three runs in 6.2 innings - good enough to win - especially when pinch hitter Bobby Bonilla turned a slim 4-3 St Louis advantage into an 8-3 blowout, with an eighth-inning grand slam home run.

White sox starter Jon Garland (2-3) only allowed three runs himself, in five innings pitched.  But he was tagged with the loss thanks to a bullpen that was clobbered for seven runs over the final three innings.

Edgar Renteria and Placido Planco had driven in two of the four runs for the Redbirds, prior to Bonilla's bases loaded blast.

McGwire's second home run of the night - an eighth-inning two-run shot - closed out the scoring for the Cardinals (34-32) - who had been struggling to stay above .500 for most of the season.

That struggle would continue all the way to the All Star break.  After salvaging the last game of a three-game series at Cleveland, St Louis was in fact, just a .500 ball club, with a 43-43 record.  A strong second half (50-26) got them in the postseason - as a wild card.

Cardinal fans are no doubt hoping for similar results in 2014.  Don't worry.  They'll start hitting again.