CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 3, 2011

MILWAUKEE — Manager Ron Roenicke wants Casey McGehee to play a big role in the Brewers’ offense, not try to carry the club. McGehee did both Wednesday.

The Brewers third baseman homered three times and Milwaukee rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 and add to their NL Central lead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had three in a game ever. It’s something I’ll definitely remember. It was kind of one of those out of body experiences,” McGehee said. “It was nice, especially to be able to sit back and enjoy it that we were able to win the game.”

McGehee hit go-ahead, two-run homers in both the first and third innings and added a seventh-inning solo shot to give Milwaukee its eighth win in nine games at Miller Park. Corey Hart also homered for the Brewers, who extended their lead over the Cardinals to 3 ½ games in the division.

Rafael Furcal hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Randy Wolf (8-8) in his fourth game since being acquired Sunday in a trade with the Dodgers, but new Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson struggled.

Jackson (1-1) made his second start with St. Louis since being acquired in a three-team trade with the White Sox. He gave up 10 runs — eight earned — and allowed 14 hits over seven innings of extended work because of St. Louis’ worn-down bullpen following an 11-inning win on Tuesday.

“We’re playing 20 in a row,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We needed to get as deep in his allotment today as he could. He took it for us. We appreciate it.”

David Freese singled in a run to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the first. Hart homered to start the bottom of the inning and McGehee hit a two-out, two-run home run to make it 3-1.

Furcal’s three-run homer — his first in a Cardinals uniform — gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead in the second, but McGehee answered again with another two-run homer in the third to put Milwaukee ahead for good, 5-4. McGehee’s second homer was hit so hard that left fielder Matt Holliday never moved to try and chase it.

The Brewers pulled away from there, improving to a majors-best 41-15 at home this season.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina cost St. Louis two unearned runs when Ryan Braun scored on a passed ball in the fifth, and George Kottaras scored from third to make it 9-5 after Molina threw a ball into center field trying to catch Hart stealing in the sixth.

McGehee followed with a solo shot in the seventh for the final margin and came out for a curtain call. The third baseman appears to be breaking out of his season-long slump. He’s hitting .351 with 12 RBI over his last 15 games to lift his batting average from .221 to .240.

“He puts more on himself than maybe he should. He’s not the guy that’s going to carry this team,” Roenicke said. “He’s a huge part in that offense and I don’t ever want him thinking if he’s not doing his part, that’s the reason why we’re not winning because he’s big for us, but so are a lot of other guys.”

The Brewers need a hitter in the fifth spot to protect Prince Fielder since Rickie Weeks went out of the lineup with a severely sprained ankle and may need up to six weeks to recover.

“I feel like the guys in here have definitely stood by me, had confidence in me,” McGehee said. “I think especially with Rick being out, we’ve all got to kind of band together, pick up the slack because that’s something that’s really tough to replace.”

It was a heated series throughout and could be a prelude of things to come — the teams square off nine more times this season with a three-game matchup beginning Tuesday in St. Louis.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left, by no means, no matter what happened in this series was going to be the nail in the coffin either way,” McGehee said. “We’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we’re definitely, I feel like, on the right track.”

Milwaukee won Monday’s opener 6-2 and the Cardinals complained about the LED ribbon scoreboards around Miller Park giving the home team an unfair lighting advantage. The Cardinals took Tuesday’s game 8-7 in 11 after bean ball warnings were issued to both benches in the seventh. Furcal saved the game with a catch in the ninth, Molina confronted umpire Rob Drake and was ejected in the 10th and Lance Berkman won it with a two-out hit in the 11th.

Molina and the Cardinals had not heard what discipline the All-Star catcher might receive for his actions with Drake.

Albert Pujols played after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday night near where he broke his left wrist earlier this season. He finished 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

“He’ll never admit to anything. It is what it is,” La Russa said. “I’m sure he’s sore. No excuses.”

Notes

• Roenicke said crew chief Gary Darling asked both managers to come to the plate to exchange the lineups pregame after the theatrics of Tuesday night. “[He] told us `Hey, let’s just play baseball,”‘ Roenicke said.
• McGehee is the 11th player in franchise history to hit three homers in a game.
• The Brewers agreed to terms with LHP Randy Flores on a minor-league contract.
• The Cardinals continue their seven-game road trip with a weekend series in Florida. St. Louis will send RHP Kyle Lohse [9-7, 3.33 ERA] to face Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez [6-4, 3.74 ERA].
• Milwaukee has Thursday off.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Manager Ron Roenicke wants Casey McGehee to play a big role in the Brewers’ offense, not try to carry the club. McGehee did both Wednesday.

The Brewers third baseman homered three times and Milwaukee rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 and add to their NL Central lead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had three in a game ever. It’s something I’ll definitely remember. It was kind of one of those out of body experiences,” McGehee said. “It was nice, especially to be able to sit back and enjoy it that we were able to win the game.”

McGehee hit go-ahead, two-run homers in both the first and third innings and added a seventh-inning solo shot to give Milwaukee its eighth win in nine games at Miller Park. Corey Hart also homered for the Brewers, who extended their lead over the Cardinals to 3½ games in the division.

Rafael Furcal hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Randy Wolf (8-8) in his fourth game since being acquired Sunday in a trade with the Dodgers, but new Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson struggled.

Jackson (1-1) made his second start with St. Louis since being acquired in a three-team trade with the White Sox. He gave up 10 runs – eight earned – and allowed 14 hits over seven innings of extended work because of St. Louis’ worn-down bullpen following an 11-inning win on Tuesday.

“We’re playing 20 in a row,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We needed to get as deep in his allotment today as he could. He took it for us. We appreciate it.”

David Freese singled in a run to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the first. Hart homered to start the bottom of the inning and McGehee hit a two-out, two-run home run to make it 3-1.

Furcal’s three-run homer – his first in a Cardinals uniform – gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead in the second, but McGehee answered again with another two-run homer in the third to put Milwaukee ahead for good, 5-4. McGehee’s second homer was hit so hard that left fielder Matt Holliday never moved to try and chase it.

The Brewers pulled away from there, improving to a majors-best 41-15 at home this season.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina cost St. Louis two unearned runs when Ryan Braun scored on a passed ball in the fifth, and George Kottaras scored from third to make it 9-5 after Molina threw a ball into center field trying to catch Hart stealing in the sixth.

McGehee followed with a solo shot in the seventh for the final margin and came out for a curtain call. The third baseman appears to be breaking out of his season-long slump. He’s hitting .351 with 12 RBIs over his last 15 games to lift his batting average from .221 to .240.

“He puts more on himself than maybe he should. He’s not the guy that’s going to carry this team,” Roenicke said. “He’s a huge part in that offense and I don’t ever want him thinking if he’s not doing his part, that’s the reason why we’re not winning because he’s big for us, but so are a lot of other guys.”

The Brewers need a hitter in the fifth spot to protect Prince Fielder since Rickie Weeks went out of the lineup with a severely sprained ankle and may need up to six weeks to recover.

“I feel like the guys in here have definitely stood by me, had confidence in me,” McGehee said. “I think especially with Rick being out, we’ve all got to kind of band together, pick up the slack because that’s something that’s really tough to replace.”

It was a heated series throughout and could be a prelude of things to come – the teams square off nine more times this season with a three-game matchup beginning Tuesday in St. Louis.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left, by no means, no matter what happened in this series was going to be the nail in the coffin either way,” McGehee said. “We’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we’re definitely, I feel like, on the right track.”

Milwaukee won Monday’s opener 6-2 and the Cardinals complained about the LED ribbon scoreboards around Miller Park giving the home team an unfair lighting advantage. The Cardinals took Tuesday’s game 8-7 in 11 after bean ball warnings were issued to both benches in the seventh. Furcal saved the game with a catch in the ninth, Molina confronted umpire Rob Drake and was ejected in the 10th and Lance Berkman won it with a two-out hit in the 11th.

Molina and the Cardinals had not heard what discipline the All-Star catcher might receive for his actions with Drake.

Albert Pujols played after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday night near where he broke his left wrist earlier this season. He finished 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

“He’ll never admit to anything. It is what it is,” La Russa said. “I’m sure he’s sore. No excuses.”

NOTES: Roenicke said crew chief Gary Darling asked both managers to come to the plate to exchange the lineups pregame after the theatrics of Tuesday night. “(He) told us `Hey, let’s just play baseball,”‘ Roenicke said. … McGehee is the 11th player in franchise history to hit three homers in a game. … The Brewers agreed to terms with LHP Randy Flores on a minor-league

by COLIN FLY

Associated Press

Posted on August 3, 2011 at 4:44 PM

Updated
yesterday at 7:52 PM

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Manager Ron Roenicke wants Casey McGehee to play a big role in the Brewers’ offense, not try to carry the club. McGehee did both Wednesday.

Scores | Standings | Stats | Roster | Schedule | Transactions | Injuries | Depth 

The Brewers third baseman homered three times and Milwaukee rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 and add to their NL Central lead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had three in a game ever. It’s something I’ll definitely remember. It was kind of one of those out of body experiences,” McGehee said. “It was nice, especially to be able to sit back and enjoy it that we were able to win the game.”

McGehee hit go-ahead, two-run homers in both the first and third innings and added a seventh-inning solo shot to give Milwaukee its eighth win in nine games at Miller Park. Corey Hart also homered for the Brewers, who extended their lead over the Cardinals to 3 1/2 games in the division.

Rafael Furcal hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Randy Wolf (8-8) in his fourth game since being acquired Sunday in a trade with the Dodgers, but new Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson struggled.

Jackson (1-1) made his second start with St. Louis since being acquired in a three-team trade with the White Sox. He gave up 10 runs — eight earned — and allowed 14 hits over seven innings of extended work because of St. Louis’ worn-down bullpen following an 11-inning win on Tuesday.

“We’re playing 20 in a row,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We needed to get as deep in his allotment today as he could. He took it for us. We appreciate it.”

David Freese singled in a run to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the first. Hart homered to start the bottom of the inning and McGehee hit a two-out, two-run home run to make it 3-1.

Furcal’s three-run homer — his first in a Cardinals uniform — gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead in the second, but McGehee answered again with another two-run homer in the third to put Milwaukee ahead for good, 5-4. McGehee’s second homer was hit so hard that left fielder Matt Holliday never moved to try and chase it.

The Brewers pulled away from there, improving to a majors-best 41-15 at home this season.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina cost St. Louis two unearned runs when Ryan Braun scored on a passed ball in the fifth, and George Kottaras scored from third to make it 9-5 after Molina threw a ball into center field trying to catch Hart stealing in the sixth.

McGehee followed with a solo shot in the seventh for the final margin and came out for a curtain call. The third baseman appears to be breaking out of his season-long slump. He’s hitting .351 with 12 RBIs over his last 15 games to lift his batting average from .221 to .240.

“He puts more on himself than maybe he should. He’s not the guy that’s going to carry this team,” Roenicke said. “He’s a huge part in that offense and I don’t ever want him thinking if he’s not doing his part, that’s the reason why we’re not winning because he’s big for us, but so are a lot of other guys.”

The Brewers need a hitter in the fifth spot to protect Prince Fielder since Rickie Weeks went out of the lineup with a severely sprained ankle and may need up to six weeks to recover.

“I feel like the guys in here have definitely stood by me, had confidence in me,” McGehee said. “I think especially with Rick being out, we’ve all got to kind of band together, pick up the slack because that’s something that’s really tough to replace.”

It was a heated series throughout and could be a prelude of things to come — the teams square off nine more times this season with a three-game matchup beginning Tuesday in St. Louis.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left, by no means, no matter what happened in this series was going to be the nail in the coffin either way,” McGehee said. “We’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we’re definitely, I feel like, on the right track.”

Milwaukee won Monday’s opener 6-2 and the Cardinals complained about the LED ribbon scoreboards around Miller Park giving the home team an unfair lighting advantage. The Cardinals took Tuesday’s game 8-7 in 11 after bean ball warnings were issued to both benches in the seventh. Furcal saved the game with a catch in the ninth, Molina confronted umpire Rob Drake and was ejected in the 10th and Lance Berkman won it with a two-out hit in the 11th.

Molina and the Cardinals had not heard what discipline the All-Star catcher might receive for his actions with Drake.

Albert Pujols played after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday night near where he broke his left wrist earlier this season. He finished 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

“He’ll never admit to anything. It is what it is,” La Russa said. “I’m sure he’s sore. No excuses.”

NOTES: Roenicke said crew chief Gary Darling asked both managers to come to the plate to exchange the lineups pregame after the theatrics of Tuesday night. “(He) told us `Hey, let’s just play baseball,”‘ Roenicke said. … McGehee is the 11th player in franchise history to hit three homers in a game. … The Brewers agreed to terms with LHP Randy Flores on a minor-league contract. … The Cardinals continue their seven-game road trip with a weekend series in Florida. St. Louis will send RHP Kyle Lohse (9-7, 3.33 ERA) to face Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez (6-4, 3.74 ERA). … Milwaukee has Thursday off.

 

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HOUSTON (AP) – Prep star C.J. McElroy is picking baseball over football.

The University of Houston signee and St. Louis Cardinals draft pick will sign with the major-league team. The Cardinals drafted him in the third round of the major-league baseball draft in June.

KRIV-TV first reported McElroy’s decision, and University of Houston officials confirmed it on Tuesday morning.

The 5-foot-10 McElroy played center field for Clear Creek High School. He hit .488 with five homers, 20 RBIs and stole a school-record 33 bases as a senior.

McElroy’s father, Chuck, played in the major leagues from 1989-2001.

Associated Press

Cardinals 2, Phillies 1

ST. LOUIS — Lance Berkman lined a bases-loaded single over a drawn-in outfield with one out in the ninth inning, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory over the run-starved Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

Jaime Garcia allowed five hits and an unearned run in eight innings for the Cardinals, but he lost a 1-0 lead in the eighth after second baseman Tyler Greene dropped Jimmy Rollins’ routine pop fly with one out. Rollins scored on a sacrifice fly by Placido Polanco.

Fernando Salas (2-0) had a strikeout in a perfect ninth.

Ryan Theriot, Jon Jay and Albert Pujols opened the ninth with three straight singles off Danys Baez (1-2) — Jay on a broken bat and Pujols on a flare that plopped into right field barely out of the reach of second baseman Pete Orr. Matt Holliday grounded into a forceout at the plate with the infield in before Berkman lined J.C. Romero’s first pitch over the head of center fielder Mike Martinez.

National League

Reds 7, Cubs 5 at Cincinnati: Reliever Kerry Wood’s throwing error let two runs score and Chris Heisey followed with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth that lifted the Reds.

Wood (1-3) threw wide of third while trying to get a forceout on Ryan Hanigan’s sacrifice bunt, allowing the catcher to go all the way to third while the tying runs scored. Heisey put the Reds ahead, and Joey Votto added an RBI double.

Rockies 5, Giants 3 at Denver: Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run single off Javier Lopez capped a four-run eighth-inning rally as Colorado surged back into first place in the N.L. West.

Braves 3, Astros 1 at Atlanta: Brian McCann tied the game with a pinch-hit, two-out homer in the ninth inning, then hit a two-run shot in the 11th to lift the Braves past Houston.

Marlins vs. Mets at New York, ppd.: Tuesday night’s game between Florida and the Mets was postponed because of rain. It will be made up July 18.

Pirates vs. Nationals at Washington, ppd.: Tuesday’s game between Pittsburgh and the Nationals was rained out. A makeup date will be announced later.

American League

Indians 7, Royals 3 at Kansas City, Mo.: Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera both homered and Travis Hafner hit a bases-loaded double, powering Cleveland past Kansas City.

Yankees 6, Rays 2 at St. Petersburg, Fla.: Alex Rodriguez homered twice, Jorge Posada had two hits and New York stopped a six-game losing streak.

White Sox 4, Rangers 3 at Chicago: Gordon Beckham scored on Cody Eppley’s wild pitch in the eighth inning, lifting the White Sox.

Orioles vs. Red Sox at Boston, ppd.: Baltimore’s game against the Sox has been postponed because of rain. No makeup date was announced.

Blue Jays vs, Tigers at Detroit, ppd.: Toronto’s game against the Tigers was postponed because of rain. Toronto and Detroit will make it up with a night game June 27.

La Russa fires back at Reds’ Brennaman

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa doesn’t like what Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman has to say about his team.

Brennaman criticized St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter and pitching coach Dave Duncan on the air Monday, a day after the Reds beat the Cardinals 9-7 to sweep their three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

The game ended with Cardinals screaming at Reds closer Francisco Cordero, who then gestured to them in the dugout.

Before the Cardinals’ game Tuesday in St. Louis, La Russa noted that Brennaman is in the broadcasters’ wing of baseball’s Hall of Fame.

“He earned the right to get into the Hall of Fame,” La Russa said. “And now he ought to keep earning that respect instead of abusing it.”