The St. Louis Cardinals won their first game with Larry Walker when rookie Yadier Molina blooped a bases-loaded single to center with two outs in the ninth inning Saturday for a 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Mets.
Walker, acquired in a trade with Colorado on Friday night, was welcomed with a standing ovation that lasted well over a minute when he pinch-hit with two on and one out in the seventh. A near-sellout crowd of 45,364 stayed on its feet throughout the at-bat and gave him another standing ovation even after he struck out against Kris Benson.
But Walker participated in the winning rally. The fans booed when the five-time All-Star was walked intentionally by Mike Stanton (0-5) with runners on second and third and two outs in the ninth. Molina followed by dumping a soft single into shallow left-center.
Walker, the 1997 NL MVP, arrived at Busch Stadium about a half-hour before the game, too late to be in the starting lineup with his new team. But he went to right field after pinch-hitting, perhaps easing his transition to St. Louis after 91/2 seasons in Colorado.
Steve Kline and Julian Tavarez (4-3) combined to strike out the side in the top of the ninth for the Cardinals.
Rockies fill Walker’s spot
Colorado recalled outfielder Jorge Piedra to fill the roster spot vacated by Walker. Piedra was hitting .334 with 15 home runs at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
“From the reports I got from all of our people in our minor-league development system, he basically outplayed all the other guys in the outfield from Day One,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
RESULTS, SYNOPSIS
N.Y. Mets 1 at St. Louis 2
W: Tavarez (4-3)
L: Stanton (0-5)
Albert Pujols was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. He has struck out twice in game only 3 times this season. Mets’ Mike Cameron, who was 0-for-2, has 8 homers in 1st 12 games of 13-game trip.
Atlanta 6 at Arizona 2
W: Byrd (4-3)
L: Gonzalez (0-5)
Paul Byrd won consecutive starts for 1st time in nearly 2 years. Chipper Jones had 2 RBIs. Rafael Furcal had RBI double. Braves won for 9th time in 10 games and are 17-5 since All-Star break.
Milwaukee 0 at Florida 5
W: Valdez (10-6)
L: Obermueller (3-6)
Jeff Conine hit grand slam. Ismael Valdez pitched 6 shutout innings to win his debut with Marlins. Valdez, acquired in trade with San Diego, allowed 2 hits, walked 3. Brewers have lost 15 of 19.
Montreal 8 at Houston 3
W: Rauch (1-0)
L: Weathers (6-6)
Jon Rauch, acquired from White Sox in Carl Everett trade, pitched 6 innings, allowed 3 runs, 7 hits, struck out 4, walked 1 a day after being recalled from minors. Alex Gonzalez hit 2-run homer.
Cincinnati 5 at Colorado 9
W: Simpson (1-1)
L: Wilson (9-3)
Jeromy Burnitz, Preston Wilson hit consecutive HRs. Rockies had 5-run 6th. Burnitz had 2 hits to end 1-for-15 slide. Vinny Castilla had 2 RBIs. Jorge Piedra had 2 RBIs with 1st major-league hit.
Pittsburgh 3 at San Diego 1
W: K. Wells (5-6)
L: D. Wells (6-7)
S: Mesa (31)
Kip Wells allowed 4 hits in 8 2/3 innings to end Pirates 5-game skid. He earned 2nd win in 14 starts. Pirates took 2-0 lead in 1st on Craig Wilson’s RBI single. He scored on Ty Wigginton’s double.
Philadelphia 3 at Los Angeles 6
W: Perez (5-4)
L: Abbott (1-6)
S: Gagne (33)
Odalis Perez pitched 7 scoreless innings to win for 1st time in 7 starts. Dodgers’ Kazuhisa Ishii, who surrendered 4 HRs in 2 innings Friday and retired 6 of 12 batters, was demoted to bullpen.
