Houston Claims 5-Hour Marathon
National League
A bizarre bounce that turned a foul ball into a base hit for John Cangelosi with two outs in the 16th inning Friday night led to two runs that gave the Houston Astros a 7-5 victory over the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in New York.
With two outs, Cangelosi checked his swing and hit a chop that landed in front of the plate, then headed foul. The ball came down on the grass edge of the dirt running lane - about 2 feet foul halfway down the line - and kicked back into fair territory.
New York infielder Rico Brogna and pitcher Eric Gunderson had no play, and Cangelosi was safe.
Brian Hunter, who had homered in the 15th, drew a walk and Craig Biggio, who also homered in the 15th, hit an infield single that loaded the bases. Jeff Bagwell followed with a two-run single.
Cardinals 6, Giants 5
St. Louis
Ray Lankford hit a tworun homer and stole home as St. Louis Cardinals made new manager Mike Jorgensen’s debut a success with a win against San Francisco.
Padres 12, Pirates 4
Pittsburgh
Andy Benes lost his arbitration case, then ended his 10-game losing streak as San Diego turned Tony Gwynn’s four RBIs and Pittsburgh’s bad defense into a win.
Expos 6, Reds 3
Cincinnati
Moises Alou and Tony Tarasco hit two-run homers in a five-run eighth inning off previously unbeaten John Smiley, powering Montreal past Cincinnati.
Marlins 2, Phillies 1
Philadelphia
Andre Dawson hit his 400th home run in the National League, leading Florida past Philadelphia. The 40-year-old Dawson, who also has 29 American League homers, hit his first home run of the season.
Cubs 2, Dodgers 0
Chicago
Howard Johnson hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, breaking a scoreless tie and giving Chicago its victory over Los Angeles.
Braves 2, Rockies 0
Denver
Tom Glavine pitched a six-hitter for his first shutout in nearly two years and helped his own cause with an RBI single as Atlanta defeated Colorado.
Clearing the bases
Mike Jorgensen is the 47th manager in St. Louis Cardinals history, and the 34th to have played for the team… . Chicago, its run production lagging and its quick start nearly wiped out, traded veteran righthanded pitcher Mike Morgan and two prospects to St. Louis for first baseman-third baseman Todd Zeile. Zeile, who had been scheduled for an arbitration hearing, signed a one-year, $3.7 million contract with the Cubs.
Chicago batters have struck out 115 times in 15 games during June. They have only 35 walks this month and lead the majors in fewest drawn this season… . San Diego’s Andy Benes, pitching hours after losing in arbitration, settled for $3.4 million. He sought $4.4 million despite going 6-14 last year… .
Colorado’s Dante Bichette had three singles, extending his hitting streak to 21 games, longest in the majors this season. … Florida third baseman Terry Pendleton had his four-game suspension for bumping an umpire upheld by National League president Len Coleman.