Gaetti’s Clout Repays Debt Conqueror Of Cards In 1987 Helps Them Defeat Padres

Gary Gaetti never forgot what he did to St. Louis fans nine years ago. Now he’s making it up to them.

Gaetti, who helped Minnesota beat St. Louis in the 1987 World Series, hit a three-run home run in the first inning Tuesday as the Cardinals opened the N.L. playoffs with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres.

The teams will have an off day today before resuming the best-of-5 series Thursday.

Gaetti, who grew up in nearby Centralia, Ill., dreaming of playing for the Cardinals, signed with St. Louis as a free agent in the offseason hoping to get back to the playoffs. And like in 1987, when he homered in his first two playoff atbats for the Twins, Gaetti made the most of his first N.L. playoff plate appearance.

“I couldn’t have written a better script for the end of my career,” Gaetti said. “It’s ultra-special for me to be able to do this and have my family here to see it. “Maybe we can win a championship and rectify the damage we did in 1987 and everybody can be happy.”

After Joey Hamilton hit Ron Gant with two outs, Brian Jordan singled. Gaetti, who hit 23 homers in the regular season, followed by hitting a 1-1 fastball over the centerfield wall, sending a charge into the Busch Stadium crowd of 54,193 and shocking Hamilton.

“Most of the time I can tell when it’s going to leave the park,” Hamilton said. “But I was wrong this time.”

Gaetti had 80 RBIs in the regular season and all but 13 of them came after June 1. Against San Diego he had five home runs, 12 RBIs, a .303 average and a game-winning ninth-inning home run in August.

“It seems like they’re pitching me tough, it just seems like I’m able to get the hit,” Gaetti said.

Stottlemyre, who entered the game 0-3 with a 7.50 ERA in the postseason, allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked two. He hasn’t been in the playoffs since 1993, and at 31, he said he’s older and wiser.

“A lot of the games I got too intense, too excited,” Stottlemyre said. “The end result, I didn’t pitch as well as I had been.”

But he remained reserved following the performance.

“This is just one game,” he said. “Let’s not get carried away.”

The Cardinals got strong relief from Rick Honeycutt, who retired Tony Gwynn on a pop to short with two runners on to end the seventh. Dennis Eckersley came on with one out in the eighth, and after putting two runners on in the ninth, he got Gwynn on a comebacker to end the game.

After fielding Gwynn’s grounder, Eckersley held the ball up before throwing to first for the final out and his 12th career postseason save.

“I thought it was kind of a magical moment,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “It did cross my mind that this is as good as it gets.”

Ken Caminiti, the front-runner for the N.L. MVP, struck out three times for San Diego, which was making its first playoff appearance since 1984.

Cardinals 3, Padres 1

San Diego St. Louis ab r h bi ab r h bi RHdsn lf 4 1 2 1 Clayton ss 3 0 1 0 TGwyn rf 5 0 2 0 McGee cf 4 0 0 0 Finley cf 3 0 1 0 Gant lf 2 1 1 0 Cminiti 3b 3 0 0 0 BJrdn rf 4 1 1 0 Joyner 1b 3 0 1 0 Gaetti 3b 3 1 1 3 GVghn ph 1 0 0 0 Mabry 1b 3 0 0 0 Cnfrcco 1b 0 0 0 0 Pgnozzi c 3 0 0 0 CGmez ss 4 0 0 0 Alicea 2b 3 0 2 0 BJhnsn c 4 0 0 0 Sttlmyr p 2 0 0 0 JoReed 2b 4 0 1 0 Hnyctt p 1 0 0 0 Hamltn p 2 0 0 0 Eckrsly p 0 0 0 0 Lvngst ph 1 0 0 0 Blair p 0 0 0 0 CGwyn ph 1 0 1 0 Totals 35 1 8 1 Totals 28 3 6 3 San Diego 000 001 000 - 1 St. Louis 300 000 00x - 3 E-Caminiti (1). DP-San Diego 2. LOBSan Diego 10, St. Louis 4. 2B-TGwynn (1), Alicea 2 (2). HR-RHenderson (1), Gaetti (1). SB-TGwynn (1), Finley (1), Gant 2 (2). CS-Clayton (1), Alicea (1).

San Diego IP H R ER BB SO Hamiltn L,0-1 6 5 3 3 0 6 Blair 2 1 0 0 2 3 St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO Sttlmyr W,1-0 6 5 1 1 2 7 Honeycutt 1 0 0 0 1 Eckersley S,1 1 2 0 0 0 1 HBPby Hamilton (Gant), by Stottlemyre (Finley).

T-2:39. A-54,193 (57,078).