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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Darryl Kile vs. the Montreal Expos is no
contest right now.
|  | | The Cardinals' Darryl Kile has only given up one run the last two years against the Expos. |
Kile dominated the Expos for the third straight time, giving up five hits in seven scoreless innings, in the St. Louis Cardinals'
7-2 victory Tuesday night.
"The first pitch of the game was a curveball and I said, 'Uh
oh, he has a good curveball today,' " Expos manager Felipe Alou
said. "We haven't been hitting the ball very well the last several
games and tonight we run into Kile with good stuff."
Kile (3-2) struck out seven, walked none and retired his last
eight batters. He's 3-0 against Montreal in the last two seasons,
giving up one run in 23 innings with 23 strikeouts and two walks.
"It's not just Montreal, he's just got a lot of weapons,"
manager Tony La Russa said of Kile, coming off his first 20-win
season.
Rookie Albert Pujols had two doubles and three RBIs for the
Cardinals, who have won only four of their last 11. The Expos are
3-10 following a 6-1 start.
Kile allowed two hits with one out in the first, then got Vladimir Guerrero to ground out and struck out Lee Stevens.
"It's huge," Kile said. "The kid pitching over there is tough
and to give him the lead early would have been trouble."
He gave up two hits in the third, but center fielder Jim Edmonds
saved a run when he threw out pitcher Javier Vazquez at the plate
trying to score on Guerrero's single.
Pujols, who raised his average two points to .377,
had a two-run double in the third to produce the first runs of the
game. He had a run-scoring double in the fourth behind Edmonds'
three-run double as the Cardinals took a 6-0 lead.
Pujols, 21, leads the Cardinals with 19 RBIs. He has 26 hits,
two behind Jose Vidro for the league lead in hits. Vidro, who is
batting .341, was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and drove in a run
off Mike Timlin in the eighth.
Pujols also grounded into two double plays and flied out.
"After my first at-bat I knew what they were trying to do with
me," Pujols said. "So I just tried to make an adjustment."
Vazquez (2-2) allowed six runs -- four earned -- and nine hits in
four innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
"I didn't have my best stuff, but I battled," Vasquez said.
"You're going to have games like that."
Edmonds' hit broke it wide open for the Cardinals as left
fielder Geoff Blum misjudged the ball. Blum ranged to his right for
Edmonds' fly ball and it sailed over his head.
"I think limited experience in left field is hurting me right
now," Blum said. "I just took off, got a bad angle and the ball
got caught up in the lights for a split second."
Stevens hit his fifth homer leading off the ninth against Dave
Veres, pitching for the first time in nine days. Veres had been
sidelined by numbness in his right index finger.
Game notes
Edgar Renteria, who entered in an 0-for-11 slump, got
infield hits his first two at-bats. ... The Cardinals have won six
of their last eight against the Expos. ... Stevens was 0-for-3 with
two strikeouts against Kile and is 1-for-9 with four strikeouts for
his career. ... Michael Barrett is 3-for-25 in the first eight games
of a 13-game trip with one RBI.
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RECAPS
Boston 9
Minnesota 4
Anaheim 7
Cleveland 2
Baltimore 8
Detroit 3
Seattle 7
NY Yankees 5
Toronto 7
Texas 5
Tampa Bay 4
Kansas City 2
Oakland 6
Chi. White Sox 4
Houston 11
Atlanta 6
Milwaukee 6
NY Mets 4
St. Louis 7
Montreal 2
Colorado 14
Chicago Cubs 1
Arizona 9
Florida 8
Philadelphia 12
San Diego 7
Pittsburgh 5
Los Angeles 1
Cincinnati 9
San Francisco 5
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