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GAME LOG
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Jeff Kent has found the secret on how to hit against Francisco Cordova.
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| Kent |
Kent drove in six runs, leading the San Francisco Giants to a
10-2 victory Thursday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Kent hit a two-run homer in the first and added two-run doubles
in the third and fourth, all against Cordova. Kent walked with two
runners on in the sixth and struck out in the eighth.
Kent, with 96 RBI, passed Ken Griffey, Jr. and Sammy Sosa for
the NL lead. He was one shy of his career-best RBI game.
Kent has three homers and two doubles in his last five at-bats
against the Pirates right-handed starter, dating to last year. He
started 4-for-17 with eight strikeouts against Cordova.
"I'm just grateful for the opportunities I do come up with,"
Kent said. "My job is to drive in runs. Some days you feel good
and some days you don't. You just have to make adjustments."
Kent is now batting .409 (9-for-22) against Cordova, with four
homers and 13 RBI.
"Everybody knows Kent can drive in runs," Pirates manager Gene
Lamont said. "Barry (Bonds) probably makes him better, but it
doesn't matter who he plays with. He produces runs, and he gets big
base hits too. It's not just home runs and doubles. If you make a
mistake, he doesn't miss many. On that home run pitch, if he sees
the same pitch 10 times, he hits seven or eight homers."
Russ Ortiz (6-10) overcame a shaky start to win. He allowed one
run on five hits and struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings for the Giants,
who won for the third time in four games to remain one percentage
point ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.
Ortiz allowed the first three batters to reach in the first, but
gave up just one run on Kevin Young's sacrifice fly.
"It's one of those things in the first inning I've been plagued
with all season," Ortiz said. "I just forgot about it as soon as
I could. I told myself to stay aggressive and make my pitches. I
knew these guys would score enough runs for me."
Cordova (6-8) lasted just 3 1/3 innings, his second-shortest
outing of the season. He gave up a season-high seven runs and 11
hits.
"He didn't have his breaking ball at all," Lamont said. "He's
been pitching a while with a sore elbow. He says it's OK, but maybe
he developed some bad habits."
Cordova has a 1.77 ERA in his six victories and is 0-8 in his 11 other starts with a 7.57 ERA.
Marvin Benard led off the first with a double. Two outs later, Kent hit a 1-0 pitch from Cordova into the left-field bleachers for
his 26th homer.
"They way we've been swinging lately, we were having some long
days," Kent said. "Today we needed to score some runs."
Bill Mueller and Bonds opened the third with singles and scored
on Kent's double to the left-field gap. He doubled home Benard and
Bonds in the fourth. Ellis Burks hit a sacrifice fly in the third.
The Giants added a run in the sixth on J.T. Snow's sacrifice
fly. Armando Rios hit a two-run homer in the seventh.
Pat Meares hit his ninth homer in the ninth for the Pirates.
Game notes
Kent drove in seven runs against Cincinnati on July 24,
1998. ... RHP Rich Loiselle was activated from the 15-day disabled list before Thursday's game. INF Luis Sojo was designated for assignment to make room on the roster. ... RHP Joe Nathan allowed a run on four hits in three-plus innings of a rehab start Wednesday
at Triple-A Fresno. ... Benard rejoined the team after missing the three-game series in Milwaukee due to a death in the family. ... Ortiz has struck out 10 or more hitters on five occasions in his career, three this season. ... Cordova is 2-5 in 10 career
appearances against the Giants with an ERA of 7.06 (34 runs in 43
1/3 innings), his worst against any team.
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NY Yankees 3
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Toronto 3
Texas 1
Cleveland 5
Tampa Bay 1
Florida 4
Houston 3
San Diego 6
Chicago Cubs 5
Arizona 8
Atlanta 4
San Francisco 10
Pittsburgh 2
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