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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- It took Montreal Expos manager Felipe Alou
exactly one hitter to realize his team was in trouble.
Darryl Kile served up a steady diet of curveballs, his big
pitch, in the St. Louis Cardinals' 6-1 victory Thursday. For the
third straight game he was in total command, allowing five hits and
striking out 10 in seven innings.
|  | | Darryl Kile walked a batter for the first time in three games, but was still in command Thursday. |
"Right away I knew were in for a tough day with our young guys
swinging at his stuff," Alou said.
Kile (17-9) allowed one walk, his first in the last three
starts, and tied Arizona's Randy Johnson for second in victories in
the NL. Atlanta's Tom Glavine has 19.
"It's so much fun to watch him pitch," manager Tony La Russa
said. "He is concentrating fiercely and competing fiercely, and
he's got good stuff. You watch the same guy go up there three
at-bats and he goes after them different ways."
Kile, who was 8-13 with a 6.61 ERA in Colorado last year, has
four starts remaining and has a shot at 20 wins. But Kile, who won 19
for the Astros in 1997, said he's not thinking about that.
"You know, right now the only thing I'm thinking about is what
I've got to do to pitch against the Pirates," Kile said, referring
to his next start on Tuesday. "You can't change what happened
today, good or bad, and you've got to get ready for the next one."
Kile struck out Wilton Guerrero all three times he faced him and
finished his stint with a flourish, dropping to sidearm to fan
Peter Bergeron to end the seventh. Kile's only trouble came in the
fourth when he left the bases loaded.
Jim Edmonds hit a two-run home run off Tony Armas (4-8) in the
first and a sacrifice fly to the right-field wall in the fifth.
Edmonds, who has 39 homers and 95 RBI, also flied out to the
center field wall in the fourth.
"I almost get three every day," Edmonds said. "Wrong time of
the year. Wind's blowing in."
Will Clark also homered in the fourth and Mike Matheny had an
RBI single in the sixth for the Cardinals, who have won seven of
eight. Kile singled for his eighth hit of the year and scored on
Matheny's hit.
The NL Central leaders took three of four from the Expos for
their eighth straight series victory.
"You look at what they had last year, what they have playing
now and what they have available on that bench -- that's a deep
operation," Alou said. "No wonder they are where they are in the
standings."
Armas, who was on the disabled list 51 days with a strained
right rotator cuff, made his first start since July 14. He lasted 4
1/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, and lost his third
straight decision.
The Expos had to change their lineup just before gametime after
second baseman Jose Vidro was scratched with a sprained left elbow.
Vidro, second in the NL with 177 hits, will have an MRI on Friday.
Alou juggled three slots as a result of Vidro's injury, and had
to make a fourth change when Milton Bradley strained his left
oblique muscle on a pop-up to lead off the game, inserting
Bergeron.
Andy Tracy, who was not in the lineup originally, was 3-for-4
and scored the Expos' only run on Geoff Blum's double in the sixth.
"It was kind of weird how everything transpired," Tracy said.
"But that's been my role lately, coming off the bench and filling
in. It's a good role for me."
Placido Polanco's RBI single put the Cardinals ahead 6-1 in the
eighth. Polanco was later doubled off first to end the inning
because he failed to retouch second on J.D. Drew's fly ball to
center.
St. Louis' Matt Morris struck out four, pitching two hitless
innings to close the game.
Game notes
Cardinals second baseman Fernando Vina sat out the
four-game series with bruised ribs and likely will miss the team's
upcoming three-game series in Milwaukee. ... Vladimir Guerrero
twice was robbed of a hit, by left-fielder Drew's running catch at
the warning track to end the first, and by a diving stab by third
baseman Fernando Tatis in the sixth. ... The Expos are 57-80, the
same record they had at this stage last year. ... The Cardinals are
20-9 when Clark starts at first base. He's 20-for-45 the last 14
games.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 11
Minnesota 6
Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 3
Anaheim 6
Detroit 4
Seattle 8
Toronto 1
Chi. White Sox 10
Texas 6
NY Yankees 7
Kansas City 3
St. Louis 6
Montreal 1
Houston 7
Florida 3
Atlanta 4
Arizona 0
San Francisco 13
San Diego 0
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