Kendall’s Cycle Powers Pirates’ 13-1 Romp

Jason Kendall became the first Pirate to hit for the cycle in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium and Kris Benson pitched a three-hitter in a 13-1 victory Friday night over the St. Louis Cardinals.

One game after Mark McGwire hit three homers and drove in seven runs in Philadelphia, the St. Louis slugger was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout as Benson held the Cardinals without an extra-base hit.

Kendall had a two-run homer in the first, a run-scoring single in the second, a double in the third, a two-run triple in the eighth and a career-high five runs batted in. He is the first Pirate player to hit for the cycle in Three Rivers Stadium’s 30-year history and the first to do so anywhere since Gary Redus at Cincinnati on Aug. 25, 1989.

“Keith [Osik] was kidding me in the eighth, ‘You’ve got to get a triple,’ ” Kendall said. “When I hit it in the [right-center] gap, I honestly thought it bounced over the wall [for a double], but I wasn’t stopping at second. It’s funny, a couple of years ago in Montreal I needed a single to do it, but I struck out.”

Remarkably, Kendall is only 10 months removed from a serious ankle injury that might have ended some players’ careers.

“Nothing he does is amazing,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s one of the best young players in the league.”

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Chicago 4, Cincinnati 1--Sammy Sosa hit a two-run double in the first and the Reds’ Dmitri Young connected for the game’s only homer. The Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr. was hitless in three at-bats in his first appearance at Wrigley Field.

Former Dodger Ismael Valdes (1-1) got his first victory since beating the Cubs Aug. 27, giving up one run and five hits in 7 2/3 innings.

San Diego 11, Atlanta 7--Phil Nevin hit his first grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs at Atlanta, stopping the Braves’ six-game winning streak.

Bret Boone added a three-run homer in his return to Atlanta as the Padres scored four runs in the first inning.

Colorado 10, Philadelphia 2--Jeffery Hammonds and Brent Mayne each had four RBIs for the visiting Rockies, and former Dodger Pedro Astacio (4-2) became the winningest pitcher in Colorado history. With 40 wins, he topped Kevin Ritz, 39-28 from 1994-98.

Andy Ashby (2-4) was pounded for eight runs--six earned--and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings as Philadelphia lost for the sixth time in seven games.

New York 4, Arizona 3--Bobby J. Jones (1-1) won for the first time since April 17, 1999, and the Mets posted consecutive wins for the first time this month.

Mike Piazza erased a 3-2 deficit at New York with a two-run homer in the fifth off Todd Stottlemyre (7-2).

Montreal 3, Houston 2--Jose Vidro singled home the winning run with one out in the 10th off Joe Slusarski (0-1) at Montreal.

Milwaukee 11, San Francisco 10--Ron Belliard’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly off Robb Nen (0-1) scored pinch-runner James Mouton, sending the visiting Giants to their seventh loss in a row.