Pirates Sink Cardinals

Brian Giles got his $45 million or so from Pittsburgh. The way he's playing, Jason Kendall may get the Pirates' next big contract.

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

Kendall had a two-run homer in the first, an RBI single in the second, a double in the third and a two-run triple in the eighth. He is the first Pirates player to hit for the cycle since Gary Redus at Cincinnati on Aug. 25, 1989.

No Pirates player had hit for the cycle in Pittsburgh since Wally Westlake at Forbes Field on June 14, 1949, against the Boston Braves. No Pirates player had accomplished it at home since Three Rivers opened in 1970, although Jeff Kent of the Giants did so only last season.

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

"Nothing he does is amazing," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He's one of the best young players in the league. He's a big plus for their club, when you have a catcher that does all those things he does."

Earlier in the day, the Pirates signed Giles to a five-year contact extension worth about $45 million. Kendall, whose contract runs out after the 2001 season, apparently wants comparable money and the Pirates hope to sign him before the end of the season.

One night after Mark McGwire hit three homers and drove in seven runs in Philadelphia, he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout as Benson held the Cardinals without an extra-base hit. St. Louis didn't have a hit after Craig Paquette's single in the fourth.

Benson (4-4) seemingly got stronger as he went along, striking out a career-high 11 all from the third inning on. He pitched eight shutout innings, allowing four hits, in beating Milwaukee 3-0 on Sunday.

"Every time I see him, he's a little more polished, so watch out," said the Cardinals' J.D. Drew, who played at Florida State when Benson pitched for Clemson. "He was always a guy who mechanically was right there. All he needed was to polish his pitches a little more and get some more experience, and he's done that."

Since starting 0-3, Benson has allowed nine earned runs while winning four of six starts, lowering his ERA from 5.96 to 3.02.

"I didn't throw that many curve balls, but I felt I could throw all four of my pitches when I had to," Benson said. "I just wanted to keep getting ahead of the hitters and throw the pitches I wanted to throw."

The expected pitching matchup between St. Louis rookie Rick Ankiel (3-2) and Benson never materialized as the 20-year-old Ankiel gave up seven runs in 2 2-3 innings in the shortest of his eight starts.

"I don't know what it was. I couldn't find a rhythm," Ankiel said. "I had a chance to set a tone and I didn't do it."

Ankiel, whose .192 opponents' batting average was the second lowest among NL starters entering the game, has lost his two starts to the Pirates by a combined score of 23-8.

Kevin Young also homered as the Pirates, only 17-30 against left-handed starters last season, improved to 7-7 against them this season.

The Pirates jumped on Ankiel so quickly they had an 8-1 lead by the time the major league umpires arrived in the fourth inning. The crew was delayed in Toronto by weather and was replaced by one major league replacement umpire, Dan Iassogna, and three college umpires.

The first four Pirates batters reached base against Ankiel, with Mike Benjamin leading off the frst with a single ahead of Kendall's second homer, a shot down the right-field line on a 3-2 pitch. Kendall, who moved from third to second in the order earlier this week, was 4-for-5 and has nine hits in his last five games.

Bruce Aven walked ahead of Giles' RBI single, and Pat Meares added a run-scoring single later in the inning.

Benson, who also had a single, helped himself by walking and scoring on Kendall's single in the second, and the Pirates chased Ankiel with another four-run inning in the third. They added a third four-run inning in the eighth.

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