Cards claim share of first

MILWAUKEE -- Mark McGwire was just about the only one in the St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse who wasn't watching Barry Bonds bat in the ninth inning Tuesday night.

He was in the trainer's room at Miller Park -- where there aren't television sets -- when Bonds grounded out, leaving him with 69 homers, one shy of the record McGwire set three years ago.

But McGwire was with the rest of his teammates as they watched San Francisco finish their win over Houston. That dropped the Astros into a tie for the NL Central lead with the Cardinals, who beat Milwaukee 5-1 Tuesday night.

St. Louis, in first place for the first time since May 28, has won 20 of 25.

Fernando Vina, who hit the first inside-the-park homer at Miller Park, wasn't sure the Cardinals ever would claw their way back atop the NL Central.

"We've just been grinding. It's been a long year for all of us," he said. "We had a tough time in the first half, and after the All-Star break we're playing the way we're capable of."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he saw this night coming.

"Our attitude has been relentless and we haven't taken anything for granted," La Russa said. "We've been pushing and pushing. We pitched well for a long time and what we've done, the middle of our lineup especially, we've got a lot of offensive weapons going right now, too."

Jim Edmonds, who hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, said much of the summer was a waste, but the Cardinals are hitting stride just in time to salvage the season.

"We've kind of been underachieving for four months and hopefully we're putting it together at the right time, at the end of the year when everything's on the line," Edmonds said.

Albert Pujols went 3-for-4 and set the National League rookie record with 353 total bases, and Darryl Kile (16-10) scattered three singles in five innings as the Cardinals stretched their winning streak to six.

The Cardinals, who went 17-5 last month, also won seventh straight over the Brewers, whose 23-48 record since the All-Star break is the exact opposite of the Cardinals' mark.

Milwaukee, completing its ninth straight losing season, lost track of the outs in the third and stayed on the field following Placido Polanco's inning-ending double play.

The infielders threw the ball around the diamond and the outfielders stood in place before they realized it was their turn to bat.

Richie Sexson's ninth-inning homer, his 41st, drove in the only run for Milwaukee, which had four hits.

Pujols singled in the first and scored on Edgar Renteria's sacrifice fly, then doubled in the fourth to tie the rookie total-base record of 352, set by Philadelphia's Richie Allen in 1964. Edmonds drove in Pujols with a single for a 2-0 lead.

Pujols singled in the sixth to set the record before Edmonds' two-run homer off Ben Sheets (10-10). In the ninth, Pujols flied out to the deepest part of the park, center field.

"What a game," La Russa said. "He's got a chance on every pitch you throw him up there. He's got such great plate coverage and hits to all fields."

Vina said the Cardinals wouldn't be in the race without Pujols.

"I call him a freak of nature. You don't see too many people come around like that ever," Vina said. "He doesn't get in a slump. He makes adjustment at-bat to at-bat. He knows what he's doing. He's amazing."

With one out in the fifth, Vina hit an opposite-field liner just out of the reach of diving left fielder Geoff Jenkins. Center fielder Devon White didn't move until the ball skipped past Jenkins, and when it rolled to the wall, Vina scored standing up with his second career inside-the-park home run.

"He was just trying to make a great catch," Vina said. "But I had a little cut on the ball, so he just missed it."

Vina's homer was his career-high eighth. He also had the first inside-the-park homer at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco.

Sheets lost his sixth straight decision. He hasn't won since June 29, a span of nine starts. He surrendered five earned runs and 11 hits in 6 2-3 innings.

"I thought I made a lot of quality pitches," Sheets said. "And then again, the ones that weren't quality got hammered."