Drew Gets Back At Phillies

The only item thrown onto the field Wednesday night at Veterans Stadium was a baseball J.D. Drew hit 434 feet.

Drew capped a tumultuous stay at Veterans Stadium with a long homer, blocking out the boos and leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Though he was a man of few words after the game most of them cliches Drew did get the last laugh.

Asked if anything was thrown at him Wednesday night, Drew said, "No. Not at all. I've got to get going, guys."

And with that, David Jonathan Drew whose initials are as mixed up as his wild week in Philadelphia was off to more friendly confines.

"He was booed every place he played since last September," Tony La Russa said. "He went about his business. This guy's been terrific. He's got a chance to be outstanding. He just needs experience."

Mark McGwire, who leads the majors with 44 homers, missed the game with tightness in his lower back. The Cardinals said he's expected to play Friday against Sammy Sosa and the Cubs in St. Louis.

Drew popped out in the first, struck out in the third prompting a raucous ovation and grounded out in the ninth. He was 1-for-5, but his leadoff homer in the fifth gave Drew the last laugh in the first chapter of what promises to be a long, bitter rivalry.

Responding to cheers from the crowd, a fan tossed Drew's home-run ball back onto the field. Center fielder Doug Glanville rolled it to the right-field ball boy, who tossed it in the stands. A fan who threw it onto the field a second time was ejected.

A sign in the upper deck read, "Plain and simple, J.D.: We hate you."

But Drew wasn't the only old face to come back and haunt the Phillies.

Garrett Stephenson (3-0), traded to the Cardinals in the deal that brought Ron Gant to Philadelphia, allowed one run and five hits in 7 1-3 innings. He retired 14 straight before Alex Arias' leadoff single in the eighth the Phillies' first hit since the second inning.

Stephenson left the Phillies on bad terms, exchanging insults in the newspapers with Curt Schilling even filing a grievance against the team that claimed he was sent to the minors while he was hurt. It was settled last week, with Stephenson receiving service time but no money.

On Wednesday night, he settled the score. And like Drew, he wouldn't used the word revenge.

"When I went out there, I was not looking at their jerseys," Stephenson said. "I was looking at Scott Rolen or Rico Brogna, and thinking about what I could do to get them out. That's the honest truth."

Phillies manager Terry Francona said losing to Stephenson didn't bother him.

"Maybe for some other people," Francona said. "Probably for Schilling and a few of the coaches, it was tough. But not for me. He was just another guy out there."

Drew gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead with the solo shot off Randy Wolf in the fifth, his 10th homer of the year. Ray Lankford hit his 14th homer two batters later to make it 3-1, and St. Louis held on to take two of three in the series.

Gant hit his third homer in three days against his former team, a 405-foot shot that just missed the left-field upper deck in the first.

Stephenson walked one, struck out three and left after Doug Glanville's one-out single in the eighth. After Bobby Abreu's infield single off Heathcliff Slocumb loaded the bases with two outs, Rolen flied out on a 3-2 count.

Slocumb got three more outs in the ninth for his second save.

"That was a pretty big out," La Russa said.

Drew was 3-fr-9 in the series with a homer, triple, two RBIs, three runs and a stolen base. He missed the first game Monday with a bruised hand.

Wolf (5-4) allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, walking five and striking out seven.

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