St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 45

www.postnet.com ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SPORTS FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1999 D7 oldsclaw can't save Mystics in loss to Charlotte 4 Associated Press WNBA I. MX i The Chamique Holdsclaw was impressive in her WNBA debut Dawn Staley was even better. Staley, the former University of Virginia star who spent two seasons in the ABL, upstaged the highly anticipated arrival of Holdsclaw with a dazzling 23 points including 15 in the second half as the Charlotte Sting beat the Washington Mystics 83-73 Thursday in a season opener at Washington. Neither Holdsclaw's 18 points and six rebounds, nor the announced sellout crowd of 20,674, nor a proclamation from Mayor Anthony Williams declaring it "Washington Mystics Day" could mask the obvious: Even though they are better with the two-time player of the year from Tennessee, the Mystics still have a way to go to catch the league's best teams.

The Sting shot 65 percent in the second half, making nine consecutive shots during one stretch. The scored was tied 63-63 with 9:16 remaining, but an 184 run that included consecutive 3-pointers by reserve guard Stephanie McCarty put the game away. Holdsclaw had her moments, starting with a nice fall-away 16-footer from the left wing for the Mystics' first basket 1:09 into the game. She showed the ability to create her own shots and went seven for 14 from the field, but the Sting didn't let her have free rein. Nikki McCray led Washington with 22 points.

Comets 77, Miracle 63: A sprained ankle slowed Cynthia Cooper, but not Houston. The two-time defending WNBA champions spoiled the debut of the expansion Orlando, with Cooper hobbling to 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists before a crowd of 15,422 at Orlando. Tina Thompson had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Sheryl Swoopes had 18, eight during a 19-2 second-half run that enabled the Comets to pull away. Cooper, the two-time league MVP, sprained her right ankle in practice Wednesday and limped through warmups and most of the game. Nevertheless, she was seven for 10 and played all but three minutes of the game, including the entire second half.

Liberty 87, Rockers 60: Vickie Johnson scored 17 points as New York won its third consecutive home opener, beating Cleveland. The Liberty won without leading rebounder Rebecca Lobo, who injured her left knee on the second play of the game and did not return. She was scheduled to undergo an MRI Thursday night. The victory before a crowd of 12,411 marked the debut of Liberty coach Richie Adubato. Sparks 100, Monarchs 78: Lisa Leslie scored 19 points, and five teammates joined her in double figures as Los Angeles opened the season with a record-setting win over Sacramento at In-glewood, Calif.

The 100 points were a franchise high for the Sparks. "MM her left knee in the first two minutes THE ASSOCIATED PRESS of the Liberty's season opener at Madison Square Garden Thursday. i New York's Rebecca Lobo injures ark '1 -4 has a .287 batting average and .678 slugging percentage against the Tigers, with 40 home runs and 96 RBIs in 342 at-bats. Carry that out to 510 at-bats, about right for a full McGwire season, and that would be 60 homers and 143 RBIs. McGwire has two hits, including a homer, in eight at-bats against Mlicki, tonight's starter.

CD UHffipffiB Cardinals vs. Tigers THE CARDINALS BEGIN A THREE-GAME SERIES AGAINST DETROIT TODAY By Mike Eisenbath Of The Post-Dispatch AT BUSCH STADIUM. i mm i mm for the Tigers: Luis Polonia, splitting time between designated hitter and first base, has a .429 batting average during his seven-game hitting streak. He has 19 hits in his last 41 at-bats, a .463 average. Last season, Polonia won the Mexican League batting title with a .381 average.

for the Cardinals: Mark McGwire has at least one hit in each of his last four games, during which he has a .333 average. He has 1 1 home runs in his last 19 games and 13 homers in his last 26. With 49 walks, Mac ranks third in the National League behind John Olerud and Jeff Bagwell. mm Detroit Tigers: The Tigers lost two of three games to the Cardinals in Detroit last weekend, but their top two pitchers two of the best young hurlers in the American League didn't throw. Justin Thompson is tentatively scheduled to start Sunday.

The ace of the Detroit staff, he has been sidelined with back spasms. Thompson allowed only three hits in a victory over the Cardinals last season but had to leave after seven innings because of an ankle problem. Jeff Weaver, Saturday's starter, was the Tigers' first-round draft choice in 1998 and had a 2-0 record with a 1.44 earned-run average in five minor-league starts. Dave Mlicki allowed seven hits and only for the Tigers: Frank Catalanotto has only one hit in his last 12 at-bats and had a .133 batting average during the club's just-completed six-game home stand. He did hit a homer against the Cardinals last weekend.

for the Cardinals: Although his .311 batting average leads all rookies in the National League, Joe McEwing has five hits in his last 22 i KMOX (1120 AM) Lance Painter Lefthanded Record: ERA: 6.16 Walks: 13 Strikeouts: 23 Sanchez sacrificed Randa to third, Spehr to second. Febles grounded out to shortstop, Randa scored. ONE RUN. Royals led 4-2. Cardinals' fifth: Renteria walked.

McGwire homered to left on a 1-1 count. TWO RUNS. Game tied 4-4. Cardinals' sixth: Marrero walked. McEwing singled to left, Marrero to second.

Dunston singled to left, Marrero scored. ONE RUN. Cardinals led 54. i Royals' sixth: Randa doubled to left. Sanchez infield single to first, Randa to third.

Febles hit a sacrifice fly to center, Randa scored, Sanchez to second. Beltran doubled to right, Sanchez scored. Damon doubled to right, Beltran scored. THREE RUNS. Royals led 7-5, Cardinals' seventh: Tatis homered to center on a 2-2 count.

ONE RUN. Royals led 7-6. Royals' seventh: Randa singled to center. Spehr doubled to left, Randa scored. Spehr to third.

Sanchez walked. Febles singled to left, Spehr scored. TWO RUNS. Royals led 9-6. Cardinals' eighth: Bragg walked.

Marrero grounded Into fielder's choice, Bragg out at second. Pinch-hitter T.Howard walked. Renteria singled to center, Marrero scored, T.Howard to second. McGwire walked. Lankford singled to left, T.Howard and Renteria scored.

THREE RUNS. Game tied 9-9. Royals' eighth: Sweeney singled to center. Giambi walked. Dye singled to right, Sweeney scored, Giambi to third.

Randa singled to right, Giambi scored, Dye to third. Spehr safe on failed fielder's choice, Dye scored, Randa to second. Sanchez grounded out to third, Randa to third, Spehr to second. Febles walked, loading the bases. Beltran singled to center, Randa and Spehr scored, Febles to third.

On Bottalico's wild pitch, Febles scored, Beltran to second. Damon walked. Sweeney doubled to right, Beltran and Damon scored. EIGHT RUNS. Royals led 17-9.

Cardinals' ninth: Bragg walked. Marrero homered. Polanco singled to center. Dunston doubled to left, Polanco to third. Renteria grounded out to shortstop, Polanco scored.

McGwire singled to left, Dunston scored. FOUR RUNS. Royals won 17-13. .1 "When I was playing as a kid, I was also a position player, and I could hit all right. But I was left-handed and I threw hard.

If I could have run faster, I might have tried to make it as a hitter. That wasnt happening. "My dad saw that if I was going to make it very far, I was going to make it as a pitcher." Father really does know best hi 4 The Cardinals are beginning a 13-game home stand, their longest of the season. They will play 26 of their next 36 games at Busch. On Sunday, all fans 15 and under with a paid admission will receive a specially designed baseball cap featuring a Cardinals player.

After the game, those young fans will be able to run the bases on the field. Cardinals have a 3-3 record in interleague play this season. 11) KMOX (1120 AM) Cardinals Report ROYALS 17, CARDINALS 13 0 i i Juan Acevedo Righthanded Age: 29 Record: 4-1 ERA: 5.23 Walks: 15 Strikeouts: 22 SUNDAY TODAY SATURDAY 1:10 p.m. Justin I' cjj Tbompson Lefthanded Age: 26 Record: 5-6 ERA: 4.76 1 Walks: 29 Strikeouts: 38 fc.J. --J two runs against the Cardinals in six innings Saturday in Detroit.

Cardinals: Eric Davis has a .680 slugging percentage and .340 batting average in his career against the Tigers. He averages a home run every 10 at-bats. Kent Botten-field, tonight's starter, never had more than five victories in a major-league season until this year. All nine of his victories this season have come after a Cardinals loss and the Cardinals lost their last game. The Cardinals have won two of six games they have played against the Tigers at Busch.

They split a two-game interleague series last year and went 1-3 at home against the Tigers in the 1968 World Series. 11) KMQXU120AM) Kent Bottcnfield Kll Age: 30 Record: 9-2 ERA: 3.97 Walks: 29 Strikeouts: 57 That's because in the four other starts in his recent eight-game stretch, Oliver has allowed 40 base-runners in 22 13 innings and posted a 7.66 ERA. Considering he probably will command more than $4 million a year this winter in a free-agent market slim on pitchers, the Cardinals have to wonder just how much better he will be than when they acquired him from the Texas Rangers last year. "He's doing some things that make him a more effective pitcher than when he joined the club," pitching coach Dave Duncan said. "There's still room for improvement." Oliver knows his troubles have come when he has gotten the ball up in the strike zone and that he needs to be more efficient He frequently has splendid control, neither striking out nor walking many batters.

If he would dispose of hitters more quickly, not throwing so many pitches early in the game, he would last longer and save some wear on the bullpen. Considering the improvement the Cardinals have seen in Oliver since dealing Todd Stottlemyre and Royce Clayton to Texas for him, Fernando Tatis and Mark Little, they know Oliver is headed in the right direction. His arm flexibility has increased with the help of assistant trainer Brad Henderson, Oliver said. The Cardinals believe he hasn't reached the ceiling of his potential. "He ill' changing speeds better I all Lankford 3 (27), Tatis (47), Davis (29), Marrero 2 (20), Febles 3 (27), Beltran 3 (44), Damon 2 (33), Sweeney 3 (32), Dye (38), Randa 2 (24), Spehr 2 (14).

SB Renteria (10), Marrero (7). CS Davis (4). Sanchez. SF Lankford, Febles. Runners left in scoring position-Cardinals 4 (Renteria, Tatis, Davis 2); Kansas City (Beltran 2, Sweeney, Dye 3).

Cardinals IP ER BB SO NP ERA Jimenez 6 8 5 5 2 0 86 6.92 Aybar 1 6 4 4 1 1 35 4.50 Radinsky 1 2 2 1 0 18 5.71 Bortalico VS 4 6 6 2 0 22 3.86 Mohler 0 0 0 1 0 9 5.06 Kansas City IP ER BB SO NP ERA TMathews 4 7 4 4 2 3 82 4.15 Morman 2 4 2 2 1 1 45 4.58 Moreno 1 1 3 3 3 2 31 5.63 Whisenant 4 4 4 1 1 22 5.40 Santiago 2 0 0 0 0 11 3.25 Winner Whisenant (2-1). loser Radinsky (1-1). Jimenez KPLR (Channel Dave Mlicki Righthanded Age: 30 Record: 2-5 ERA: 4.53 Walks: 31 Strikeouts: 32 Oliver Cards pitcher is consistently inconsistent Continued from Page Dl 1 Darren Oliver, pitcher for the dinals, might be running up some hefty phone bills to his father, Bob Oliver. It's not that Darren has been ter-' rible. Rather, he has been the epit-': ome of inconsistency.

At times, he 'w clearly looks like one of the best lefthanded pitchers in baseball. In four of his past eight starts, he has 1 a 2.10 earned-run average with 32 baserunners allowed in 25 23 in-ji nings. Oliver is working on the last year of his contract and with the Cardinals desperate for quality starting pitchers, particularly veterans, it seems ludicrous to think they wouldn't try to re-sign him. "It would definitely be nice to come back here next year," he said. "I've enjoyed the time I've been here.

I like the National League a lot more than the other league." He is somewhat puzzled why the Cardinals haven't even mentioned negotiating a new contract He doesn't want to worry about it dur- -i ing the season anyway. If he doesn't improve his consistency, he might not have to. 7:10 p.m. KPLR (Channel Age: 22 Record: 6-3 ERA: 3.18 Walks: 20 Strikeouts: 49 now," Duncan said. "Last year, I thought he was more of a one-pitch pitcher.

Now, he's a three-pitch pitcher. He still can improve on the quality of his curveball and changeup. As he uses them more, that will happen." If he doesn't believe it, he can ask his dad. Bob Oliver was a strong right-handed hitter who played mostly first base but also saw considerable time in the outfield and at third base with five teams in eight seasons. He did his longest stint with the Kansas City Royals, where he was one of the original members of the expansion franchise in 1969 and played there until 1972.

His best season was in 1970, when he batted .260 with 27 homers and 99 RBIs. He finished his career with the Yankees in 1975. Darren is widely identified as Bob's son. "That's always the case," Darren Oliver said. "They'll be doing a game on TV and say, 'And here's Darren Oliver, son of former major-league player Bob To me, it's fine.

I'm proud of it "But my dad, he really likes it People in my family have told me that when they're sitting with him and that happens, his chest gets stuck way out there. He won't say anything, but you can tell he's proud." Darren Oliver didn't really benefit directly from Bob's experience in the bijj leagues. Unlike other sons of jlaajor-leaguers, Darren Jeff HTT Weaver 4h Righthanded I Nj a St. Louis AB Avg. Dunston dh 6 2 3 1 0 2 .354 Renteriass 4 2 2 2 2 0 .284 McGwire lb 5 1 2 3 1 1 .267 Lanktafd tf 5 0 3 3 0 0 .333 Tatis 3b 5 2 2 1 0 0 .286 Davis if 6 0 1 1 0 3 .272 Bragg cf 3 1 2 0 2 0 .298 Marreroc ...4 3 1 2 1 0 .237 McEwing 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .311 a-T.

Howard ph .....0 1 0 0 1 0 .286 Polanco 2b ...1 1 1 0 0 0 .284 Totals 42 13 18 13 7 7 Kansas City AB Bl Avg. Febles 2b 4 113 10 .292 Beltrancf 6 3 3 3 0 0 .292 Damon It 5 2 2 2 1 0 .298 Pose It 0 0 0 0 0 0 .349 Sweeney lb 6 1 3 3 0 0 .309 Scarsonelb 0 0 0 0 0 0 .184 Giambi dh 3 2 2 0 3 0 .429 Dye if .6 1 1 1 0 0 .284 Randa 3b 5 4 5 2 0 0 .277 Leius 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 Spehrc 4 2 1 2 1 1 .268 Sanchezss 3 110 10 .269 Totals 42 17 19 16 7 1 pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored Aybar 1-1, Radinsky 2-0, Bottali-co 2-2, Mohler 1-0, Whisenant 3-2, Santiago 2-2. HBP by Santiago (Tatis). WP-Bottalico, PB Marrero.

Umpires Home, Johnson; First, Garcia; Second, Reilly; Third, Ford. 4:08. A 37,484. HOW THEY SCORED Cardinals' first Dunston singled to left. Renteria singled to left, Dunston to third.

Lankford hit a sacrifice fly to left, Dunston scored. ONE RUN. Cardinals led 1-0 Royals' second: Giambi singled to center. Dye grounded out, third, Giambi to second. Randa singled to center, Giambi scored.

ONE RUN. Game tied. 1-1. Royals' third: Beltran singled to right. Damon tripled to right, Beltran scored.

Sweeney doubled to left, Damon scored. TWO RUNS. Royals led 3-1. Cardinals' fourth: Tatis doubled to center. Davis singled to center, Tatis scored.

ONE RUN. Royals led 3-2. Royals' fourth: Randa doubled to left. Spehr walked. that he completely understood what his father went through.

Oliver has been spared some of the expectations heaped upon the sons of other former big-leaguers. "To me, it wasn't as bad as it-could have been because I'm a pitcher and he was a position player," Oliver said. "People couldnt compare me to my dad because of that Cardinals Kansas City 100 121 134-13 18 0 012 103 28H-17 19 0 walked tor McEwing in the 8th. LOB Cardinals 11, Kansas City 10. 2B-Dunston (5), Tatis (12), Beta (141, Damon (14), Sweeney 2 (14), Giambi (2), Randa 2 (11), Spehr (4).

3B-Damon (4). HR Marrero (5) off Whisenant; Tatis (15) oft Morman; McGwire (19) off Mathews. RBIs Ounston (24), Renteria 2 (22), McGwire 3 (47), didn't soak in the life in the clubhouse and on the field because he was only 4 when his dad finished playing. Frankly, he wasn't thrilled with his dad's career then. Bob couldn't afford to fly his family wherever he was.

He wasn't around as much as his family would have liked. -RTDarren says it has been only since he began playing pro ball.