homer happy

Chris Maloney has shook a lot of hands this season. The Jackson native and former Mississippi State player is the third-base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, so virtually every time one of them hits a home run, Maloney greets them as they make the turn for the plate. And, boy, has that happened a lot this season. The Cardinals have hit 201 bombs, most in the National League. They hit five on Tuesday night, three in the ninth inning en route to a stunning, 9-7 victory at Pittsburgh. St. Louis is in the thick of the NL wild card scrap. The Pirates are fading from view. A beneficiary of the Cardinals’ rally was Mike Mayers, the former Ole Miss standout who had such a rough big league debut (nine runs in less than two innings) back in July. Mayers worked a 1-2-3 eighth on Tuesday and got the win, lowering his ERA to 34.71. … In another meaningful game, ex-UM star Seth Smith hit a pinch homer – his 12th of the year and first in two months – for Seattle, but the wild card-hopeful Mariners fell short, 10-7, against American League West leader Texas. … The amazing Brian Dozier (see previous post), the former Southern Miss standout, tied the AL record for homers by a second baseman with his 39th in Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City. … And Mississippi Braves alum Dansby Swanson hustled his way to his first MLB homer, circling the bases on a ball off the center-field wall at Washington. The last Atlanta player to hit an inside-the-parker for his first homer was Paul Runge in 1985. Swanson also hit an inside-the-park home run for the M-Braves.