Stephen Drew lofted the ball to deep left field and the crowd rose. When it landed beyond Felipe Lopez and bounced into the stands, the ovation began.
By way of a ground-rule double, Drew had hit for the first cycle in Chase Field history.
He added yet another double an inning later, and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 on Monday night.
“It seems like he gets a good at-bat every time up,” Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. “Five hits, cycle, the whole bit – it’s certainly going to be a day that he’s going to remember. You don’t get too many like this. It’ll be one of the most exciting offensive days of his life.”
The Diamondbacks needed a lift after losing two out of three over the weekend to NL West rival Los Angeles. Arizona entered Monday with a shaky 2 1/2-game lead over the Dodgers.
“To hit for the cycle, it’s fun, but it wouldn’t have really meant anything to me if we didn’t win,” Drew said.
Drew was joined by the Mariners’ Adrian Beltre, who also hit for the cycle on Monday.
It was the first time two players hit for the cycle on the same day since Sept. 17, 1920, when Bobby Veach of the Detroit Tigers and George Burns of the New York Giants did it, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
In other NL games, it was the New York Mets 4, Milwaukee 2; Houston 3, the Chicago Cubs 0; Colorado 4, San Francisco 0; the Los Angeles Dodgers 5, San Diego 2; and Florida 4, Atlanta 3.
Batting leadoff, the 25-year-old shortstop singled in the first, tripled in the third and homered in the fifth against St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro. The ground-rule double leading to a standing ovation came against Kyle McClellan (2-7).
“I’m kind of in shock right now,” said Drew, who carried his keepsake baseball into the postgame interview room. “I’m just trying to put good A-Bs together. It was meant to be.”
Drew wasn’t the only Diamondbacks player who had a big day. Newly acquired David Eckstein singled home the winning run, and Adam Dunn, Chris Young and Mark Reynolds also homered as Arizona overcame a poor start by Randy Johnson.
Drew is 10-for-17 with a homer, three doubles and a triple in the first four games of a six-game homestand.
“The ball just comes off his bat like lightning,” Eckstein said.
Drew also became the third Diamondbacks player to hit for the cycle in the franchise’s 11-year history. Luis Gonzalez did it on July 5, 2000, at Houston, and Greg Colbrunn did it on Sept. 18, 2002, at San Diego.
It wasn’t such a big deal in the St. Louis clubhouse. Asked about Drew’s performance, manager Tony La Russa replied, “Let Melvin talk about him.”
La Russa wasn’t very happy after watching his team cough up a 5-1 second-inning lead on its way to a fourth straight loss. The Diamondbacks chipped away at Pineiro, who allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.
Arizona tied it 6-6 in the sixth, when Reynolds hit a two-run shot off McClellan.
“You can’t lose a game like this,” La Russa said. “But every time we got the ball where we shouldn’t, they hit it out of the park. We made too many mistakes to win a game like this.”
One day after ace Brandon Webb lasted only 3 1-3 innings, the Diamondbacks needed a lengthy outing from Johnson. But the Big Unit lasted only 3 2-3 innings, matching his shortest start of the season.
Johnson, who has 294 career victories, is winless in his last four starts. He gave up four homers, matching a career high, and they combined to travel an estimated 1,598 feet.
Yadier Molina led off the second with a 404-foot shot to left center. One batter later, Joe Mather hit a 380-foot homer into the bullpen down the left field line.
In the third, Albert Pujols hit a 416-foot bullet deep into the left field bleachers with a man aboard to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead. Two batters later, Felipe Lopez hit a 398-foot solo homer to left, and St. Louis led 5-1.
Chad Qualls (3-8) pitched the seventh to earn the win. Brandon Lyon pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 31 chances.
Astros 3, Cubs 0
At Chicago, Roy Oswalt allowed four hits and came within two outs of a shutout and Houston ran its winning streak to six games.
The Cubs have lost three straight, all at home – their first three-game skid at Wrigley Field since August of last year. They remained 4 1/2 game ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central.
Mets 4, Brewers 2
At Milwaukee, Carlos Delgado’s two-run home run off Eric Gagne in the eighth propelled New York to a victory over the Brewers.
Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets pitched five scoreless innings but was taken out of the game as a precaution due to “very slight” tightness in his left groin.
Nationals 7, Phillies 4
At Washington, Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run home run and the Nationals won their seventh straight game.
Starter Tim Redding didn’t allow a hit in the first five innings for the Nationals, who are on their best streak since a 10-game stretch in June 2005.
The Phillies dropped two games behind the Mets in the NL East.
Dodgers 5, Padres 2
At Los Angeles, Greg Maddux tied Roger Clemens for eighth place on the career list with his 354th victory, leading the Dodgers past San Diego.
Maddux (7-11) allowed two runs and six hits, struck out four and walked none. It was the four-time Cy Young winner’s third start with the Dodgers since the Padres traded on Aug. 19.
Rockies 4, Giants 0
At Denver, Jorge De La Rosa pitched seven shutout innings and had an RBI single, and Willy Taveras stole three bases and scored twice for Colorado.
De La Rosa (8-7) was sharp for the fifth straight start, allowing four hits, striking out six and walking one. He didn’t allow a runner past first base.
Marlins 4, Braves 3
At Miami, Jorge Cantu homered and John Baker hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run in the ninth.
Baker’s fly ball to shallow left drove in Dan Uggla, who beat left fielder Brandon Jones’ throw to the plate.
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