St. Louis Cardinals

Larry Walker has plenty of experience as a designated hitter, thanks to years of Interleague play and too many occasions where his aching body could use a half-rest. So he's learned a trick or two about how to handle it.

According to Walker, who served as the Cardinals' DH in their Interleague opener Friday against the Royals, the hard part isn't the mental aspect, but rather the physical.

"When I first did Interleague, I DH'd and I was really bad at it," he said. "My first at-bat would be good, and after that I was really bad. Over the years I learned that you sit there, you watch the guys during the game but you don't do that as much when you're DH'ing. You (need to be) stretching in the cage, getting hacks, keeping the blood flowing."

Walker, who missed Thursday's game with a painful condition in a finger on his left hand, was cleared to hit on Friday, and came through with a first-inning double. The base hit came in his first career at-bat at Kauffman Stadium.

Kauffman became the 35th different ballpark where Walker has played a regular season game in the big leagues. The only currently active facilities where he has never played are: RFK Stadium in Washington, U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Yankee Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Cardinals will visit RFK and Tropicana Field later this season.

*Full strength:* Walker's return to the lineup helped complete a Cardinals position player contingent that's been a bit banged up lately. Jim Edmonds continues to improve after sustaining an ankle sprain, and has played every day since suffering the injury. In addition, John Mabry returned to the lineup after missing a game with tightness in his back.

Aside from Scott Rolen, who is sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury, the only regular not in the lineup was left fielder Reggie Sanders. So Taguchi took Sanders' place, but Sanders is expected to play on Saturday.

*It's still fun:* The intensity level of Cardinals-Royals, a "natural rivalry" that is renewed every year, doesn't quite match that of when the Yankees meet the Mets, or the Cubs and White Sox square off. But for fans of the two clubs, it's still a big deal.

La Russa noted that he received some none-too-subtle pressure from St. Louis fans when he visited the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City on Friday.

"Our fans pay a lot of attention to this," he said. "There's more excitement than a normal series. I think it's definitely special. And I don't care how they're playing -- they always play us tough."

*McRae speaks:* The Cardinals' media relations representative on the road trip had to arrange only one group media session on Friday. It wasn't for Albert Pujols, who attended high school in the Kansas City area. It wasn't for La Russa, or Edmonds, or any of the starting pitchers over the weekend. It was for hitting coach Hal McRae.

But few men in baseball have the kind of Kansas City roots that McRae does. He played parts of 15 seasons for the Royals, making three All-Star teams. He managed the club from 1991-94, and he even had a son follow in his footsteps: Brian McRae played five years for the Royals and now broadcasts in Kansas City.

So it's fair to say he has an idea of what's going on in the old hometown.

"It's been awhile," he said. "I'm sad to see the club not playing well but I hope (interim manager Bob Schaefer) gets things turned around. It's a good baseball town. I have fond memories of playing here and it's been a wonderful organization over the years."

*Today in Busch history:* On May 20, 1985, the eventual NL champion Cardinals absolutely dismantled the Braves, 14-0. Joaquin Andujar pitched s six-hit, no-walk shutout, Willie McGee homered and drove in five runs and 11 different Cardinals had at least one hit. Thanks to Project Retrosheet (www.retrosheet.org) for the information.

*Baby 'Birds:* Triple-A Memphis beat Portland, 2-0, on Thursday behind a dominant performance by Anthony Reyes and a two-run homer from Chris Duncan. ... Travis Hanson and Robinson Cancel hit home runs for Double-A Springfield in a 7-5 win over Arkansas. ... Stuart Pomeranz pitched six shutout innings (three hits, two walks, three strikeouts) and Tyler Parker delivered the offense with a second-inning RBI single as Class A Palm Beach beat Lakeland, 1-0. Pomeranz outdueled Justin Verlander, one of the Tigers' top prospects. ... Eric Haberer struck out seven over six innings but received no decision in Class A Quad Cities' 2-1 win over Burlington.

As you might expect, Reyes garners player of the day honors for his nearly spotless showing. The right-hander went the distance, allowing a double and no other baserunners for the shutout. He struck out six to drop his ERA to 2.44. Reyes has 48 strikeouts and nine walks in 55 1/3 innings this year.

*Coming up:* It's a rematch of last year's Division Series Game 3 on Saturday in KC at 6:10 p.m. CT. Matt Morris takes the mound for the Cardinals against Jose Lima, who shut out the Cards last October when he was still pitching for the Dodgers. Jeff Suppan wraps up the road trip on Sunday against Kansas City at 1:10.