Pete Rose Jr. has spent his whole life trying to be like his dad. And when he reached first base after his first big league hit, Petey raised his fist to salute baseball's Hit King.
Pete Rose clapped along with 31,000 fans, then celebrated his son's single by holding up his index finger - No. 1.It was a sweet moment for the younger Rose, 27, who toiled for one-third of his life in the minors before getting his chance.
"It was everything and more," Rose Jr. said, still wearing eye black and a sweaty jersey with No. 14 on the back long after Monday's game. "Those nine years of bus rides, bad food, bad hotels, bad fans - it was all worth it."
For Reds fans, it was baseball like it used to be.
"I was in tears," said Pam Carmin, of Enon, Ohio.
After he struck out in the first inning using a bat his dad gave him 11 years ago, Pete Jr. led off the fourth inning against Kansas City's Kevin Appier.
On a 2-2 pitch, Rose, this time swinging one of Barry Larkin's bats, lined a single off first baseman Jeff King's glove.
"After his first at-bat, I said, `He's only got 1,142 to catch me,"' Pete Rose said, referring to his career strikeout total. "After the second at-bat, I said, `He's only got 4,255 hits to catch me.' He did all right."
A 7-4 loss to the Royals was merely a footnote to Rose's day.
Mariners 9, Padres 6
At Seattle, Ken Griffey Jr. cranked up his chase of Roger Maris' record by homering in his first two at-bats, giving him a major league-leading 46.
Griffey, who hit 12 homers in August, has 24 games left to break Maris' mark of 61 set for the New York Yankees in 1961.
Griffey went 4-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, giving him the AL lead with 126 RBIs.
Phillies 5, Yankees 1
At Philadelphia, Curt Schilling (14-10) struck out a career-high 16 while Hideki Irabu (4-3) left early.
Schilling pitched eight innings on a humid afternoon, raising his major league-leading strikeout total to 280.
Irabu (4-3) was chased before getting an out in the fourth, allowing five runs and nine hits. With Yankees owner George Steinbrenner watching from a box seat, Irabu saw his ERA rise to 7.68.
Indians 7, Pirates 5
At Pittsburgh, Sandy Alomar hit a three-run homer in Cleveland's four-run first off Steve Cooke (9-14).
The Indians and Pirates have coexisted 130 miles apart since Cleveland joined the AL in 1901, 14 years after the Pirates became part of the NL, yet they had never played a game that counted.
Mets 3, Blue Jays 0
At New York, Jason Isringhausen allowed two hits in six innings for his second win, and John Olerud homered off his former team.
Isringhausen was making his second start since coming back from a broken wrist and tuberculosis. The right-hander won his last start despite giving up 11 hits in five innings.
Expos 4, Red Sox 2
At Montreal, rookie Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run homer with two outs in the 10th off Joe Hudson (3-1).
Montreal improved its interleague record to 10-3.
White Sox 5, Cardinals 4
At St. Louis, rookie Magglio Ordonez, making his first pinch-hit appearance, homered with two outs in the ninth off Tony Fossas (1-6).
Brewers 3, Astros 2
At Houston, Jeromy Burnitz had three hits, including a two-run double, as Milwaukee sent the NL Central leaders to their fifth straight loss.
The Astros loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth against Doug Jones, who got Ricky Gutierrez on a grounder for his 30th save.
Twins 7, Cubs 6
At Chicago, Pat Meares hit a tying, three-run homer in the fifth and added the go-ahead single in the seventh.
Minnesota's Paul Molitor had two hits, tying Paul Waner for 13th on baseball's career list with 3,152.
Mike Trombley (2-2) got one out for the win. Rick Aguilera earned his 23rd save.
Marlins 10, Orioles 4
At Miami, Devon White hit a grand slam and Cliff Floyd hit a three-run homer to power Florida to its third straight win.
The Marlins broke last year's team record of 80 victories.
Baltimore's Lenny Webster drove in four runs with a homer and his first triple since 1992.
Tigers 4, Braves 2
At Atlanta, Deivi Cruz squeezed home the go-ahead run in the seventh, and Detroit ended Greg Maddux's 10-game winning streak.
Brian Moehler (9-10) worked six strong innings against a Braves team that scored 31 runs in a three-game weekend series at Boston.
Giants 8, Athletics 2
J.T. Snow drove in four runs as San Francisco won before the the largest baseball crowd in Oakland history.
The win before 50,792 fans moved the Giants within two games of idle Los Angeles in the NL West.
Rockies 4, Angels 1
At Anaheim, Harvey Pulliam hit a two-run homer and rookie John Thomson pitched eight strong innings as Colorado won its seventh straight.
The loss dropped the Angels two games behind first-place Seattle in the AL West. Anaheim has lost five of eight.