McGwire's record-breaking ninth-inning homer, which came on Donn Pall's first pitch to him -- a low split-fingered fastball that McGwire golfed -- was a virtual replay of the first. Estimated at 472 feet, it landed about 30 feet from the other one.

And it came with several youngsters running across the tarp.

''Somebody said to me, 'How could you focus with those kids running out there?' '' McGwire said.

''Well, I could see them, but his arm angle was off to the right, so they didn't affect me,'' he said of the pitcher.

This home run sent the crowd into another cheering frenzy.

Earlier, McGwire had been booed after he lined a single to left-center field. He smiled at the time, but it was more of a camouflaged grimace.

''I hope they realize this is not an easy task,'' he said afterward. ''Hitting home runs comes down to getting pitches to drive. That's it. It's a matter of millimeters. I mean, my first at-bat today I just got under it and skied it. I was a millimeter under the ball. That base hit up the middle, I was a millimeter on top of the ball. You've just got to stay aggressive and hope you get pitches to drive.''

He received a surprise before the game when Doug Rader, his hitting coach in Oakland in 1992 when he rebounded from a dismal '91 season, showed up for the game.

''I think that gave him a little extra tonight,'' Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa said. ''Doug was a big part of his turnaround as a hitter.''