In a fitting end to a magnificent season St Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire belted two more homers in his final game last night to reach a previously unfathomable 70 home runs.

"I think the magnitude of this will probably not sink in or be understood for a while," McGwire said after the game. "I mean, it's unheard of for somebody to hit 70 home runs, so I'm like in awe of myself right now."

McGwire finished with a dazzling flourish in front of his home fans at Busch Stadium, drilling a three-run shot off Montreal's Carl Pavano into the seats in left field in his final at-bat of the season to lift the Cardinals to a 6-3 victory over the Expos.

"This is a season that I will never, ever forget and I hope everybody in baseball never forgets," McGwire said in a postgame ceremony on the field honouring him.

The record will not become official, however, until Sammy Sosa's season is over. Sosa, who did not hit one out of the park in Chicago's 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Astros in Houston, remains at 66 home runs, with one match remaining, against San Francisco tonight.