The Cincinnati Reds continue to dazzle. The NL Central division leaders currently hold an eight game edge over second place St. Louis. On Saturday, the soaring Reds took care of business against the Cardinals’ 17-game winner, Adam Wainwright. Cincinnati cleaned up in a 6-1 win at Busch Stadium to win their seventh game in nine tries. Rookie left-hander, Travis Wood, turned in seven solid innings of one run ball as the Reds bounced back from Friday night’s loss.
Wainwright failed to become the NL’s first 18 game winner and lost for the fourth consecutive start. Wainwright got the hook after five innings and 83 pitches. He was charged with seven hits and five of the six Reds’ runs. Cincinnati came out of the gate swinging, scoring three runs in the top of the first. Aaron Miles misplayed a potential double-play ground ball that left runners on second and third for the Reds. Scott Rolen’s walk loaded the bags and a Ramon Hernandez groundout led to the first run. Jonny Gomes followed with a double to left to tally two more Cincinnati runs. Wainwright absorbed three unearned runs and wasn’t helped by the Cardinals’ offensive malaise. St. Louis mustered a single run against Cincinnati hurlers.
The Redbirds responded with a run in the bottom half of the first. An error on Wood led to the pitcher’s only blemish. He otherwise paced through seven frames with 101 pitches. Matt Holiday’s infield single scored centerfielder, John Jay in the Cardinals’ home half. Holliday finished with two hits in the middle game of the crucial three-game series between the division rivals. The Reds added a run in the second on Brandon Phillips’ RBI single. Cincinnati manufactured two more runs to take the decision. Wood homered to left on the first pitch he saw in the fourth, a sinker from Wainwright. The rookie southpaw held the Redbirds in check after his blast bumped the Reds lead to 5-1. He worked out of a two-out walk in the seventh before handing the ball over to flamethrowing rookie sensation, Aroldis Chapman. Chapman and Francisco Cordero shut St. Louis down through the final two frames. Joey Votta contributed a base hit off Dennys Reyes in the ninth for the game’s final tally. Votta and Gomes had two hits apiece for the winning team. Homer Bailey takes the hill against the Cards’ Chris Carpenter in the afternoon finale on Sunday.
Parting Points: Denard Robinson and Michigan trounced UConn. So what? Let’s see the new quarterback beat up on the Big 10’s best. It appears the Tate Forcier days in maize and blue could be over.
Maria Sharapova ruined Beatrice’s Capa’s U.S. Open run yesterday.
“Champions keep playing until they get it right”- Billie Jean King
Showing posts with label St. Louis Cardinals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Louis Cardinals. Show all posts
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
R.A. Riles Redbirds
The Mets blanked the Redbirds behind the resurgent R.A. Dickey’s remarkable 8 1/3 innings of four-hit ball. The New York hurler, pitching on three days’ rest, pulled away from Citi Field with his seventh victory of the season as the Mets prevailed 4-0 over St. Louis. Thursday’s win propelled the Mets to take two out of three games against the rival Redbirds. It was New York’s fifth win in their last 18 tries. For Tony LaRussa’s Cardinals, Thursday was the tenth time the team has been shutout this year.
The Mets have played three 13 inning games in the last eight days, but showed no ill effects at the plate last night against Cardinal starter, Blake Hawksworth. Jose Reyes doubled to lead off the third inning and advanced on Angel Pagan’s drag bunt between the mound and first base to get the Mets’ offense rolling. Ike Davis drove the first pitch he saw from Hawksworth three rows deep to center for a three run bomb and 3-0 Mets lead. The stellar first baseman for New York reached base in all four at-bats Thursday, drawing three walks in addition to his three RBIs. Davis has 52 RBIs this season and 15 homeruns. He also started a pair of double plays at first base. The Mets scored again during a three hit fifth inning, with Carlos Beltran earning an RBI single following Pagan’s seventh triple of the season. New York left 18 runners on base, however, an ongoing probably for Jerry Manuel’s team.
Dickey was smooth sailing through eight innings, allowing only a first inning double by Jon Jay and a fifth frame leadoff slap by Ryan Ludwick before a pair of eighth and ninth inning base hits by Skip Schumaker and Colby Rasmus. It was the lengthiest outing of the year for Dickey, and one of the best of his career. Francisco Rodriguez was summoned from the Mets’ bullpen to record the final two outs of the game. KRod succeeded in getting the league’s best slugger, Albert Pujols, to fly out and retired power-hitting outfielder, Matt Holliday a game-ending strikeout. St. Louis is 56-46, a half a game behind Cincinnati in the NL Central.
Parting Points: Feel good Friday band- The Supremes
The Mets have played three 13 inning games in the last eight days, but showed no ill effects at the plate last night against Cardinal starter, Blake Hawksworth. Jose Reyes doubled to lead off the third inning and advanced on Angel Pagan’s drag bunt between the mound and first base to get the Mets’ offense rolling. Ike Davis drove the first pitch he saw from Hawksworth three rows deep to center for a three run bomb and 3-0 Mets lead. The stellar first baseman for New York reached base in all four at-bats Thursday, drawing three walks in addition to his three RBIs. Davis has 52 RBIs this season and 15 homeruns. He also started a pair of double plays at first base. The Mets scored again during a three hit fifth inning, with Carlos Beltran earning an RBI single following Pagan’s seventh triple of the season. New York left 18 runners on base, however, an ongoing probably for Jerry Manuel’s team.
Dickey was smooth sailing through eight innings, allowing only a first inning double by Jon Jay and a fifth frame leadoff slap by Ryan Ludwick before a pair of eighth and ninth inning base hits by Skip Schumaker and Colby Rasmus. It was the lengthiest outing of the year for Dickey, and one of the best of his career. Francisco Rodriguez was summoned from the Mets’ bullpen to record the final two outs of the game. KRod succeeded in getting the league’s best slugger, Albert Pujols, to fly out and retired power-hitting outfielder, Matt Holliday a game-ending strikeout. St. Louis is 56-46, a half a game behind Cincinnati in the NL Central.
Parting Points: Feel good Friday band- The Supremes
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Barry Brilliant in Besting Birds
Former CY Young winning southpaw, Barry Zito, is up to 3-0 on the year for the San Franscisco Giants. Zito and Cardinals’ hurler, Adam Wainwright dueled through seven scoreless frames before the Giants’ bats found a way to hand St. Louis their first series loss of the season. San Francisco squeezed out two runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat the Cardinals 2-0 in the second game of a three game home series. The Giants took the series opener Friday night, ending a four game skid. Tim Lincecum’s seven inning outing helped the Giants’ ace to secure his fourth win in a 4-1 final Friday. Yesterday, a vintage Zito zipped through the Redbirds’ roster to earn his first career win against the NL Central foes. The San Francisco lefty struck out ten in a three-hit, 114 pitch gem of a performance.
The first two Cardinals to step to the plate struck out. MVP Albert Pujols grounded out to end the first inning. The Giants’ flamethrower issued a walk to Bengie Molina in the top of the second but received some aid from his defense Molina was caught stealing for the third out. Zito had his way with Tony LaRussa’s visiting Redbirds until allowing a leadoff single to Felipe Lopez in the fourth inning. Zito induced a Pujols double play groundout with runners on first and second base in the fourth, and fanned the slugger with one on in the sixth. Pujols is 1-for-8 so far in the series, with three strikeouts. Zito had a one-two-three fifth, sixth and seventh inning as the lefty dominated the latter frames and improved his eye-popping ERA to 1.32. It was the 31 year old’s 13th double digit strikeout game of his career. Zito’s curveball was crafty and fastball unforgiving in a fine controlled presentation by the highly- paid pitcher. He complemented his signature curve with a slider Saturday and really did not allow the Cardinals to threaten his shutout bid. St. Louis sluggers were off-balance and struggled to compile a rally throughout the game. The brilliant Zito of 2010 bears a striking resemblance to the elevated elite pitcher who captured and dazzled baseball fans with the Oakland A’s earlier in his career. Brian Wilson nailed down the save, his fourth this year, with a one hit ninth.
Wainwright, also undefeated headed into Saturday’s contest and coming off a complete game win against the Mets, hung tough until the eighth. Wainwright yielded just four hits, including the key 0-1 curveball that Nate Schierholtz drilled. Schierholtz opened the eighth frame with a double to right field to represent the second San Francisco hitter to get past first past. Andres Torres pinch-hit for Zito and promptly followed with an RBI single to center for the first recorded run of the game. Torres failed twice to lay down a bunt, but his futile attempts proved more valuable when he pounced on Wainwright’s offering for a base hit to shatter the scoreless tie. Aubrey Huff drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to left for the second Giants’ tally to complete the eighth and rescue Zito from a no-decision. Notably, Wainwright drilled former teammate, Mark DeRosa twice in the St. Louis loss. The Giants scattered seven hits on Pablo Sandoval bobblehead Night. The Panda snagged a pair of singles and scooped a hard one-hopper in the field to preserve the Giants’ fourth shutout at home this season.
Parting Points: Mixed bag- Joe Paterno favors a Big 10 expansion, the Thunder even the series with LA, and the Penguins are moving on after an OT clipping of the Senators.
The first two Cardinals to step to the plate struck out. MVP Albert Pujols grounded out to end the first inning. The Giants’ flamethrower issued a walk to Bengie Molina in the top of the second but received some aid from his defense Molina was caught stealing for the third out. Zito had his way with Tony LaRussa’s visiting Redbirds until allowing a leadoff single to Felipe Lopez in the fourth inning. Zito induced a Pujols double play groundout with runners on first and second base in the fourth, and fanned the slugger with one on in the sixth. Pujols is 1-for-8 so far in the series, with three strikeouts. Zito had a one-two-three fifth, sixth and seventh inning as the lefty dominated the latter frames and improved his eye-popping ERA to 1.32. It was the 31 year old’s 13th double digit strikeout game of his career. Zito’s curveball was crafty and fastball unforgiving in a fine controlled presentation by the highly- paid pitcher. He complemented his signature curve with a slider Saturday and really did not allow the Cardinals to threaten his shutout bid. St. Louis sluggers were off-balance and struggled to compile a rally throughout the game. The brilliant Zito of 2010 bears a striking resemblance to the elevated elite pitcher who captured and dazzled baseball fans with the Oakland A’s earlier in his career. Brian Wilson nailed down the save, his fourth this year, with a one hit ninth.
Wainwright, also undefeated headed into Saturday’s contest and coming off a complete game win against the Mets, hung tough until the eighth. Wainwright yielded just four hits, including the key 0-1 curveball that Nate Schierholtz drilled. Schierholtz opened the eighth frame with a double to right field to represent the second San Francisco hitter to get past first past. Andres Torres pinch-hit for Zito and promptly followed with an RBI single to center for the first recorded run of the game. Torres failed twice to lay down a bunt, but his futile attempts proved more valuable when he pounced on Wainwright’s offering for a base hit to shatter the scoreless tie. Aubrey Huff drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to left for the second Giants’ tally to complete the eighth and rescue Zito from a no-decision. Notably, Wainwright drilled former teammate, Mark DeRosa twice in the St. Louis loss. The Giants scattered seven hits on Pablo Sandoval bobblehead Night. The Panda snagged a pair of singles and scooped a hard one-hopper in the field to preserve the Giants’ fourth shutout at home this season.
Parting Points: Mixed bag- Joe Paterno favors a Big 10 expansion, the Thunder even the series with LA, and the Penguins are moving on after an OT clipping of the Senators.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Bullpen Breakdowns
They hang on by the red threads of a baseball for their post-season lives. I’m talking about the Chicago Cubs, who last night, staved off playoff elimination and extended their hopes one more day by defeating the San Francisco Giants with late inning heroics. Bay area closer, Brian Wilson, gave up the game-winning homerun in the top of the ninth to Cubs struggling second base slugger, Jeff Baker. Baker doubled to left in the top of the second off San Francisco starter, Brad Penny. He was doubled up in his next at-bat, and flied out to center field for the first out of the seventh inning. Baker came to bat for the fourth time in the ninth with the opposing team clinging to a one run lead. His long ball put the Cubs ahead 3-2 for good, and sent a stunned San Francisco team packing and trailing the NL wildcard-leading Rockies by four games.
The Giants were a strike away from gaining a came on Colorado before the two out bomb banished their opportunity. Penny pitched eight innings of one-run ball before handing the game over to Wilson. Wilson began the inning by walking veteran Chicago swinger, Derrek Lee. Lee stole second after Wilson retired the next two batters on popups. Baker smacked a fastball over the left field wall, and the Giants quickly fell behind a run. The home team put two runners aboard in their half of the ninth. Cubs’ hard-throwing reliever, Carlos Marmol, struck out two Giants to end the game. Former New York Met, Aaron Heilman, ascended to victory for his fourth of the year as Marmol picked up his 15th season save. Wilson suffered the loss, but his summoning from the bullpen was hard to argue. The closer’s miniscule ERA of 1.27 over his last nine outings justified Bruce Bochy’s move. Chicago starter, Ryan Dempster, was outpitched by his former teammate from Florida. Dempster lasted seven innings but scattered seven hits and two runs.
The outcome of the Rockies-Padres game was posted on the scoreboard when the Cubs and Giants were tied at 1-1 in the fifth. Each team scored one run in the fourth inning. Micah Hoffpauir scored when Baker grounded into a double play. Left fielder for the Giants, John Bowker, crossed the plate on shortstop Juan Uribe’s double in the bottom of the fourth to even the score. Bowker replaced Nate Schierholtz in the lineup. The southpaw slugger sat because of food poisoning. The manager’s decision payed off when backup Bowker homered off Dempster into McCovey Cove in the seventh.
The Giants are now 82-71 and four games back with nine remaining. San Francisco plays six more home games against Chicago and Arizona before finishing the season in San Diego. The Padres are poised to play spoiler. Smug San Diego set aside the Rockies 5-4 Thursday night. The Rockies lead was trimmed to 3 ½ games over the idle Atlanta Braves. The Braves probably have the easiest schedule of the remaining wildcard contenders. The NL Central is all but over as soon as the Cardinals win and the Cubs lose another game. But this wildcard race is an intriguing one that should come down to the final day of the regular season. The Rockies play the Cardinals next in a possible preview of the post-season. Matt Holliday will return to Corrs Field for the first time since he was traded to Oakland last winter. He will arrive in a Redbird uniform to face a Rockies team that has lost 7 of their last 11, including last night. Joe Beimel took the loss for Colorado and a shaky bullpen, but hope to reconvene and regroup this weekend. Jason Hammel tossed a gem through six ½ excellent innings, but his bullpen collapsed after being handed a 3-1 advantage. The Cardinals will start two CY Young candidates in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright and plate All-stars, Holliday and Albert Pujols in the three game set beginning Friday. Both teams will embark on the last weekend of September with still a lot to prove.
Parting Points: Yankees-Red Sox, the final round starts tonight.
Song of the day-: “Hand In My Pocket” by Alanis Morisette
The Giants were a strike away from gaining a came on Colorado before the two out bomb banished their opportunity. Penny pitched eight innings of one-run ball before handing the game over to Wilson. Wilson began the inning by walking veteran Chicago swinger, Derrek Lee. Lee stole second after Wilson retired the next two batters on popups. Baker smacked a fastball over the left field wall, and the Giants quickly fell behind a run. The home team put two runners aboard in their half of the ninth. Cubs’ hard-throwing reliever, Carlos Marmol, struck out two Giants to end the game. Former New York Met, Aaron Heilman, ascended to victory for his fourth of the year as Marmol picked up his 15th season save. Wilson suffered the loss, but his summoning from the bullpen was hard to argue. The closer’s miniscule ERA of 1.27 over his last nine outings justified Bruce Bochy’s move. Chicago starter, Ryan Dempster, was outpitched by his former teammate from Florida. Dempster lasted seven innings but scattered seven hits and two runs.
The outcome of the Rockies-Padres game was posted on the scoreboard when the Cubs and Giants were tied at 1-1 in the fifth. Each team scored one run in the fourth inning. Micah Hoffpauir scored when Baker grounded into a double play. Left fielder for the Giants, John Bowker, crossed the plate on shortstop Juan Uribe’s double in the bottom of the fourth to even the score. Bowker replaced Nate Schierholtz in the lineup. The southpaw slugger sat because of food poisoning. The manager’s decision payed off when backup Bowker homered off Dempster into McCovey Cove in the seventh.
The Giants are now 82-71 and four games back with nine remaining. San Francisco plays six more home games against Chicago and Arizona before finishing the season in San Diego. The Padres are poised to play spoiler. Smug San Diego set aside the Rockies 5-4 Thursday night. The Rockies lead was trimmed to 3 ½ games over the idle Atlanta Braves. The Braves probably have the easiest schedule of the remaining wildcard contenders. The NL Central is all but over as soon as the Cardinals win and the Cubs lose another game. But this wildcard race is an intriguing one that should come down to the final day of the regular season. The Rockies play the Cardinals next in a possible preview of the post-season. Matt Holliday will return to Corrs Field for the first time since he was traded to Oakland last winter. He will arrive in a Redbird uniform to face a Rockies team that has lost 7 of their last 11, including last night. Joe Beimel took the loss for Colorado and a shaky bullpen, but hope to reconvene and regroup this weekend. Jason Hammel tossed a gem through six ½ excellent innings, but his bullpen collapsed after being handed a 3-1 advantage. The Cardinals will start two CY Young candidates in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright and plate All-stars, Holliday and Albert Pujols in the three game set beginning Friday. Both teams will embark on the last weekend of September with still a lot to prove.
Parting Points: Yankees-Red Sox, the final round starts tonight.
Song of the day-: “Hand In My Pocket” by Alanis Morisette
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Sixty-four Stop
Seven game World Series are usually exhilaratingly memorable. The 1964 Fall Classic between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals had many great moments. The teams went the distance in seven gritty games, with St. Louis prevailing 4-3 for their seventh world championship. It marked the first time Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle went yard in the same World Series game. It was the first and only time two brothers, Ken and Clete Boyer, homered during the same World Series game. 1964 was the first year Yogi Berra was the Yankee skipper, and he was canned after the World Series loss. The year distinguished the beginning of the Yankees’ longest post-season drought since the days before Babe Ruth donned the pinstripes. After the fallout, the Yankees would not return to the Fall Classic for twelve more seasons. On the 45th anniversary of the 1964 World Series, here are some highlights from the classic diamond duel.
Whitey Ford started his final World Series game as he took the hill October 7, 1964 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. His competition that day was Ray Sadecki. Cardinals’ manager, Johnny Keane, fielded a premier pitching staff with Sadecki, Curt Simmons and Bob Gibson igniting the fuse on the mound. St. Louis stormed into their first pennant in 18 years after inching the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. The Cards represented baseball’s National League with the help of Philadelphia’s late season collapse. The Yankees, winners of 99 games in 1964, weren’t the considerable class of the American League but won the pennant over Chicago by a game. Berra boasted a lineup featuring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Clete Boyer, Elston Howard, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Pedro Gonzalez, Tom Tresh and Phil Linz. His starting staff included aces Ford, Jim Bouton, Al Downing, and Mel Stottlemyre. Game 1 was a 9-5 Cardinal win. The slugfest started with a run for St. Louis in the bottom of the first inning. Left-fielder Tresh helped the Yankees to an early 4-2 lead with a two-run shot in the second and an RBI double in the fifth. The Cardinals produced four sixth inning runs and put the game out of reach in the eighth. It’s interesting to note fleet centerfielder, Curt Flood (the man who “changed” baseball), also played on the championship Cardinals team of 1964. Flood’s RBI triple, pinch-hitter Carl Warwick’s single and Mike Shannon’s long two-run hammer broke open the game in the sixth. The three run frame made a winner out of Sadecki, who bested Ford through six innings. Whitey made an early exit because of a troubled arm. The 35 year old pitched 5 1/3 innings of eight hit ball, striking out four. Ford would not return the rest of the series. Berra called reliever, Downing, from the bullpen to replace the ailing Ford. Lou Brock went 2 for 5 for the Cards and Barney Schultz recorded the World Series Game 1 save.
The next day, October 8th, the Yankees came to bat at Sportsman’s Park with a chance to even the series. They were successful. The Bombers roughed up St. Louis starter Gibson. The hard-throwing Bob provided the Cardinals eight innings but allowed eight hits and four runs. Rookie hurler, Stottlemyre, was the only Yankee to take the mound in Game 2, completing the job scattering seven hits and allowing three runs to cross the plate. The Yankees dropped the Cards 8-3 with the help of four runs off Gibson and another quartet off two relievers, Gordie Richardson and Roger Craig. Shortstops were the top hitting performers in the second contest. The Cardinals’ Dick Groat, was 1 for 3 with a walk. The Yankees shortstop, Linz, got on board, clubbing three of his seven World Series hits during Game 2. Linz’s homerun was the only one of this game. The Yankees would produce their other runs in less-dramatic fashion. Mantle had two RBIs and scored twice, on his consistent way to finishing his best-ever series batting .333. Mickey’s Game 3 winner was his 16th World Series homerun, besting Babe Ruth‘s record by one.
Mickey was Mr. Clutch in the milestone Yankee moment of the 1964 World Series. Mantle smashed a game-winning homerun into the right field stands on October 10th at Yankee Stadium. The bomb came during the first pitch thrown by Schultz to open the bottom of the ninth. It broke the one-all tie and have New York a 2-1 series edge over St. Louis. Game 3 pitted the 35 year old veteran Simmons against saucy starter, Bouton. The 24 year old writer of “Ball Four” threw a complete game. His only blunder was a run-scoring single by Simmons in the fifth. Simmons seemed to do it all for St. Louis but Schultz couldn’t shut down the Yankees in the ninth to give his team a chance to win the game with the bat. Clete Boyer was 1 for 3 at the plate for the Bombers, notching their first run with an RBI double in the second inning. The Yankees overcame two soiled errors in the field to win the shortest game of the ‘64 classic.
New York opened the bottom of the first the next day with back-to-back doubles and three consecutive singles. The results were three runs driven in off Sadecki in his second appearance during the series. Downing held the 3-0 lead into the sixth inning when Clete’s older brother, MVP third baseman, Ken Boyer, smacked a grand slam. The bases loaded homerun was enough to give St. Louis a 4-3 road victory and tie the series at two. Craig picked up the win for the Cards, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless frames. The lefty Downing went six strong during Game 4 but staggered to a 8.22 ERA during the post-season exhibition. The come-from-behind win was a crucial Cardinal win as the teams prepared for a Game 5 showdown in the Bronx, Monday, October 12th.
Gibson struck out 13 Yankees and did not allow an earned run in 10 innings during Game 5’s jaw-dropping stop. The extra-innings affair ended with a 5-2 St. Louis win. The elusive Bombers were held scoreless through eight innings by the overpowering Gibson, but a Cardinal error in the bottom of the ninth produced the duo of Yankee runs. Mantle reached base on the gaff and Tresh’s two-out tater send the game to an additional frame. The Yankees tried to ward off defeat in Game 5. A walk and a bunt single placed two Redbirds on base in the top of the tenth. Current broadcaster and former Cardinals catcher, Tim McCarver, brought all runners home with one swing. The three run shot was one of McCarver’s team high, 11 hits during the series. Stottlemyre made another impressive effort, striking out six and walking only two Cardinals on the day. Pete Mikkelsen beared the New York loss.
Following an off-day, baseball’s best bid a game back at Sportsman’s Park with the home team aspiring to close out the series. The Game 6 nail-biter remained tied at one through six innings. The Cardinals scored in the bottom of the first and the Yankees added a digit in the fifth frame. Maris and Mantle went long with back-to-back dingers in the sixth. The solo homeruns by the M&M boys were clubbed off Simmons. Curt yielded seven hits, including the two shots by the Yankees outfielders, before being removed from the game. Ron Taylor finished the inning perfectly but the Cardinals replaced him with Schultz. Schultz was ineffective through just 2/3 of an inning in the 8th. Reliever Gordon Richardson’s pitch to Pepitone turned the game into a 8-1 domination. Pepitone plastered the grand slam, and the first baseman completed a terrific series with a .308 average. The Cardinals would score a run in each of the final two innings but it wasn’t enough to capture a Cardinal crown this day. Bouton improved to 2-0 with the 8-3 final and Steve Hamilton secured his only save.
Thursday, October 15th, 1964 was the date of the tell-tale, down-to-the-wire, Game 7. The winner would take it all in the deciding finish. Gibson and Stottlemyre were the starters on the scorecard, each pitching on two days’ rest. The Cards struck first with three runs in the fourth inning. The Cards added three more runs in the fifth to increase the lead by six runs. Lou Brock hit one into the stands and landed an even .300 batting average over 30 at bats in seven games. The Hall-of-Famer is one of the most accomplished base runners in baseball history and his fifth inning blow lead to an insurmountable Redbird lead. McCarver stole home plate during the fourth. The steal was one of two on the day for St.Louis. Right-fielder Shannon, also snagged a bag for the Cardinals. Shannon struggled during the series, striking out a depressing nine times. He led St. Louis in strikeouts and runs scored, with six. The Yankee strikeout and run leader? Mantle, of course. The Mick cut the deficit in half with a three-run homerun in the top of the Yankee sixth at Busch. Mantle’s shellacking was one of three Yankee blasts in Game 7. Linz would sock his second and Boyer would wallop his first before the game was over. Boyer’s brother, Ken, decked a seventh inning solo shot to put the game out of reach. New York’s Richardson got his 13th hit of the series to break his own single-series record. Richardson’s .406 average was the best by any Yankee. Gibson cooled down the Yankees and notched his 31st strikeout in Game 7. He lost Game 2 but proceeded to come back to defeat New York twice. The World Series MVP’s nine innings and nine strikeouts contributed to the conclusion: 7-5 Cardinals win the World Series of 1964.
Parting points:
Brandon Walsh: “You probably don’t like football either”.
Susan Keats: “Too violent”
Awesome come-from-behind Yankee win just now…
Whitey Ford started his final World Series game as he took the hill October 7, 1964 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. His competition that day was Ray Sadecki. Cardinals’ manager, Johnny Keane, fielded a premier pitching staff with Sadecki, Curt Simmons and Bob Gibson igniting the fuse on the mound. St. Louis stormed into their first pennant in 18 years after inching the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. The Cards represented baseball’s National League with the help of Philadelphia’s late season collapse. The Yankees, winners of 99 games in 1964, weren’t the considerable class of the American League but won the pennant over Chicago by a game. Berra boasted a lineup featuring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Clete Boyer, Elston Howard, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Pedro Gonzalez, Tom Tresh and Phil Linz. His starting staff included aces Ford, Jim Bouton, Al Downing, and Mel Stottlemyre. Game 1 was a 9-5 Cardinal win. The slugfest started with a run for St. Louis in the bottom of the first inning. Left-fielder Tresh helped the Yankees to an early 4-2 lead with a two-run shot in the second and an RBI double in the fifth. The Cardinals produced four sixth inning runs and put the game out of reach in the eighth. It’s interesting to note fleet centerfielder, Curt Flood (the man who “changed” baseball), also played on the championship Cardinals team of 1964. Flood’s RBI triple, pinch-hitter Carl Warwick’s single and Mike Shannon’s long two-run hammer broke open the game in the sixth. The three run frame made a winner out of Sadecki, who bested Ford through six innings. Whitey made an early exit because of a troubled arm. The 35 year old pitched 5 1/3 innings of eight hit ball, striking out four. Ford would not return the rest of the series. Berra called reliever, Downing, from the bullpen to replace the ailing Ford. Lou Brock went 2 for 5 for the Cards and Barney Schultz recorded the World Series Game 1 save.
The next day, October 8th, the Yankees came to bat at Sportsman’s Park with a chance to even the series. They were successful. The Bombers roughed up St. Louis starter Gibson. The hard-throwing Bob provided the Cardinals eight innings but allowed eight hits and four runs. Rookie hurler, Stottlemyre, was the only Yankee to take the mound in Game 2, completing the job scattering seven hits and allowing three runs to cross the plate. The Yankees dropped the Cards 8-3 with the help of four runs off Gibson and another quartet off two relievers, Gordie Richardson and Roger Craig. Shortstops were the top hitting performers in the second contest. The Cardinals’ Dick Groat, was 1 for 3 with a walk. The Yankees shortstop, Linz, got on board, clubbing three of his seven World Series hits during Game 2. Linz’s homerun was the only one of this game. The Yankees would produce their other runs in less-dramatic fashion. Mantle had two RBIs and scored twice, on his consistent way to finishing his best-ever series batting .333. Mickey’s Game 3 winner was his 16th World Series homerun, besting Babe Ruth‘s record by one.
Mickey was Mr. Clutch in the milestone Yankee moment of the 1964 World Series. Mantle smashed a game-winning homerun into the right field stands on October 10th at Yankee Stadium. The bomb came during the first pitch thrown by Schultz to open the bottom of the ninth. It broke the one-all tie and have New York a 2-1 series edge over St. Louis. Game 3 pitted the 35 year old veteran Simmons against saucy starter, Bouton. The 24 year old writer of “Ball Four” threw a complete game. His only blunder was a run-scoring single by Simmons in the fifth. Simmons seemed to do it all for St. Louis but Schultz couldn’t shut down the Yankees in the ninth to give his team a chance to win the game with the bat. Clete Boyer was 1 for 3 at the plate for the Bombers, notching their first run with an RBI double in the second inning. The Yankees overcame two soiled errors in the field to win the shortest game of the ‘64 classic.
New York opened the bottom of the first the next day with back-to-back doubles and three consecutive singles. The results were three runs driven in off Sadecki in his second appearance during the series. Downing held the 3-0 lead into the sixth inning when Clete’s older brother, MVP third baseman, Ken Boyer, smacked a grand slam. The bases loaded homerun was enough to give St. Louis a 4-3 road victory and tie the series at two. Craig picked up the win for the Cards, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless frames. The lefty Downing went six strong during Game 4 but staggered to a 8.22 ERA during the post-season exhibition. The come-from-behind win was a crucial Cardinal win as the teams prepared for a Game 5 showdown in the Bronx, Monday, October 12th.
Gibson struck out 13 Yankees and did not allow an earned run in 10 innings during Game 5’s jaw-dropping stop. The extra-innings affair ended with a 5-2 St. Louis win. The elusive Bombers were held scoreless through eight innings by the overpowering Gibson, but a Cardinal error in the bottom of the ninth produced the duo of Yankee runs. Mantle reached base on the gaff and Tresh’s two-out tater send the game to an additional frame. The Yankees tried to ward off defeat in Game 5. A walk and a bunt single placed two Redbirds on base in the top of the tenth. Current broadcaster and former Cardinals catcher, Tim McCarver, brought all runners home with one swing. The three run shot was one of McCarver’s team high, 11 hits during the series. Stottlemyre made another impressive effort, striking out six and walking only two Cardinals on the day. Pete Mikkelsen beared the New York loss.
Following an off-day, baseball’s best bid a game back at Sportsman’s Park with the home team aspiring to close out the series. The Game 6 nail-biter remained tied at one through six innings. The Cardinals scored in the bottom of the first and the Yankees added a digit in the fifth frame. Maris and Mantle went long with back-to-back dingers in the sixth. The solo homeruns by the M&M boys were clubbed off Simmons. Curt yielded seven hits, including the two shots by the Yankees outfielders, before being removed from the game. Ron Taylor finished the inning perfectly but the Cardinals replaced him with Schultz. Schultz was ineffective through just 2/3 of an inning in the 8th. Reliever Gordon Richardson’s pitch to Pepitone turned the game into a 8-1 domination. Pepitone plastered the grand slam, and the first baseman completed a terrific series with a .308 average. The Cardinals would score a run in each of the final two innings but it wasn’t enough to capture a Cardinal crown this day. Bouton improved to 2-0 with the 8-3 final and Steve Hamilton secured his only save.
Thursday, October 15th, 1964 was the date of the tell-tale, down-to-the-wire, Game 7. The winner would take it all in the deciding finish. Gibson and Stottlemyre were the starters on the scorecard, each pitching on two days’ rest. The Cards struck first with three runs in the fourth inning. The Cards added three more runs in the fifth to increase the lead by six runs. Lou Brock hit one into the stands and landed an even .300 batting average over 30 at bats in seven games. The Hall-of-Famer is one of the most accomplished base runners in baseball history and his fifth inning blow lead to an insurmountable Redbird lead. McCarver stole home plate during the fourth. The steal was one of two on the day for St.Louis. Right-fielder Shannon, also snagged a bag for the Cardinals. Shannon struggled during the series, striking out a depressing nine times. He led St. Louis in strikeouts and runs scored, with six. The Yankee strikeout and run leader? Mantle, of course. The Mick cut the deficit in half with a three-run homerun in the top of the Yankee sixth at Busch. Mantle’s shellacking was one of three Yankee blasts in Game 7. Linz would sock his second and Boyer would wallop his first before the game was over. Boyer’s brother, Ken, decked a seventh inning solo shot to put the game out of reach. New York’s Richardson got his 13th hit of the series to break his own single-series record. Richardson’s .406 average was the best by any Yankee. Gibson cooled down the Yankees and notched his 31st strikeout in Game 7. He lost Game 2 but proceeded to come back to defeat New York twice. The World Series MVP’s nine innings and nine strikeouts contributed to the conclusion: 7-5 Cardinals win the World Series of 1964.
Parting points:
Brandon Walsh: “You probably don’t like football either”.
Susan Keats: “Too violent”
Awesome come-from-behind Yankee win just now…
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