A big thunderstorm helped the St. Louis Cardinals avoid a possible loss Tuesday when they trailed the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 after two innings in Pittsburgh, but they got an even bigger break by not having to play a doubleheader the following day.

The Cardinals and Pirates left the schedule unchanged and played just a single game Wednesday evening. They certainly had time to play another game that afternoon, but that would’ve been a minor disaster for the Cardinals pitching staff.

They wouldn’t have been able to bring Jake Westbrook back because he had already thrown the two innings Tuesday, so they would’ve had to find a replacement starter at the worst possible time.

See, the Cardinals are currently on a 10-day roadtrip and a 13-game stretch without an off day. They didn’t play April 11 before a three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers, and they won’t have another scheduled off day until April 25 as they travel home from Washington to face the Pirates for three games.

So the Cardinals are already in a tough part of their schedule, especially with good teams in the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals up next, and a doubleheader Wednesday would’ve really hampered their pitching staff heading into those games.

Shelby Miller was going to be the Cardinals starter for Wednesday’s regularly scheduled game regardless, but the Cardinals would’ve had to scramble to find someone to start the make-up game.

Joe Kelly might have been an option, but he pitched two innings Monday, and the Cardinals probably wouldn’t have let him pitch very deep into the game since he is now supposed to be a full-time relief pitcher.

If not Kelly, the Cardinals would’ve had to bring somebody up from the minor leagues to make an emergency start, and that wouldn’t have been good for anybody. Sure, Michael Wacha or Seth Maness could fill in if necessary, provided they didn’t just pitch a day or two before for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, but the Cardinals would’ve had to make corresponding roster moves to make space for a one-day appearance by a minor-league pitcher.

Plus, the bullpen would almost certainly be strained because of a doubleheader early in the roadtrip.

Cardinals starters let the bullpen rest throughout the weekend against the Brewers, as the team needed just five innings from relievers in the three games against Milwaukee, but their workload would’ve changed instantly with a doubleheader.

None of the Cardinals’ options to start the make-up game would’ve been allowed to go deep into the game no matter how well the starter pitched, so the bullpen would have to cover significant portions of at least one game while still providing normal support in the nightcap.

All of a sudden the relievers would have racked up innings heading into four games against the Phillies. That, in turn, would put pressure on the starters to again pitch deep into games to try and save the bullpen from an overwhelming workload.

A major-league bullpen requires a delicate balance between not enough work and too much work, and the Cardinals bullpen almost certainly would’ve struggled to maintain that balance because the team simply had so many games in a relatively short period of time.

This wasn’t going to be an easy roadtrip in any case, but a doubleheader on the third day of the trip would’ve really made this part of the schedule difficult to survive. It certainly would’ve been difficult for the Cardinals to thrive in that situation and run off several wins against the Phillies and Nationials.

But as it stands, the Cardinals were given a respite Tuesday. They were already down two runs just two innings into the game, and Westbrook looked anything but sharp.

Of course, the game will have to be made up at some point, likely during a four-game series in late July when the Cardinals are scheduled to play in Pittsburgh.

A five-game series would surely create issues at that point in the season, but for now the Cardinals can attack the rest of the roadtrip without that potential loss on their record, and everyone got another day of rest leading into some important games on the road.

The MLB playoffs are in full swing. As much as I thought the last day of the regular season was epic baseball watching. Having three series deciding games in a 24 hour period has the potential to be just as special. (I say potential because this article will be loaded before the conclusion of them.) This really doesn’t relate to the Royals. There’s not much to talk about. Major news will be hard to come by between now and the end of the Post Season.

I’m not old enough to remember the Royals run to a Word Series Title in 1985. And even if I were I’m not going to re-hash what happened. This Royals fan is tired of hearing about it, and tired of the organization milking that Championship dry. The organization is developing some young marketable stars. But I’ve already discussed that. The Royals need some new post season dramatics so the younger fans have something to talk about. To help do this I used the new “Time Travel App” on my phone to text myself three years into the future to see what is going on around the Truman Sports Complex in October 2014:

I’m grilling burgers here in lot M of the Truman Sports Complex. I can barely talk from yelling so much during the Chiefs 24-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier today. I’m sure Steeler fan is a little annoyed that their former head coach Bill Cowher hung a loss on them. But they have a Super Bowl since his tenure, they’ll get over it.

Chiefs game & a Royals playoff game on the same day at TSC? That wouldn't suck

Chiefs are 5-0 for the first time since 2003. That was a fun year for Kansas City sports fans. However, this past summer has blown the doors off that summer. For one. the Royals actually increased their 7 game lead at the All-Star break and won the division in mid-September. The end of the season was pretty anti-climatic. It’s a good thing too. The ALDS against the Yankees took everything the Royals had. James Shields was brilliant in the deciding Game 5, needing only an Eric Hosmer solo home run to win the game 1-0. That game more than made up for the calm finish to the regular season.

Game 1 of the ALCS starts in a few hours over at Kauffman Stadium against the Texas Rangers. I hope my voice recovers by then. Beer should help that out, right? Because Shields pitched on Thursday our number two guy Jake Odorizzi is pitching tonight. I remember when we got him in the Greinke trade. Greinke had that World Series runner-up run with the Brewers back in 11. But since then the Brewers have been just as bad as the Royals were when Greinke was here. Anyway, Odorizzi has been excellent this season posting a 3.45 ERA and winning 19 games. The only reason he’s not a Cy Young candidate is James Shields has been better going 21-6 with a 2.91 ERA. But even Shields will have to wait and see if the Rays ace Matt Moore beats him out.

I remember when the Royals traded for James Shields. Trading Mike Moustakas and some of the hitters in the minors to the Rays was a risky move, but it’s paid off for both teams. Up until that trade Dayton Moore didn’t have a great track record in trading at the major league level. At the time I really didn’t like the odds of Moore winning a trade with Andrew Freidman. That was the “succeed, or be fired trade” for Dayton Moore. Since then he hasn’t missed.

Anyway, I better put this thing down and get these burgers off the grill. Can’t be burning food especially between an NFL game the ALCS in the same sports complex. I’ve heard about this happening in other cities. But this is the first time I can remember it happening here. I should probably change jerseys too. See you in three years. It’s worth the wait. Hopefully I’ll be back here in January for an AFC Title Game

Hey, It could happen.

Our friends at Sports Vacation Guys have made it their business to help people find their ultimate trip built around their love of sports. It is a unique idea that allows them to build your ultimate vacation and make sure you see the game you want, in the city you want, and help you see some of the sites that the area is most famous for.

The inspiration for Sports Vacation Guys was an annual trip known as The Bachelor Stadium Tour (BST). The BST takes a group of friends and builds an exciting weekend filled with baseball and big cities. This year, over Labor Day Weekend, the pals will embark to Kansas City for two games at Kauffman Stadium to see the Royals take on the Cleveland Indians. From there, they will hop a plane and head to Target Field to see the Minnesota Twins take on the Chicago White Sox in a Labor Day doubleheader.

The Sports Vacation Guys want to share the first stop of their trip with you, Royals fans. So, let us know in the comments below what your ultimate sports vacation would be. The best submission (chosen by myself and a representative from Sports Vacation Guys) will receive two tickets to the September 4th game between the Royals and Indians with The BST.

Just to get you started, here is what some of our favorite baseball people around the internet said when we asked them to do the same.

Dennis Lawson – Pitchers Hit Eighth

If I had the opportunity to take an ultimate baseball weekend trip, my destination would be New York City. I’d go for a double dip – day game at Citi Field and a night game at Yankee Stadium. Since it’s the “ultimate” trip, the scheduling would work out perfectly, so I’d get to see Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals clobber RA Dickey and the Mets in the afternoon. That should leave me with enough time to grab some New York style pizza and get to the Stadium to catch CC Sabathia and the Yankees take on Josh Beckett and the Red Sox. Naturally, the only way for that marathon to end would be with “Enter Sandman” blaring as Mariano Rivera enters in the bottom of the 9th to close it out. With all that baseball in one day, I’d have plenty of time the rest of the weekend to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Times Square.

Drew Sarver – My Pinstripes

My ultimate baseball trip would involve a Midwest visit to Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland. Starting with a day series in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. And of course one game watching from the rooftop across the street. Then on to Detroit’s Comerica Park to watch Justin Verlander toe the rubber for the Tigers, and finally back east to Cleveland’s Progressive Field to watch the Indians take on the New York Yankees. A side trip would include a trip to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Daniel Shoptaw – United Cardinal Bloggers, C70 At The Bat

Well, typically, it’d be in St. Louis. Do some shopping, see the Arch, Grant’s Farm, things like that with the family. Outside of that, I don’t know. Washington would be great with all the monuments, etc. Though if you are just talking baseball, spending some time in the Iowa cornfield diamond would be right up there.

Jason Turbow – The Baseball Codes

I’d ordinarily be tempted to say a trip to Wrigley Field, preceded by a Friday taping of Oprah. Now that she’s closed up shop, I’ll go with Boston. Fenway provides the most wondrous ballpark experience I’ve encountered, and a weekend in Beantown would allow me to walk the Freedom Trail and head to the Public Garden for a photographic recreation of “Make Way for Ducklings,” the Robert McCloskey classic I read to my kids at least once a week. (I will be taking pictures because my children will have stayed home. With this in mind, a tour of the Samuel Adams Brewery might be in order, as well.)

Hilda Chester – Fan of the site

The perks of getting to see my team play the Braves in Atlanta not only allow me to see Turner Field, but I will also get to check out the Georgia Aquarium and take in the history of the south by visiting places like Martin Luther King Jr Historical Site. Most importantly- getting to ATL allows me to try the good ol’ Southern cooking first hand.

Shai Kushner – Baseball Digest

While I’m still not totally sold on west coast baseball …

I would love to take a trip along the west coast and catch as many games as I could from Seattle to San Diego, picking up some family along the way to come along for the ride.

I’ve been to Dodgers Stadium as well as Angels Stadium of Anaheim Stadium South of Los Angeles Stadium, but haven’t checked out the other new ballparks in that time zone.

Of course the drive along the coast would be almost as much of a highlight, even if it’s a little out of the way.

Michael Lynch – Seamheads

I’d love to go back to Fenway Park to watch my beloved Red Sox for the first time since 2004. I’m originally from Brookline, MA and visiting the places I used to hang out and the historical landmarks in Boston would be amazing. I’d also get to spend time with my mother and stepdad, which would make it that much better.

Rob Rains – St. Louis Sports Page
My ultimate trip that revolves around baseball would be to pack my family into an RV and go to as many ballparks as we could in one summer. We took a “Halls of Fame” trip where we went to as many Halls of Fame as we could between St. Louis and Cooperstown and you’d be surprised how many there are if you take side trips.

Jamie Shoemaker – Through The Fence Baseball

An ultimate weekend trip would be centered around the Atlanta Braves. I’ve been to the stadium twice, including a sellout against the Yankees in which the Braves won 5-2. The weekend would start off by visiting the CNN center where the Atlanta Braves clubhouse store is. They frequently have autograph signings and in my perfect weekend, Bobby Cox and the greats would be there signing autographs. This would ultimately include John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Andres Gallaraga, etc. just to name a few. During the game, Chipper Jones would win the game with a landmark grand slam that landed into my hands. I would then meet Chipper and the rest of the braves to return the ball to Larry. In the end (hopefully after receiving all the memorabilia for returning the ball) I would have a room full of Atlanta Braves signed gear and a poster of Chipper Jones and I.

To top it off, there would be a concert afterwards, in which my favorite band, Shinedown performs with Halestorm opening. Yeah, that might have been a reach, but it’s the ultimate weekend!

Michael Engel – Kings Of Kauffman

I’ve always been interested in the early history of America. If I had the opportunity to run off for a weekend, I can think of no better place to visit (that isn’t Kauffman Stadium of course) than Boston.

Naturally, Fenway Park is the baseball stop. There are few iconic locations in professional sports anymore, but Fenway may be the most recognizable ballpark in the game today.

Along with that, there’s the city of Boston itself with all the historic landmarks, the quirky street layouts, and a few dozen breweries (or thereabouts). I’m not a fan of the Red Sox in any way, but as a baseball fan, it would be tough to turn down a chance to see the Green Monster – and the rest of the city is a nice bonus, too.

When the New York Giants (57-27) came into St. Louis on July 15, 1954, manager Eddie Stanky knew he had his hands full. The Giants were a very solid team and were playing exceptional baseball. Their pitching was very good, and if the opposition somehow got into the bullpen, they had to contend with the likes of Hoyt Willhem (12-4) and Marv Grissom (10-7), both with ERA’s hovering around 2 runs per game. If that wasn’t enough, manning center field was a young slugger named Willie Mays. Mays would go on to win the first of his two Most Valuable Player awards, the other coming in 1965.

The Cardinals would split the first two of this early summer three game series. They would be shut out in the opener, 4-0, but after nearly blowing a lead late, Ray Jablonski drove in Wally Moon with a 2 out walk off single in the ninth. That set up an exciting rubber game on Saturday.

Royce Lint would get the start for the Cardinals. The rookie left-hander would start the season in the bullpen, and had been shaky at times. He had also been able to work long relief, often 5 innings or more. Thanks to a doubleheader in Chicago on July 4, Lint would make his first major league start and it was a dandy – a complete game shutout at Wrigley Field. That would earn him another start, and he pitched well enough to win, but the Cardinals bats did not cooperate. This game would be his third start, and also the shortest of his brief career, lasting just 1/3 of an inning.

Cot Deal

Three of the first four Giants batters would reach base against Lint. With the score 2-0, Stanky goes to his bullpen for Cot Deal. Deal was a veteran who had been called up several times, but failed to stay with the big club for long. Entering the game in a difficult situation, he gets Willie Mays to hit into a double play, ending the inning without any further damage.

Deal would retire the Giants in order in the second inning, but totally fell apart in the third. Deal would face seven men in that brutal inning, not retiring any of them. A pair of errors by Ray Jablonski, the late inning hero the day before, extended the inning and led to a barrage of subsequent hits and runs.

Ralph Beard would enter the game with runners on the corners and a 7-0 deficit. A pair of fly balls would give the Giants two more runs and a seemingly insurmountable 9-0 lead. Or that’s what the modest crowd at Sportman’s Park thought.

Beard would pitch three more scoreless innings, doing all that he could to give the Cardinals a chance for a comeback. That comeback would start in the sixth inning.

Giants starter, Johnny Antonelli, had been cruising until the Cardinals bats came to life in the sixth inning. And that inning reads like a Who’s Who in Cardinals history: Wally Moon, Stan Musial, Joe Cunningham and Red Schoendienst. The big blow in the inning was a two out double by Red, cutting the Giants lead to 9-5. The Cardinals also managed to chase Atonelli, with Hoyt Willhem taking over in relief.

The Cardinals would pull even closer in the seventh. With Ray Jablonski on first base with two outs, pinch hitter Solly Hemus draws a walk. Pinch hitter Joe Frazier would rip a triple, scoring Jablonski and Hemus. That would be the end of Wilhelm’s appearance, a rare short and ineffective outing. Frazier would not stay on third base for long. A Rip Repulski single brought the Cardinals to within a run at 9-8.

Meanwhile the Cardinals bullpen was just brilliant. The Giants had not been able to mount anything resembling a rally against Ralph Beard, Joe Presko, and the new Cardinals hurler, Al Brazle.

Harry "Peanuts" Lowrey

With the score still 9-8 in favor of the Giants, the Cardinals were about to accomplish the unthinkable. After chasing Hoyt Willhem, they were about to tie the game against the Giants All Star reliever, Marv Grissom. And it was just the kind of run you would expect in a game like this. With runners at first and second base with one out, Joe Cunningham grounded into what looked like an inning ending double play. But the 3-6-3 is one of the hardest to turn, and the Giants failed to do so. Dick Schofield, grandfather of the Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth, scored from second base when a throw went wild, tying the game. Solly Hemus would extend the inning with a single, putting the go-ahead run on third base. Unfortunately, Peanuts Lowrey was unable to drive Cunningham home.

The game would go into the ninth inning tied at 9 runs apiece. Marv Grissom and Harvey Haddix were now the pitchers of record. They would still be on the mound when the Giants took the lead in the 11th inning, and it was a beautifully manufactured run, typical of how that Giants team won many of those 58 games. A lead-off single, sacrifice bunt and infield single would put the potential winning run on third base. That run would score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Don Mueller. Haddix limited the damage to just one run, but that would prove to be enough as Windy McCall retires the now disappointed Cardinals in order in the bottom of the 11th.

Marv Grissom failed to earn the save, but a courageous long relief effort was enough to earn him the win. McCall would pick up the save. Harvey Haddix would take the loss for the Cardinals.

Following this series, the Giants would continue steamrolling over opponents in the National League. They would go on to win 97 games, capturing the NL Pennant by 5 games over their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. In a workman like fashion, they would sweep the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at On the Outside Corner. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.

The Royals and the White Sox played a doubleheader on Saturday night and an afternoon game on Sunday, completing 31 innings of baseball in a mere 24 hours. All three games went into extra innings, all three games were won by one run, and all three games were fun to watch. For fans of the Royals – the team that won two out of three games in the series – this was baseball at its very best.

And it wouldn’t have happened except by chance.

The Saturday doubleheader was the result of a rainout. In fact, pretty much all doubleheaders these days are the result of canceled or postponed games. They’re hardly ever pre-scheduled.

That wasn’t true in the past. Doubleheaders were common occurrences in the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, hitting their peak during World War II when rationing regulations were instituted. Fans could save gas and ballparks could save money by hosting two games on one day instead of two games on two days. But by the ‘60s and ‘70s, doubleheaders had started to fade away for good. Even Ernie Banks’ famous cry of “Let’s play two!” couldn’t save the doubleheader.

'Let's Play Two!" - Ernie Banks

But there’s a strong argument to be made for re-instituting the tradition of the doubleheader, and the argument was summed up perfectly this weekend.

Doubleheader baseball involves a great amount of strategy. National League fans, you think having the pitcher hit takes strategy? That’s nothin’ compared to doubleheader strategy. When managers are deciding whether to send up a pinch hitter for the pitcher, they have to think one or two batters, or at the most an inning or two, ahead. When you’re planning doubleheader strategy, you have to think one, two or even three games ahead.

Consider this weekend’s series between the White Sox and the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The two teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, and all the players, coaches and managers dragged into the ballpark on Sunday for an afternoon game.

In the bottom of the 10th, with the score tied and the winning run on base, Jason Kendall came up to bat. Scott Linebrink was pitching for the White Sox. Ozzie Guillen visited the mound before the at-bat.

We don’t know what they talked about, or what was going through Ozzie Guillen’s head. Maybe he thought he was out of pitchers in the bullpen. Or maybe he was tired and didn’t realize that Jason Kendall is a .538 career hitter against Linebrink.

You read that right. Jason Kendall has a .538 career average against Linebrink.

But Guillen left Linebrink in the game. Two pitches later, Kendall lined the ball to left center and the winning run came home.

This was a strategic failure on the part of Ozzie Guillen (the kind that might have gotten him fired earlier in the season when he was on the hotseat). But it’s also a strategic victory for the Royals.

And the Royals haven’t had a lot of those in recent decades. (Trey Hillman would have probably pinch-hit for Kendall in that situation…)

So for the Royals, at least, the doubleheader was a good thing.

And more doubleheaders would be good for all of baseball.

Here’s a proposal for Major League Baseball: pre-schedule between 10 and 14 doubleheaders for each team each season.

On the plus side, this would do a few things: first, it would add another element of strategy. Second, it would shorten the season by a couple weeks, which is probably good since the NFL is considering expanding to an 18-game schedule, cutting even more into the end of baseball season. Third, doubleheaders would do exactly what they did during World War II: save money for baseball fans.

Unfortunately, this probably won’t ever happen. The MLB Player’s Union would never allow it; they’ll say it puts too much strain on their players. And today’s fans, who have shorter attention spans, probably don’t want doubleheaders. They don’t go to baseball games to watch baseball. They go for the hot dogs and the fireworks and the playgrounds and the Sunday Fun Run and T-Shirt Tuesdays.

But forget all that. Baseball should do it anyway. It would make the game better.

In the words of Ernie Banks: “Let’s play two!”

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.