The Cardinals completed their most dominant weekend in recent years over the weekend, completing the rare four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. The potential of the team has never been in doubt, yet the reality of it had been. The team put that to rest for the moment, as the offense woke up in a major way, cranking out 48 hits across the series, while surrendering only 12 runs across the series. These runs surrendered actually came from the starting rotation mostly, as the bullpen, propelled by some new additions, became a strength for the team, holding the lead in a way that has been uncharacteristic far too often this season.

All in all, the team leaves for the next stop on its current NL Central road spin, firmly ahead in the division and tied with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in baseball. The current six-game win streak the club is on is its second longest in the last four seasons, and also gives them four more road wins than any team in the National League. Here are three of the major factors that have played into the series that was.

1. Heart of lineup wakes up: Many of the struggles of the offense getting started this year has come at the heart of it. Matt Holliday has hit at a rate much lower than his average career output, and Allen Craig was a cleanup hitter than couldn’t hit the ball over the fence…or do much else of anything unless there was already somebody in place. And quite often, Holliday’s issue spilled into Craig’s, and it was just as frustrating to get them started as watching somebody try to bite their own ear.

Well, the power source of the club got to their job over the weekend, and it was no coincidence at all that the team had its best production of the year thus far as well. Holliday stepped into his usual role as a hammer, rocking the Brewers to the tone of a .333 average, 5 RBI and two home runs, including a monstrous 460 foot shot on Friday. Cardinal left fielder also scored seven runs in 3 games, and Craig is the cause of several of those. Craig had a prolific series, driving in seven runs on eight hits, including a double, triple and his first home run of the season. Overall, he hit .470 for the series, and got his clutch-hitting stats up to 22 RBI and a .412 average with runners in scoring position.

2. Baby Birds Hatched: The two most shocking moves of the season were both the comings and goings from the bullpen. In mercifully moving the struggling Mitchell Boggs and Marc Rzepczynski to Memphis to work out their issues, the club brought up two of its best minor league starters to boost the pen. Seth Maness and, more shockingly, Carlos Martinez came up and immediately showcased why they have the billing they brought with them.

Maness, the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2012, made two appearances, and quickly earned his stripes. He induced a bases-loaded double play in the eighth inning in his second appearance to hold off the Brewers and set up the club’s third win of the series. Martinez made a stunning impact, showcasing the high-90’s fastball that made him a Top 25 prospect in all of baseball a year ago. Both showed that the potential of the much-hyped Cardinal system is living up to the eye test standard as well.

3. Thawing Out: After entering the series in the worst stretch of his career, David Freese joined the break out party as well. He had three multi-hit games to start the series, and looked much more comfortable than he had all season. It was an encouraging effort from the laboring Freese to come to life and beginning to bring the much needed balance to the lower half of the Cardinal lineup.

In four years Jason Motte went from a hard-throwing catcher to a pitcher who closed out a World Series championship and became a linchpin in the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen but, as is the case for many closers, now it is his turn to land on the disabled list with arm problems.

The Cardinals announced Saturday that Motte has a right elbow strain and will likely start the season on the disabled list. The team has a viable back-up in Mitchell Boggs, but Boggs could end up being the Cardinals closer for most, if not all, of 2013.

Although Motte technically has a sprained elbow, he underwent an MRI on Friday that found a tear in one of the ligaments. That sounds an awful lot like what shortstop Rafael Furcal experienced when he tore an elbow ligament Aug. 30. Furcal didn’t play the rest of the season and will now miss the 2013 season after he finally had Tommy John surgery.

That’s not to say Motte is headed toward Tommy John surgery and will be out for the year, but a tear in an elbow ligament doesn’t usually heal itself, at least not quickly.

But this isn’t doomsday for the Cardinals. They can still compete for a playoff spot or even win a World Series championship without Motte. Other teams have experienced this type of situation with their closer, and whether they got lucky to have a good fill-in closer or they simply had a deep bullpen, they still won a lot of baseball games.

For example, the 2012 World Series champion San Francisco Giants lost their closer, Brian Wilson, at the beginning of the season. But they eventually gave Sergio Romo the job and he finished game after game all the way to a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

The Cardinals are even a step ahead of the Giants because they have a back-up closer ready before the season starts. The Giants had a closer-by-committee situation early in the season as pitchers such as Santiago Casilla tried to finish games before they settle on Romo.

The Cardinals already have Boggs ready to make a relatively easy transition from eighth-inning setup reliever to closer. Boggs led the Cardinals with 78 appearances in 2012 and had a National League-best 34 holds.

Plus, the team has a loaded bullpen that should be able to fill in any open spots without much trouble. Flamethrowing righthanded reliever Trevor Rosenthal has the stuff to shut down hitters for one inning, and the Cardinals have a bevy of righthanded relievers such as Fernando Salas and Edward Mujica who can continue to work the middle innings.

Motte’s injury also might affect the battle between Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly for the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation. The Cardinals could decide to give the rookie Miller the starting job and put Kelly in the bullpen since he worked eight games for the Cardinals in relief last season.

In any case, the Cardinals certainly won’t get the type of consistency from the closer’s role they had in 2012. Motte had all 42 saves for the Cardinals last season and tied with Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel for the league lead.

That’s a bit much to expect out of Boggs, who hadn’t had an earned-run average below 3.50 until he broke through last year and posted a 2.21 ERA.

But the Cardinals do have a deep enough team to survive an injury to their closer. This isn’t an obituary for their season, but the words to describe Motte’s 2013 season might already be chiseled in stone.

Love it or hate it, Major League Baseball’s addition of the second Wild Card in each league in an attempt to create more opportunity as well as more likelihood that multiple playoff races would exist every season seems to have worked. And without it, the St. Louis Cardinals would have very little to play for right now.

The Cincinnati Reds have an 11 game lead in the NL Central, and their Magic Number (combination of Reds wins and Cardinals losses) to clinch the division title is seven. They could very well have things wrapped up by this time next week. It would take a run of biblical proportions—bad on the Reds’ side; good on the Cards’ side—for the Redbirds to win the NL Central this year. A cakewalk compared to the 2011 run. It ain’t happening.

And without the extra playoff spot, the same might be said about the Wild Card. The Cardinals trail the Atlanta Braves by six in the loss column; not an insurmountable number, but a damn hard one to overcome with only 17 games to play. With the way the Cards have played this season, it’s tough to imagine them even coming close to pulling something like that off—especially with no head-to-head matchups against the Braves remaining. In 2011, the Cards pulled off a three game sweep of Atlanta in September that really fueled the idea that the Bravos just might be catchable. No such situation exists this year.

No, things are quite different in 2012 for the Cardinals. Coincidentally, they do happen to be in the midst of a huge series with Wild Card implications. This time, the closest foe is the Los Angeles Dodgers. And instead of being the chasers, the Cardinals are the chased. But injuries, streaky offense, and a questionable bullpen have kept the Cards from creating much separation at all between them and the teams on their heels. Even after the win on Thursday, no one expected the Cards to go into Dodger Stadium and sweep. Winning three out of four would be great, and getting a split would be acceptable. With each team winning a game going into action Saturday, things seem to be on track. But if the Cards drop the next two, they will find themselves out of a playoff spot.

And that’s just the implications with the Dodgers. The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled mightily down the stretch, yet they’re still hanging around only three games back of the Cardinals. But the real threats seem to be the streaking Philadelphia Phillies (three games back) and Milwaukee Brewers (three and a half back). Neither the Cardinals nor the Dodgers can afford to drop many games, because the way those two teams are playing they’re liable to close quickly. Perhaps the Cardinals can take some solace in knowing their next nine games are against the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs. But they have plenty of business yet to take care of this weekend, with the thinnest of margins for error.

The system has created the possibility for this race to happen, and the Cardinals are currently leading the pack. But the teams chasing them certainly have no intention of letting up. It’s time the Redbirds put the pedal to the floor, before their wheels get yanked out from under them.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.

The All-Star game will be coming to Kansas City on Tuesday July 10. About a month ago, we took a look at 4 players who could be in position to to make the team. While it doesn’t appear that any Royals player will be voted in, it does appear that they still have 4 players in position to possibly make the team. Only one of those is different than a month ago.

Billy Butler
“The Butler” is proving to be the best hitter on the team, and the most clutch performer as well. Starting in St. Louis on Father’s Day when he hit the game-tying home run in the top of the 9th, he has continued to get big hit after big hit. Most recently, he homered in today’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the 8th to put the Royals ahead 5-4 and help secure the 3-game sweep. Butler has stiff competition at the DH position. It appears that David Ortiz will win the fan voting, and Butler will be competing agains the likes of Adam Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion for a spot. Both of whom are having outstanding years. Butler will have the advantage of being the hometown guy though, and would be a great choice to participate in the Home Run Derby as well.

Mike Moustakas
“Moose” has continued to swing a hot bat just about the entire year. Along with that, he has played surprisingly stellar defense at 3rd base. It looks like the fan vote is going to go to either Adrian Beltre or Miguel Cabrera. Along with those 2 players, the Anaheim Angels’ Mark Trumbo is also having a terriffic offensive year. Moustakas has his work cut out for him to make the team, but like Butler, the hometown advantage will help his cause.

Alcides Escobar
Relative to the competition at the position, Escobar is the most deserving Royal. As of now, it appears Derek Jeter will get the nod as the starter. He is having a fine year, but Escobar has been phenomenal. Along with playing a gold-glove caliber defense, he is hitting .315/.353/.427 with 12 stolen bases. There are other shortstops having good years like Elvis Andrus and Asdrubal Cabrera, but nobody has been as good all-around in the American League at the position as Escobar has.

Jonathan Broxton
Broxton is quietly putting together a very good year. He currently ranks 4th in the American League in Saves with 19 and has blown just 3 all season. Royals fans have been treated to a few tense moments by the man they call “Johnny Drama”, but overall, he has been a very solid door-closer all season. While Broxton is somewhat deserving, he is more of a longshot and it would be very disappointing if the Royals only got one all-star and the spot wen to him.

Are the 2012 Kansas City Royals a bad baseball team? This question that was asked frequently during the notorious twelve game losing streak. Because the losing streak happened so early in the season it is a legitimate question. I know the 2012 version of the Royals is not a good team. Good teams don’t go on twelve game losing streaks and have starting pitchers with ERAs above 7. However, does this Royals team have the potential to get near .500 like we anticipated in March? Or are we looking at another 100 loss season? There is only one place to find these answers: Baseball-Reference.

The Royals have had four 100 loss seasons in their history. Let’s see how the 2012 Royals would stack up if they were in a division with those four teams after 25 games:

Year W L GP GB
2002 8 17 25 -
2004 8 17 25 -
2012 8 17 25 -
2005 7 18 25 -1
2006 5 20 25 -3

As you can tell the 2012 Royals are in some bad company. You can tell me this team is more talented than those teams. You can tell me that their Pythagorean W-L shows a record of 10-15 and that the Royals have been “unlucky” so far this season. The team is playing better and has won 5 out of their last 8 since ending the losing streak. Including what I consider to be Mike Moustakas’ emergence as “player” on the major league level. Yes, injuries have been a major problem and I expect this team will play a lot better when Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Perez, and Felipe Paulino return from the disabled list. However, other major league teams have injury issues too. Even the 2005 Royals had a stretch from May 31st to Jun 16th where they won 11 of 15, including a 3 game sweep of the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. I remember that sweep well; it was the highlight of that season.

The reality is this team has real pitching problems. It’s not like we didn’t know pitching could be an issue. It became apparent early last season that the pitching at the major league level and in the minors was not going to be enough open a “playoff” window anytime soon. It is such a major story line for me I wrote about it four times last season: here, here, here and here.

If the Royals are ever going to contend be a mediocre team instead of terrible they will need to add pitching. Danny Duffy has made some strides this season at becoming an ace pitcher this team needs. However, Duffy is just one pitcher. Felipe Paulino has shown some promise but a long way from a sure bet. I don’t see Bruce Chen or Luke Hochevar as long term solutions.

It’s frustrating that six years after Dayton Moore said “pitching is the currency of baseball” not much has improved among the starting rotation. There needs to be more pitching. Pitching is expensive whether you trade for it, or pay for it. The problem is, Even if ownership approves such a costly move, which is up for debate in the first place. I don’t have confidence in this front office to execute such a deal. Dayton Moore has been flat out schooled in trades at the major league level.

That is why I’m leaning toward this version of the Royals being a bad team. The glaring holes in the roster configuration have not been fixed from last year. Not to mention this team seems to lose focus a lot more than last year. I think the likelihood that this is another 100 loss season is greater than the Royals turning it around and getting near .500. The next question is, can the front office get enough pitching before it’s time for this young nucleus to chase their free agent contracts?

Spring Training is underway and the Kansas City Royals begin their 2012 campaign. This year, fans are excited about the Royals young, talented players and their boundless potential to be part of a winning team.

But the players can’t do it alone. The Royals coaching staff has to provide guidance on and off the field to make the Royals a winner. Here’s the men who will lead the Royals into the 2012 Major League campaign.

Manager Ned Yost: This will be the second full season Yost manages the Royals, after replacing Trey Hillman during the 2010 season. Yost managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2003-2008, leading the Brewers an 83-79 record in 2007, their first winning season since 1992. The following year, the Brewers were 83-67 with 12 games left and on their way to an N.L. Wild Card before a 3-11 September slump and a four game sweep by the Philadelphia Phillies cost Yost his job.

Before managing the Brewers, Yost spent 12 years with the Atlanta Braves Major League staff as a bullpen and third base coach. He also spent parts of six seasons as a catcher for the Brewers, Texas Rangers and Montreal Expos from 1980-1985.

With Yost’s experience managing small-market Milwaukee and his 12 years with the Braves, the Royals believe he is the one who can make the Royals a contender. Whether Yost can led the Royals to the promised land is uncertain, but he will be given every opportunity to succeed since the Royals recently picked up his 2013 option year.

Batting Coach Kevin Seitzer: A Royals player from 1986-1991, Seitzer enters his fourth season as the Royals hitting coach. In 2011, the Royals had a team .275 BA (4th in the A.L.), .329 OBP (5th in the A.L.) and .415 SLG (5th in the A.L.). The team lead the A.L. with 41 triples, second in the A.L. with 325 doubles and third in the A.L. with 1,560 hits. However, the Royals finished 11th in the A.L. with only 129 home runs and 442 walks and 12th in the A.L. with 1,006 strikeouts.

Seitzer’s job this year is to get the lineup to cut down its strikeouts, take more walks, get more men on base and hit for more power, especially home runs. So far the team is buying into Seitzer’s coaching, with Alex Gordon being one of the players he helped make into a better hitter.

Pitching Coach Dave Eiland: With a Major League record of 12-27 and 5.74 ERA over 92 games, Eiland’s career wasn’t stellar. But his five years as a pitching coach in the New York Yankees Minor League system and three years as the Yankees pitching coach from 2008-2010 landed Eiland a job as the pitching coach for 2012, replacing long time pitching coach Bob McClure.

Eiland helped the Yankees win a World Series in 2009, so he knows how to win. However, Eiland has a tough task ahead of him with a suspect starting rotation, but a solid bullpen. In 2011, the Royals finished 12th in the A.L. with a 4.44 ERA, while giving up 557 walks, the most in the A.L. Eiland wants the starting pitchers to pitch into the late innings, using the bullpen to hold leads or give the offense a chance to rally in the late innings if they’re behind. Time will tell if Eiland is up to the challenge.

First Base Coach Doug Sisson: With a long baseball coaching career in college and several levels in the Minor Leagues, Sisson enters his second year as the Royals first base coach. From 2008-2010, Sisson served as the Royals minor league field coordinator, overseeing the Royals minor league system.

In addition to first base, Sisson is also the baserunning and outfield coach. The Royals had a good outfield last year with a career year by Alex Gordon and solid seasons from Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera. Last year, Royals ranked 2nd in the A.L. with 153 stolen bases and caught stealing only 58 times. Sission’s familiarity with the players who came up through the Minors should be an asset to the team.

Third Base Coach Eddie Rodriguez: A baseball lifer, Rodriguez spent six seasons as a Minor League player before having a long and varied career as a Minor League manager and coach. Rodriguez was a coach for several Major League clubs, joining the Royals as the third base coach in 2010.

Rodriguez is also the infield coach and with Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas solidly at the corners, Rodriguez will focus his attention on a middle infield in flux, with projected starters Alcides Escobar at shortstop and Johnny Giavotella at second base. If Rodriguez can help improve the middle infield, the Royals will be a better team this season.

Bench Coach Chino Cadahia: A long career as a coach and manager in the Rangers and Braves Minor League systems, 2012 will be Cadahia’s first season as the Royals bench coach.

Cadahia is also the catching coach and will be responsible for catchers Salvador Perez, Brayan Pena and Manny Pina, depending who makes the Opening Day roster.

In Atlanta, Cadahia spent 2007-2010 as bench coach for manager Bobby Cox. Working with one of the best managers in Major League history and his relationship with Yost in Atlanta should be an asset to Yost and the Royals.

Bullpen Coach Steve Foster: This is Foster’s third season as the Royals bullpen coach, after spending 2007-2009 as the bullpen coach of the Florida (now Miami) Marlins. Foster spent time as a pitching coach in the Marlins Minor League system, a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays and a college head coach and pitching coach. Foster also co-authored the book Lessons From Little League and Life with his father Steve Foster Sr.

Besides answering the bullpen phone properly and making sure the relief pitchers are warmed up and ready to enter the game, Foster will assist pitching coach Dave Eiland and preside over a Royals bullpen which was one of the highlights of the 2011 season.

It’s up to the players to win the games, but it’s up to the coaching staff to make sure the team is in a position to win. If the Royals play well, the coaching staff gets some of the credit. If the Royals stumble, the coaching staff gets a lot of the blame.

St Louis just completed a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, winning last night 9-6. Lance Berkman hit two home runs and drove in three. Jon Jay also homered for the Redbirds.

When these two franchises get together – and it has only happened twice, the other occurring over a lazy weekend in 2003 – nostalgia aficionados think back to when both teams played in St Louis, and the 1944 World Series. The Browns moved out of St Louis following the 1953 season, partially because they were cash-strapped, partially because the American League was tired of Bill Veeck owning the team.

Very few folks remain in St Louis who saw the Browns play and it is safe to say no one in Baltimore, unless they moved to Maryland with the Browns, cares they were St Louis’ other franchise some 58 years ago. Anyone hoping the Orioles would dress up like the Browns during this series was disappointed. That did happen once though – during Baltimore’s lone visit to St Louis.

June 7, 2003 found the Cardinals 4 games over .500 and in third place, 2 games behind Houston. Baltimore was 2 games under and in fourth, trailing the Yankees by 5 and a half. Garrett Stephenson and Sidney Ponson started for the Cardinals and ‘Browns’, respectively, and in a sign of things to come Stephenson gave up a first-inning home run to Melvin Mora, staking Baltimore to a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals came right back; after leadoff singles by Miguel Cairo and JD Drew, Albert Pujols doubled to score Cairo. Drew, however, was thrown out at home trying to tie the game. Ponson walked Jim Edmonds next, then got Scott Rolen looking and Edgar Renteria on a lineout.

The Orioles immediately pushed the lead back to two in the second, thanks to a leadoff home run from Deivi Cruz. The score would stay that way until Cruz returned to the plate in the fourth and homered again. It was the second, and last, multi-HR game of his career. Stephenson gave up a third HR – in the sixth, to Jeff Conine – and was lifted by Tony LaRussa two batters later instead of facing Cruz a third time. Kiko Calero came in and struck out Cruz to end the sixth.

In the meantime Ponson was cruising. Following the Pujols double he retired 21 of the next 22 hitters, allowing only an Edmonds single leading off the fourth. Dustin Hermanson relieved Calero to start the eighth and promptly gave up singles to Luis Matos and Mora, both of whom scored when Conine followed with a double. St Louis got multiple runners on in the bottom of the inning on a pinch-hit single from Orlando Palmerio and a double from Cairo, but Cairo managed to get hit by Drew’s ground ball to short. Pujols struck out looking with runners on the corners to end the inning.

Baltimore tacked on a meaningless unearned run in the ninth, and Ponson completed what he started, winning 8-1. Ponson threw 29 complete games in his career, and this was the first of three he threw in 2003.

What makes this game memorable? Two things. It is currently the only game the Cardinals have lost to Baltimore. And, it remains the only time since 1953 the St Louis Browns played the St Louis Cardinals.

A split of a four game series with the Indians was fine but a 3-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers drops the Royals to 12-10.

This week, the Royals will pay Cleveland a visit for a three game set after an off day Monday. They will return home for another three versus the Twins. Kansas City has truly faced some tough opposing pitching the first month of the season, that doesn’t change for week 4. It’s Masterson, Tomlin and Carmona again from the Indians then Duensing, Pavano and Liriano from the Twins.

Injury Front:

Robinson Tejeda threw a bullpen session last week but remains off the radar for this week.

Playing Time:

Mike Aviles’ playing time is still hit and miss. He sat the first two against the Rangers and then exploded in the last game going 3-4 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and a SB. He’s frustrating to owners, playing second fiddle to Wilson Betemit. Even with a huge game Sunday, he’s only worth a spot on your bench until playing time clears up.

HOT:

Alex Gordon might actually be for real. He extended his hitting streak to 18 games this week, the longest active streak in the AL. There may be no better time to deal Gordon as hit hot start has his trade value at an all time high. He is currently sporting a .435 BABIP and although he is making better contact than ever (80%) he is chasing a lot of pitches outside the zone (35%). Also, at this point, his home run pace only lands him at about 10-15 for the season.

Jeff Francoeur has a fourteen game hitting streak of his own. His numbers are a little more substantiated than Gordon’s as he has not been chasing as much and has improved his contact at the plate thus far. He’s worth a spec claim in deeper leagues.

NOT:

There is no one exactly frigid on this week’s list, only a warning that you must pick your spots wisely with the Royals starting pitching. Sunday’s start for Bruce Chen in Arlington would not have been a wise one. Luke Hochevar getting rocked against Cleveland was hard to see coming. He does have a favorable two-start week pitching in Cleveland then facing a punch-less Twins team at home.

The only thing hotter than the temperature in St. Louis was the battle for the 1967 National League pennant. It had suddenly become a three team race, two of which were the St. Louis Cardinals and the visiting Cincinnati Reds. The Reds had led the league for most of the season, but the Cardinals kept pace, never falling more than 4 1/2 games behind. It had been a two team race until the Cubs went on a tear, winning 16 of their last 19 games, including a recent 3 game sweep of the Reds. That knocked the Reds out of first place and put the Cubs into contention for the first time in several years.

At the start of this series, the Cardinals and Cubs were tied for first place and Cincinnati was starting to fade, now 5 games behind. The Cubs would give back nearly all of the ground they gained over the next two weeks, but it was this Independence Day series between the Cardinals and Reds that would set the tone for the remainder of the 1967 season.

The Cardinals seemed to be in good shape entering the series. Orlando Cepeda (.348) and Tim McCarver (.346) were chasing Roberto Clemente for the batting title, and were second and third in the league, respectively. Curt Flood was also in the mix, batting .306 at the time. Lou Brock, Roger Maris and and Julian Javier were also flirting with .300.

Milt Pappas

If that wasn’t enough for the Reds to deal with, the Cardinals starter on the night was Bob Gibson (9-6). But it wasn’t just any Bob Gibson. This was Gibson at his absolute meanest, and that meant trouble for the Reds. Gibson was coming off the worst outing of his career, giving up 9 runs in just 2/3 of an inning against the San Francisco Giants. When he took the mound, it looked like he had something to prove – we just didn’t quite know what it was.

Facing the Cardinals was veteran right hander, Milt Pappas. Pappas had recently come over to the National League after an impressive stint with the Baltimore Orioles. This was his 9th consecutive season with more wins than losses, and 10th if you are willing to include his rookie season where he went 10-10 as a 19 year old. In spite of all of his success, he always seemed to have trouble with the Cardinals.

A quick start

Gibson made quick work out of the Reds in the top of the first, as he would do for most of the game. A strikeout, an infield ground out and another strikeout and it was the Cardinals turn to hit.

And did they hit. And hit. And hit.

Lou Brock would lead off with a double, followed by singles by Curt Flood, Roger Maris and Orlando Cepeda. Before Pappas could even work up a sweat, the Cardinals had a 2-0 lead and were threating for more. Tim McCarver would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Maris for the 3rd Cardinals run. Infield singles by Mike Shannon and Julian Javier would load the bases and end the day for the Reds starter. Don Nottebart, a former starter turned long reliever, would take over and he would be greeted rudely by light hitting Dal Maxvill who would clear the bases with a loud double in the right field gap. An errant throw allows Maxvill to score and the Cardinals now had a commanding 7-0 lead, with still only one out. Bob Gibson would extend the inning with a single.

What happens next united a team that was lacking a bit of identity, and they would need that over the coming months as they faced enough adversity to demolish a lesser team.

Thrown out

Lou Brock

Lou Brock would make the second out of the first inning with a fielders choice, forcing Gibson at second base. There was no chance of doubling up the speedy Brock. With a 7 run lead, Brock attempts to steal second base and is thrown out, ending the inning. He also angered the Reds in the process. Apparently the Reds did not appreciate Brock running in that situation, and would soon retaliate. Not once, but twice – and that was just one too many.

Gibson would shut down the Reds quickly in the second and third innings, striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced. The Cardinals would go quietly in the second, but started another rally against Nottebart in the third.

Tim McCarver and Mike Shannon would start the inning with singles, putting runners at the corner. Deciding this was the time to make a statement, Nottebart brushes back Julian Javier, inviting the ire of Cardinals fans that remember Javier paying a similar price in 1965. Javier would ground into a fielders choice with McCarver being thrown out at home. The inning would end without a further incident, but tempers were clearly heating up.

In the fourth inning, Gibson would strike out two more Reds, bringing his total to 9. He was also throwing a perfect game, retiring the first 12 Reds rather quietly.

Once too often

Nottebart would again voice his displeasure of Brock’s running in the first inning by hitting the Cardinals left fielder to start the home half of the 4th inning. If he had not dusted Javier in the previous inning, that might have passed without a response. One was fine, but two batters could not be tolerated. Somehow, the Reds forgot who was on the mound for the Cardinals.

A return message was clearly delivered in the top of the fifth inning. Bob Gibson would throw one of his best fastballs behind the head of Tony Perez, one of the leaders of the young Reds team. Just because he didn’t hit Perez didn’t mean he wasn’t sending a loud and unambiguous message: this ends here and now. But it didn’t. Far from it.

Tony Perez would fly out, but while heading back to the dugout he yelled something at Gibson.

There are two things you can’t do to Bob Gibson: cheat on the inside of the plate and bark at him. Tony Perez must not have gotten that memo.

Tony Perez

Perez and Gibson would share several verbal exchanges, both men getting more animated as they went on. The situation escalates when Orlando Cepeda comes over from first base to try to intervene, according to Cepeda’s version of the story. This move is misinterpreted by the Reds reliever, Bob Lee who comes running in from the Cincinnati bullpen.

Lee is a mountain of a man, listed at 6ft 3in and 225 pounds, but he looked much bigger at that particular moment.

Both teams ran out on the field and punches were thrown, hard and repeatedly. The scrum moved quickly into the Reds dugout and players started jumping in just as quickly as others were being thrown back onto the field of play. Even some fans got in on the conflict, helping out the home team. St. Louis police officers were soon dispatched to break up the fight, and they were eventually able to restore order, but not before several players were hurt, as was one of the officers.

The Reds manager had to be treated for lacerations from being spiked. The Reds reliever, Don Nottebart, received several facial cuts, but would stay in the game and pitch the bottom of the inning. Bob Gibson would jam the thumb on his pitching hand and it would bother him later in the game, prompting a call to the bullpen in the 8th inning. The most humorous of the injuries was to Tommy Helms, who broke a tooth – presumably the result of a Gibson punch. Helms would end the night 0-4 causing a sports writer to note that Gibson got more hits on Helms than Helms did on Gibby.

When play resumed, only one player was ejected: Bob Lee. While his actions had led to the escalation, the reason for his ejection was that he had entered the field of play illegally.

Back to the game

Orlando Cepeda

The game would continue, but it was clear that the fight had taken a toll on both teams. The Reds went quietly until the top of the 8th. Gibson was starting to struggle with his control, and the Reds started hitting him hard. After giving up 3 runs, manager Red Schoendeinst would go to his bullpen and Nelson Briles would quickly shut things down. Perhaps this was an omen as Briles would be called on to fill the spot in the rotation when Gibson lost two months to a broken leg.

The Cardinals would end up splitting the 4 game series, winning the first and last games while dropping the middle two. More important than this series, something had awakened in the Cardinals clubhouse. In a few weeks, Orlando Cepeda would stand up on a trunk and proclaim “Viva el Birdos”, and the Cardinals would go on to win the pennant and defeat the Red Sox in the fall classic. Looking back at the season, that bird might have taken flight in the 5th inning of this game. July 3, 1967.

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.