It was one month ago today when Cardinals fans packEd Busch Stadium for the final regular season game of 2011. As the crowd of 41,469 passed through the turnstile, many knew in the back of their minds it could very well be the last home game Albert Pujols ever played in a Cardinals’ uniform. St. Louis was still 2 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the final playoff spot in the National League with just 4 games to play. Though everyone hoped that the Cardinals would make the postseason tournament, or better yet – that Pujols would resign, no one was willing to take any chances.

So on September 25^th in a game versus the Chicago Cubs, Pujols received ovation after standing ovation from the sellout crowd. Win or lose, stay or go, fans let Albert know how much his play was appreciated over the last 11 seasons. Up to that point, Pujols had led the Cardinals to 2 World Series appearances and one championship, collecting three MVPs, a Rookie of the Year Award, and amassed dozens of other accolades along the way. Thanks to an 8^th inning go-ahead home run by shortstop Rafael Furcal, the Cardinals won that game and eventually clinched a playoff spot on the final game of the season.

So on October 4^th and 5^th, Cardinals fans got to see Albert a couple more times wearing the home red and white uniform. With the Cardinals trailing 2-1 the best of 5 series versus the National League’s best regular season team, fans again braced themselves for the worst in Game 4. For the second time in a week, it could’ve been Pujols’ final game in a Cardinal uniform. But thanks to a big 2-run home run by 3^rd baseman David Freese… and a lights out 3-hit shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies by Chris Carpenter in Game 5, the Cardinals again advanced.

So on October 14^th, fans once again packed Busch Stadium for what could have been Albert’s final home game as a Cardinal. The Cardinals cruised to a 7-1 victory, clinched the National League Pennant two days later in Milwaukee, and once again set the stage for Albert to return home.

So on October 20^th, the Cardinals hosted the Texas Rangers for Game 2 of the World Series. Win or lose, it once again could’ve been Pujols’ last home game as a Cardinal. In the bottom of the 8^th inning, it what could’ve been his final at bat at Busch Stadium in a Cardinal uniform… Pujols launched a ball back… to the track… to the wall… caught. The next inning, Albert made a critical fielding error that led directly to the game-winning run for the Rangers. Could that really be the final memory Cardinals fans would get of perhaps the greatest baseball icon in franchise history?

Of course not.

Wednesday, the World Series (and Pujols) returns to Busch Stadium for Game 6. For the 5^th time in a month, it could very well be Pujols’ final home game in a Cardinal uniform. Thursday’s Game 7 (if necessary) could be the 6^th. Like great theatre, the Cardinals season – and Pujols’ tenure in St. Louis – simply does not want to end until every last moment of heart-racing drama has taken place. In this drama’s previous 4 acts… our protagonist has come up short. Pujols has gone 1 for 16 with no HRs and 1 RBI in the other four games that could’ve been his last. There’s no telling what we can expect tomorrow in Game 6… or what possibly might lie ahead in Game 7… but I do want to remind you of a couple things: This is the same man who, with the team one out from elimination in the 2005 NLCS… hit a 3-run home run off the best closer in baseball to give the Cardinals a 1-run victory. The same man who just had a “down” year… hitting .299 with 38 home runs. The man who drove in the game tying run in Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS… and the man who scored the winning run that same inning. This is the man who hit walk-off home runs on consecutive days earlier this year to keep the Cardinals’ season afloat. This is the man who just 3 days ago become the 3^rd man in baseball history to hit 3 home runs in a World Series game, the 3^rd man in history to drive in 6 runs in a World Series game, and the 2^nd man to have 5 hits in a World Series game… and reached all three of those benchmarks with 1 swing of the bat in the 9^th inning.

This is the man who we’ll all be telling our grandkids about someday, and his final script in St. Louis has not yet been written. Sit back enjoy the final days of an unforgettable baseball season.

The year 1982 marked the first of three 1980′s appearances in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. It also marks the one and only time that the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series.

With the two teams, now in the same league, prepared to face off for the National League Pennant, i70baseball brings you a look back to that series in 1982. A monumental series that took all seven games to decide a winner. A series that would see would see both teams win a game by a double digit margin as well as each team winning a game by two or fewer runs.

You can read more about Game One by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Two by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Three by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Four by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Five by clicking here.

Milwaukee had taken care of business at home and now traveled to St. Louis having to only win one game to upset the Cardinals and claim a world championship for the city. St. Louis found themselves taken by surprise with the upstart Brewers and suddenly had their backs against the wall, needing to win both games at home in order to advance.

Game Six: Tuesday, October 19, 1982
The weather would be one of the top stories of game six as the St. Louis area was tortured by storms throughout the day. Fans at Busch Stadium would be required to suffer through over two and a half hours of rain delays in order to see this game play through to completion. The game would be completed that night and the Cardinal faithful would not be disappointed.

It was a rematch of game two in this series as the Brewers sent veteran Don Sutton to the mound to oppose the Cardinals’ rookie hurler John Stuper. Game two required a come from behind victory for the Cardinals as Stuper found himself in trouble quite often. The offense for St. Louis wanted to make sure that would not have to happen again.

It was the bottom of the second when the Cardinals offense, coupled with the Brewers defensive gaffs, would jump on the board. Dane Iorg would drive a two out double ahead of Willie McGee. McGee would reach base on an error by Brewers’ shortstop Robin Yount, allowing Iorg to score. A double from the bat of Tom Herr would follow, and the Cardinals jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead.

George Hendrick would lead off the bottom of the fourth inning with a base hit and advance to second on a rare balk by Don Sutton. Darrel Porter would then drive a pitch out of the park to right field and the Cardinals’ bats were providing some entertainment for the fans. Iorg would then triple down the right field line and score on Herr’s sacrifice bunt. The Cardinals were now ahead 5-0 and sending a statement to the Brewers.

The Cardinals would benefit, uncharacteristically, from the long ball in this game. Keith Hernandez would hit a home run in to the right field power alley after Lonnie Smith‘s leadoff single in the fifth, tacking on two more runs and putting the Cardinals ahead 7-0. Hernandez’s home run would also push Sutton out of the game.

Milwaukee reliever Jim Slaton would retire the final two hitters of the fifth inning and yield to Doc Medich in the sixth. Iorg would lead off that inning with a double, advancing to third on Medich’s wild pitch. McGee would step in and drive a base hit into right field, scoring Iorg. Herr would follow with a single of his own and both runners would advance to second and third on Medich’s second wild pitch of the inning. Medich would get Ozzie Smith to ground out to first without surrendering the run before walking David Green, who took over for Lonnie Smith in left field, to load the bases. Kent Oberkfell would hit a ground ball to Brewer first baseman Cecil Cooper, which would result in McGee being thrown out at home as Milwaukee looked to get out of the jam with two outs now. Hernandez would then drive a base hit into right field, scoring both Herr and Green and allowing Oberkfell to advance to third. With runners at the corners, Hendrick would single and advance to second on the unsuccessful attempt to throw out Hernandez advancing to third, scoring Oberkfell in the process. Jim Gantner‘s error at second base on Darrel Porter’s ground ball would allow two more runners, Hernandez and Hendrick, to score. Iorg would lineout to left to put an end to the disastrous, six run inning for the Brewers, the Cardinals now leading 13-0.

Stuper would go the distance for the Cardinals, surrendering a run scored to Gantner on a wild pitch in the ninth inning, otherwise scattering four hits and two walks over the nine inning, rain soaked affair.

The series was tied and a deciding game seven would be played at Bush Stadium the following day. The conclusion of the 1982 World Series would come in a dramatic final game.

Stay tuned as i70baseball brings you game recaps for all seven games of the 1982 World Series on game days of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The year 1982 marked the first of three 1980′s appearances in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. It also marks the one and only time that the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series.

With the two teams, now in the same league, prepared to face off for the National League Pennant, i70baseball brings you a look back to that series in 1982. A monumental series that took all seven games to decide a winner. A series that would see would see both teams win a game by a double digit margin as well as each team winning a game by two or fewer runs.

You can read more about Game One by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Two by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Three by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Four by clicking here.

The Series had been tied as of the night before, but it appeared that the Brewers had all the momentum. A six run seventh inning gave the game four victory to the Brewers as they headed into the Sunday night game at County Stadium, looking to take a three games to two lead. The Cardinals, still the heavy favorites to win it all, would look to reestablish a lead in the quest for their ninth World Championship.

Game Five: October 17, 1982
The night would be of historic value, even if the two teams were not aware of it at the time. While 1982 was the Milwaukee Brewers first appearance at the Fall Classic, it was not the first that Milwaukee’s County Stadium would see. The stadium had hosted series while being home to the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and 1958 against the New York Yankees. On this night, the ball yard would host it’s final World Series game. In addition, Robin Yount, who had four hits in game one, would record four hits on this night as well, becomming the first player in history to record two, four hit games in a single World Series.

The Cardinals would send lanky hurler Bob Forsch to the mound to try to regain the upper hand. Forsch had a solid season, going 15-9 with a 3.48 earned run average. He threw six complete games, including two shut outs, and an impressive 233 innings. The Cardinals depended on him to anchor the rotation, and hopes were high with him on the mound, despite him being the pitcher of record in the 10-0 blowout loss in game one.

The Brewers countered with their game one winner, Mike Caldwell, a seventeen game winner on the season. A similar pitcher to Forsch, Caldwell had the same level of confidence from fans and teammates. The game was lined out to be a classic, and it would not take long to get things going.

It may very well have been the defense that set the tone for this game and it happened in the first inning. After Lonnie Smith would lead off the game with a base hit and promptly steal second base, he would be gunned down trying to steal third by Brewers catcher Ted Simmons with Keith Hernandez at the plate. Hernandez would stroke a single in that at bat, but the run had already been erased.

It was not just good defense that set the tone, however. After Forsch retired Paul Molitor on a flyball, Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper would each single. Forsch would then have Yount picked off of second base, but he threw the ball away and into centerfield. Both runners would advance and Yount would score on Ted Simmons ground out to first base. The score after the first was 1-0 in favor of the Brewers.

Cardinal leftfielder David Green would stroke a two-out triple in the top of the third, scoring on Keith Hernandez’s double in the following at bat and suddenly the score was tied. Milwaukee would not let it stay that way, however, as they would make Forsch pay for walking Paul Molitor with one out in their half of the third. A Robin Yount double would put runners at second and third and Milwaukee would score their second run the same way they scored their first, on a groundout to first base. The third inning came to a close with Milwaukee up 2-1.

Milwaukee would add on in the fifth inning when Cecil Cooper would lead off the frame with a two base hit down the left field line and moved to third on the efficient groundout to the right side by Jim Gantner. Molitor’s single would follow and drive in the run, and the Cardinals uphill battle would increase. The first five innings were complete and the Brewers were now up 3-1.

The seventh inning would continue the theme of the night. The Cardinals, utilizing a leadoff walk to Ozzie Smith, would plate a run in the top of the frame on a George Hendrick base hit to center and close the gap a little. However, the Brewers would once again answer quickly, this time off a solo home run into right field by Robin Yount. The seventh had come to a close, and the Brewers still led, now 4-2.

Bruce Sutter would take the mound in the bottom of the eighth and the Brewers would build a bit of a cushion. Sutter would surrender a one out single to Ben Oglivie and a two out walk to Dan Money, setting up the bottom of the order to do some damage. Charlie Moore, hitting eighth, would drive a single to right field, scoring Oglivie. Ninth place hitter Jim Gantner would follow with a single of his own to score Money and the Brewers would head to the ninth winning by a score of 6-2.

Caldwell would take the hill in the ninth, looking for the complete game and get himself into some trouble early on. A one out double to Green would lead to a run scored as Hernandez would make it back-to-back doubles. George Hendrick would follow with a single to center field, chasing Hernandez home and Caldwell from the game. Brewers closer Bob McClure would enter the game and surrender a single to catcher Darrel Porter. After McGee would strike out swinging for the second out, Whitey Herzog would enter Mike Ramsey to pinch run for Porter and send Gene Tenace to the plate to pinch hit for Kent Oberkfel for the second straight night. Tenace would not strike out like the night before, but his harmless fly ball to center field would bring and end to the game.

The teams would be set to return to St. Louis for the final two games of the World Series. The Brewers would simply need to take one of those games to claim the franchise’s first title. The Cardinals would need a sweep to extend their lead as the top franchise in the National League.

The next day was an off day for travel and we will bring you the game six recap on the same night of game six in the 2011 NLCS between the two teams.

Stay tuned as i70baseball brings you game recaps for all seven games of the 1982 World Series on game days of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The year 1982 marked the first of three 1980′s appearances in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. It also marks the one and only time that the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series.

With the two teams, now in the same league, prepared to face off for the National League Pennant, i70baseball brings you a look back to that series in 1982. A monumental series that took all seven games to decide a winner. A series that would see would see both teams win a game by a double digit margin as well as each team winning a game by two or fewer runs.

You can read more about Game One by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Two by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Three by clicking here.

While the Cardinals were the favorites to win the series, they made a strong statement by taking the first game in Milwaukee for a victory. Young Willie McGee was showing why the Cardinals had such faith in him, the team was playing “Whiteyball” and generating runs, and the upstart “Harvey’s Wallbangers” Brewers were on the ropes having lost two of the first three. Getting back into this series in game four was going to be very important and the Brewers would need to focus on the task at hand.

Game Four: October 16, 1982
The visiting Cardinals would turn to rookie hurler Dave LaPoint to try to gain more of an upper hand against the Brewers. LaPoint pitched in 42 games in 1982 and started 21 of those. He finished the regular season with nine wins, three losses, a 3.42 earned run average, 81 strikeouts, 52 walks, and a 1.454 WHIP while ranking eighth in the Rookie Of The Year voting. LaPoint had started his career in Milwaukee and now had the opportunity to show them what they lost when they traded him away. Of course, they knew what they got: Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons, and Pete Vuckovich.

The Brewers would rely on a pitcher that had struggled his way through the 1982 season, Moose Haas, to try and get them back into things. Haas was a contact pitcher that seldom walked hitters during that season, only 38 walks over 193 1/3 innings pitched, but tended to give up a few runs, as apparent by his 4.47 earned run average. It would be an uphill climb for Haas and the Brewers but anything can happen in baseball.

Anything started happening quickly in this game for the National League Champions. Between strikeouts of leadoff man Tom Herr and third place hitter Keith Hernandez, Kent Oberkfell would stroke a double down the first base line. A single from clean up hitter George Hendrick, and the Cardinals were out to an early lead.

The second inning would not help the Brewers out any at all. The Cardinals once again showed they small ball approach as, with one out, Willie McGee would stroke a base hit. He would then steal second on a play that the Brewers had anticipated but catcher Ted Simmons bobbled the pitch out. Ozzie Smith would walk and a wild pitch would allow both runners to move into scoring position. Tom Herr would lift a fly ball deep to the warning track in centerfield that Gorman Thomas would track down. Thomas, however, would fall after making the catch and a hustling Ozzie would score all the way from second base. Kent Oberkfell would then walk and steal second, finally scoring on a ground ball by Keith Hernandez that was booted by secondbaseman Jim Gantner. After two innings, the heavily favored Cardinals were already up by a score of four to nothing.

Things would calm down until the Brewers would finally get on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. A lead off double from Don Money would be followed by a single from Charlie Moore, placing runners at the corners with no one out. Gantner would follow with a ball up the middle that would see Ozzie turn a defensive gem of a snag into a double play, yielding the run. It would be all the Brewers could muster that inning and the score would stand at four to one in favor of the Cardinals.

Brewers fans would feel the pressure of the uphill battle shortly thereafter as the Cardinals would get the run right back in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back doubles for Lonnie Smith and Dane Iorg would plate the Cardinals fifth run and chase Haas from the game.

The bottom of the seventh rolled around and Ben Oglivie would reach base for the Brewers with one out on a botched play by Dave LaPoint covering first base. Money would follow with a single and Moore would pop out to shortstop. With two outs and two on, Gantner would plug the gap in rightfield, scoring both runners and chasing LaPoint from the game. Doug Bair would walk Paul Molitor to load the bases before giving up a two run single to Robin Yount, placing Yount at first and Molitor now at third. With the Brewers suddenly within a run, Herzog would go to his bullpen again and call on Jim Kaat to face Cecil Cooper, who promptly singled in Molitor, tying the game. Kaat’s wild pitch to Simmons would move the runners to second and third and cause Herzog to bring in Jeff Lahti in the middle of the at-bat. Lahti would walk Simmons intentionally to once again load the bases before surrendering a two run single to Gordon Thomas in his second at bat of the inning. The Cardinals would finally get out of the inning after another intentional walk to Oglivie and a fly out by Money. The Brewers had taken the lead seven to five after seven innings of play.

The Cardinals would not threaten again on this day and a disastrous seventh inning would lead to a tie series. With one game left in Milwaukee, the series was knotted up at two games a piece and the excitement was building.

Stay tuned as i70baseball brings you game recaps for all seven games of the 1982 World Series on game days of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The year 1982 marked the first of three 1980′s appearances in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. It also marks the one and only time that the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series.

With the two teams, now in the same league, prepared to face off for the National League Pennant, i70baseball brings you a look back to that series in 1982. A monumental series that took all seven games to decide a winner. A series that would see would see both teams win a game by a double digit margin as well as each team winning a game by two or fewer runs.

You can read more about Game One by clicking here.
You can read more about Game Two by clicking here.

The series was on it’s way to Milwaukee’s County Stadium for the middle three games. Tied up 1-1, the Cardinals and the Brewers had played a first game blowout in favor of the Brewers and a close game settled by a bases loaded walk for the Cardinals. The third game of this Series was played on Friday, October 15…

Game Three: October 15, 1982
This time the Cardinals would send Joaquin Andujar to the mound to face the Brewers on their home surface. The 29-year old pitcher had arrived in St. Louis the year before after being traded by the Houston Astros. He was dominant in 1982, winning 15 games over 10 losses, posting a 2.47 earned run average (his career best), and throwing five shut outs. He would post a 1.080 WHIP and a 2.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio as well that season. He was almost an identical pitcher whether home or away that season.

Milwaukee would counter with 18 game winner Pete Vuckovich. Vuckovich would only lose six games in 1982 while posting a 3.34 earned run average, 1.502 WHIP and 1.03 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Home cooking was Vuckovich’s speciality as he pitched much better in the friendly confines than he would on the road that season.

The two teams would lock themselves in for a pitchers duel with each hurler carrying shut out baseball into the fifth inning. In fact, each team had exactly one hit when the fifth inning rolled around and it was Andujar who had seen the most trouble but worked out of it by that frame. All that changed quickly when the middle frame got started.

After Darrel Porter lead off with a strikeout, Lonnie Smith would drive a double to left-center field and the Cardinals would have their first base runner in scoring position. Dane Iorg would reach base on an error by Brewers first baseman Cecil Cooper, putting runners at the corners for the Cardinals young outfielder Willie McGee. McGee would drive the first pitch he saw over the fence in right field to put the Cardinals up 3-0.

The homerun to McGee would be one of the few mistakes by either starter through six innings as the pitchers duel continued. It was Lonnie Smith once again in the seventh inning with one out that would stroke a triple off of Vuckovich and subsequently score on the play as the Brewers secondbaseman Jim Gantner would throw the ball way at third. A Dane Iorg fly ball out would bring McGee back to the plate, this time with the bases empty, to face Vuckovich again. A 1-0 pitch would again be driven over the wall in right and McGee would have his second home run and fourth run batted in of the game, putting the Cardinals up 5-0 after six and a half innings.

The bottom of the seventh would see the Brewers threaten after catcher Ted Simmons would drive a ball back up the middle and off of Andujar’s knee. The Cardinal ace would leave the game and the Cardinals would use both Jim Kaat and Doug Blair before turning the game over to Sutter and escaping the inning with no damage after the Brewers loaded the bases with two outs.

The Brewers would get on the board in the eighth inning off of Sutter. After Robin Yount drew a walk, Cecil Cooper would follow with his own home run to right field, a two run shot that would make the score 5-2.

Walks would once again hurt the Brewers in the ninth, however. After George Hendrick had reached on a rare catcher’s interference call and Dane Iorg would hit a ground rule double, Vuckovich would intentionally walk McGee to load the bases and pitch to Ozzie Smith. Sometimes when you have a pitcher issue an intentional walk, however, he struggles to find placement again and Vuckovich walkEd Smith to force in the sixth run for the Cardinals.

As Sutter took the mound to be the finishing touches on the game for the Cardinals, he would work himself into some trouble of his own. Brewers left fielder Ben Oglivie would reach base on an error by Cardinal first baseman Keith Hernandez. Gordon Thomas attempted to pull his team a bit closer but his ball that would have left the park in centerfield was brought back by Willie McGee and turned into a loud and long first out. A strikeout and fly ball later and Sutter would have a save, the Cardinals a 6-2 win, and the comfort of Milwaukee hotels as they looked forward to Game 4.

The Cardinals now lead the series two games to one. Important to note that Sutter got a save in a 6-2 ballgame due to his work in the seventh inning to escape a bases-loaded jam.

Stay tuned as i70baseball brings you game recaps for all seven games of the 1982 World Series on game days of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The year 1982 marked the first of three 1980′s appearances in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. It also marks the one and only time that the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series.

With the two teams, now in the same league, prepared to face off for the National League Pennant, i70baseball brings you a look back to that series in 1982. A monumental series that took all seven games to decide a winner. A series that would see would see both teams win a game by a double digit margin as well as each team winning a game by two or fewer runs.

You can read more about Game One by clicking here.

After being blown out of game one by the underdog Brewers, the Cardinals would look to salvage a split at home before heading to Milwaukee for three games. The Brewers on the other hand would be out for blood, hoping to take both games at Busch Memorial Stadium and head back home with a huge advantage. The second game of this series was played on Wednesday, October 13…

Game Two: October 13, 1982
The Brewers would turn to Don Sutton, acquired at the end of August from the Houston Astros in a trade, to pitch game two. Sutton had on overall record that season of 17-9 with a 3.06 earned run average with his Milwaukee numbers being 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA. Sutton was on the backside of his 23-year, major league career but had proven effective for the Brewers.

The Cardinals countered with rookie hurler John Stuper. The young man received his first call to the majors in June of that year and compiled a 9-7 record with a 3.36 earned run average. His career would see him split time between the bullpen and the rotation with moderate success prior to coming to an end in 1986. His final game was as a Cincinnati Red in 1985 prior to being traded to the Montreal Expos that offseason. He never appeared for the Expos.

Stuper would not help his cause in this game, getting into trouble early after walking Robin Yount in the first. His defense would come to his aid and turn a double play to get out of the inning and Cards fans would hope for some momentum to build. In the second inning, Stuper would again issue a free pass, this time to Gordon Thomas. Thomas would be erased on a fielder’s choice ground out by Roy Howell, who would advance to second on a wild pitch from the ineffective Cardinal starter. Charlie Moore‘s double to left-center would put the Brewers on the board and the Cardinals were playing from behind once again.

The third inning would not yield better results for Cardinal fans. Paul Molitor would lead off the inning with a base hit, following it up with a steal of second base and moving to third on another wild pitch. Robin Yount’s ground out to second base would allow Molitor to score and the Brewers would take a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Ted Simmons would take on a run with a solo blast to right field and the Brewers were now on top 3-0 after two and a half innings.

For the first time in the series, the Cardinals offense would get going in the bottom of the third and they would start chipping away at the lead. Dane Iorg would get the inning started with a single before being erased on Willie McGee‘s groundout. McGee would steal second and move up to third on Ozzie Smith‘s groundout. Second baseman Tommy Herr would put a run on the scoreboard for the Cardinals for the first time in the series with a ground rule double to right-center field. Herr would then score on Kent Oberkfell’s single and when the third inning came to a close, the Cards had pulled within one.

After an uneventful fourth inning, the question of “How short is Stuper’s leash?” would be answered quickly in the fifth, as he was removed from the game after surrendering a leadoff double to Yount. Jim Kaat would enter the game in relief and immediately surrender a run scoring single to Cecil Cooper, putting the Brewers on top 4-2. The book on Stuper would be closed at four innings, six hits, four runs (all earned), three walks, three strikeouts and a home run.

Both teams would roll along until the bottom of the sixth when the Cardinals would surge back. The term Whiteyball would be used often in the 1980′s to describe the Cardinals and it was represented well in the sixth inning of the second game of the 1982 World Series. With one out, Kent Oberkfell would single to right field. Oberkfell would then steal second base and advance to third on Keith Hernandez‘s flyball to right. George Hendrick would work a walk and catcher Darrel Porter would shoot a line drive down the left field line scoring both men and tying the game at four runs a piece.

The bullpens would battle into the eight with Bob McClure now on the hill for the Brewers and Bruce Sutter on for the Cards. In the bottom of the eighth inning, McClure would be lifted from the game with one out after walking Hernandez and surrendering a base hit to Darrel Porter. The Brewers would hand the ball to Pete Ladd. Ladd had pitched well in limited action in 1982 and the Brewers needed him to stop the bleeding with runners at first and second and only one out. Ladd, however, would walk Lonnie Smith to load the bases and issue a second free pass to Steve Braun to force in the go-ahead run. He would get McGee to line out to the shortstop before surrendering a base hit to Ozzie Smith. Unfortunately for Cardinal fans, it is only a base hit in the record books. The ball would hit Steve Braun as he was running from first to second and bring an end to the inning with the Cardinals now in the lead for the first time in the series.

Sutter, and Porter, would nail down the victory in the ninth inning. A leadoff single from Molitor would be erased when Porter would throw him out attempting to steal second base and Sutter would close the door on Yount and Cooper to preserve a victory and even the series at a game a piece. The Cardinals had come from behind and won game two by a score of 5-4.

The teams would travel the following day before resuming the series in Milwaukee for game three. Check back on Wednesday as i70baseball continues to bring you the 1982 World Series.

Stay tuned as i70baseball brings you game recaps for all seven games of the 1982 World Series on game days of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The year 1982 marked the first of three 1980′s appearances in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. It also marks the one and only time that the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series.

With the two teams, now in the same league, prepared to face off for the National League Pennant, i70baseball brings you a look back to that series in 1982. A monumental series that took all seven games to decide a winner. A series that would see would see both teams win a game by a double digit margin as well as each team winning a game by two or fewer runs.

It was a series to remember for St. Louis fans. It was the series to forget for Brewers fans. It all began on October 12, 1982.

Game One: October 12, 1982
The Cardinals had finished the regular season with a 92-70 record and defeated the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series for the right to play for the World Title. The Brewers would finish with a 95-67 record and dispose of the (then) California Angels to earn their first trip to the World Series.

For you stat-heads out there, researching this article revealed that the Brewers played 163 games that season. One of which, the contest on June 16, was a tie with the Baltimore Orioles. It is explained that the Brewers were tied with the Orioles at the end of nine innings when the game became rained out. Because the game had passed the fifth inning, the stats were allowed to count, and the teams were required to make up the entire game at a later date.

If game one was to set the tone for the series, then Cardinal fans became concerned very quickly. Right hander Bob Forsch, who was 15-9 with a 3.48 earned run average, took the mound for the Cardinals in front of the home town crowd of 53,723 at 2:30 in the afternoon. As the Brewers stepped to the plate that first inning, Forsch would surrender a hit and a walk before first baseman Keith Hernandez would commit an error allowing Robin Yount to score the first run of the game. An infield hit by Gordon Thomas would drive in Cecil Cooper and the Brewers would have the only runs they would need to win this game.

When you are playing the game, however, you do not know just how many runs it will take to win and the Brewers were not going to settle for just two. In the top of the fourth inning, Brewers lead off hitter Paul Molitor would drive in Charlie Moore on a single that Molitor was thrown out trying to stretch into a double, making the score 3-0. It was later in the game, in the top of the fifth inning, when Ted Simmons would reach Bob Forsch for a fly ball into the left field seats. The bases were empty, but Milwaukee had opened a four run lead.

During this time in baseball history, home field advantage rotated every season. In even years, the National League had home field advantage. In addition to this rule, during those years when the National League had home field advantage, both teams were allowed to use the Designated Hitter in all seven games, regardless of the home stadium’s rules. This rule was changed in 1986 and the Designated Hitter is now only allowed to be used in American League parks and the All Star Game.

Robin Yount would bring an end to Forsch’s day in the sixth with two outs as he drove a double down the right field line scoring second baseman Jim Ganter and Molitor. The score was now 6-0 and the Cardinals turned to Jim Kaat to slow the bleeding. Kaat would pitch well, retiring four hitters and only surrendering one hit before turning the game over to Dave LaPoint. With two outs in the ninth inning, LaPoint would be reached for a run as Don Money would deliver a pinch hit single to score Ben Oglivie. LaPointe was then replaced by Jeff Lahti, who would surrender three straight hits: a single for Moore, a two-run triple to Gantner, and an RBI single for Molitor.

Brewers starter Mike Caldwell would be on his A game during the opening contest. Caldwell, who posted his second best record of his career in 1982 at 17-13, would throw a three-hit shutout that night for the Brewers. Of the three hits, two belonged to Darrel Porter. Porter would double in the second and reach second on Ken Oberkfell‘s base hit in the eighth inning, the only two times a Cardinal would end up in scoring position. Caldwell would finish the day having surrendered three hits and one walk while striking out three Cardinal batters.

Star(s) of the game: While Caldwell deserves mention for his performance from the mound, Molitor and Yount deserve recognition for their contributions. Molitor delivered with a 5-for-6 day at the plate, delivering five singles and driving in two runs. Yount was right behind him, going 4-for-6 with a double and driving in two runs.

The first game of the series belonged to the Brewers, 10-0.

Stay tuned as i70baseball brings you game recaps for all seven games of the 1982 World Series on game days of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

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.

As the Cincinnati Reds prepare to make their first trip to Busch stadium in the 2011 season, it is time to take another look at the unfortunate events that took place at Great American Ballpark on August 10, 2010. A late season pennant race between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds turned tragic when Yadier Molina took exception to some things that Brandon Phillips had said the previous day. The two proud baseball players yelled at each other, some of it happening with their faces separated by mere inches. The two benches would soon empty and the ensuing scrum brought Johnny Cueto of the Reds into contact with Chris Carpenter and Jason La Rue of the Cardinals, and the results were disastrous for La Rue.

When it came time for Major League Baseball to take action, the Roseboro incident was cited as a precedent for their ruling. In the first part of this series, we will take a look back at that infamous moment in baseball history.

August 20, 1965

The events that led up to Juan Marichal striking Johnny Roseboro with his bat actually started in the middle of this Friday night game in San Francisco. The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were battling for the National League Pennant, with the Giants 1 1/2 games out. Thanks to a Willie Mays home run and a successful squeeze bunt, the Giants had built up an early 4-1 lead. Things got interesting when Maury Wills stepped up to bat to start the fifth inning.

Maury Wills was one of those types of players that made things happen. Sometimes it could really get under the skin of the opposition, and this was one of those times. He took a very long and slow swing, coming in contact with catcher, Tom Haller’s glove. The home plate umpire immediately ruled catchers interference and Wills was awarded first base. The Dodgers failed to capitalize on this controversial call, but that was not the end of the matter.

When the Giant’s Matty Alou, another player who could get under the opposition’s skin, led off the next inning, he tried the same trick that Wills had done moments earlier. The home plate umpire ruled that Alou’s bat did not come in contact with Johnny Roseboro’s catcher’s mitt, negating an interference call. The Giants were furious about the Alou non-call, claiming that the umpires were favoring the Dodgers. Roseboro was furious because Alou caused him to take a fastball in the chest protector. The Giants would go on to win the game, but the issue was far from settled.

August 22, 1965

With 1 1/2 games separating the two teams, Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax would meet in the Sunday afternoon series finale. Both pitchers were having exceptional seasons. Koufax had won 21 games thus far, while losing just four. Marichal had just won his 19th game a few days earlier, and was looking to go over the 20 win mark for the third consecutive season.

It didn’t take long for the tempers to flare in this game. Marichal was still fuming over the officiating earlier in the series. When Maury Wills stepped up to the plate to start the game, Marichal sent a clear message that he was not going to put up with anything out of the Dodgers’ shortstop. He threw a high and tight fastball that put Wills on his backside. Undaunted, Wills fired back by laying a beautiful bunt down the third base line. The first two shots across the bow had been fired.

Things turned even more tense when Marichal knocked down the next batter, Jim Gilliam. With that message delivered, Marichal tried to turn his attention back to the game, but got into a bit of trouble. He would give up a run in each of the first two innings, the second ironically on a Johnny Roseboro single.

When Juan Marichal came up to the plate, things turned ugly, but not in a way that anybody expected.

Johnny Roseboro called for an inside knock down pitch, but that was not how Sandy Koufax played the game. Perhaps if it was a position player, but even then, that was not how Koufax went about his business. On a low curveball to Marichal, Roseboro dropped the ball which allowed him to get up and walk behind Marichal. He then threw the ball back to Koufax uncharacteristically hard, and quite close to Marichal’s head. Depending on which account of the story you believe, it either buzzed by closely or actually clipped Marichal in the ear. Regardless, it enraged Marichal and he confronted Roseboro.

If you want to see what happens next, here is the actual game video – but please be advised, there are a several disturbing and graphic moments.

Before continuing, it is important to know that Johnny Roseboro was a great catcher, but more than that, he was one of baseball’s toughest players. He would courageously block home plate with runners bearing down on him without as much as blinking. I remember a game when Mike Shannon, in full stride, hit Roseboro, and it was Shannon that went bouncing off in another direction.

Roseboro leaving the game (photo by Neil Liefer)

When the players were finally separated, the resulting scalp cut from Marichal’s attack left Roseboro bleeding rather badly. Willie Mays escorted the injured Roseboro off the field so that he could be taken to the Dodgers training room. The Dodgers’ catcher would require several stitches to close the wound on his forehead, and would be diagnosed with a concussion. As a result, he would miss the next two games, although he did travel with the team to New York. By August 25, he was back behind the plate, no worse for the wear. Roseboro was a very tough baseball player.

Although he protested vigorously, Juan Marichal was immediately ejected from the game. The league office would decide what additional punishment was warranted over the next several days.

Punishment

The commissioner would eventually suspend Marichal for 9 games, plus the final series of the season between San Francisco and Los Angeles. For those last two games, he was barred from even traveling with the team to Los Angeles. In addition to those 11 games, he was fined $1,750, or about 3 percent of his annual salary.

Many fans, especially those in Los Angeles, were angered over the perceived light punishment that Marichal received. The 9 game suspension worked out to just two missed starts. Giants manager, Herman Franks, used Marichal on just two days in Chicago, just so the Los Angeles travel ban would not cost him another start.

The true punishment for Marichal came much later, when it was time for his induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame. In spite of being one of the best pitchers of his era, winning more games than any other pitcher in the decade of the 1960′s, he would not be invited into Cooperstown until 1983, three full years after the start of his eligibility. Roseboro might have had a big part to play in that too, but we’re getting slightly ahead of ourselves.

The Giant Meltdown ?

Historians often cite the Roseboro incident as a turning point in the 1965 season. Marichal and the Giants were hot on the Dodgers heels, and those two (plus perhaps one later) start Marichal missed might have been the difference between San Francisco or Los Angeles going to the World Series. While that would be a storybook ending to the season, that’s not how things actually happened.

The Giants would keep winning, in spite of Marichal’s suspension. They would even win both remaining games against the Dodgers, with Juan Marichal safely tucked away in San Francisco. As late as September 16, they held a 4 1/2 game lead in the National League.

The difference in the 1965 season was a 13 game Dodgers winning streak, largely on the arms of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres and Ron Perranoski. It had nothing to do with Marichal, and the Giants didn’t collapse. The Dodgers just ran away with it, as the Cardinals had done with Cincinnati the previous year.

Civil Suit and Forgiveness

Disappointed with the light punishment handed down from the commissioner, Johnny Roseboro filed a civil suit against Marichal for $110,000. That suit was later settled out of court for $7,000. The matter was settled, or so we thought. What happens next surprised everybody.

Johnny Roseboro did what a lot of people might not have been able to do, he forgave Marichal. Perhaps it was because his actions played a big part in that terrible event, or he was just a really good person; the two were able to put that unfortunate event behind and become friends.

Marichal a Dodger ?

Things got very interesting in Los Angeles when Juan Marichal, now 37 years old and in the tail end of his career, signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He only appeared in two games that season, one of them in Dodger Stadium. Johnny Roseboro made a plea with the fans in attendance to forgive Marichal and accept him as a Dodger. Marichal even wore Roseboro’s number, on the former catcher’s insistence.

There were no hard feelings on my part, and I thought if that
was made public, people would believe that this was really over
with. So I saw him at a Dodger old-timers' game, and we posed
for pictures together, and I actually visited him in the Dominican.
The next year, he was in the Hall of Fame. 

Hey, over the years, you learn to forget things. --Johnny Roseboro

After Baseball

After baseball, the two became close friends. Roseboro may have even had a hand in Marichal’s induction into the Hall of Fame when he wrote letters to Baseball Writes’ Association of America (BBWAA), urging them to reconsider their opposition to the former Giants pitcher. On the third ballot, Marichal received enough votes, and was finally inducted in 1983. The two would frequently show up at old-timers events, and Roseboro would travel back to the Dominican Republic to play in Marichal’s charity golf events. Perhaps the most touching moment came in 2002, when Marichal delivered an emotional eulogy at Roseboro’s funeral.

Next time we will take a look back at August 10, 2010, and see how the two incidents were similar, and where they were drastically different.

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 San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates were supposed to battle for the National League Pennant in 1967. At least that was the plan before the season began.

The Cincinnati Reds had a lot to say about that early in the season. They got off to a quick start, leading by as many as 4 1/2 in early June. Eventually their pitching depth would come into play and they would fade during the dog days of summer. The Reds would end up winning 87 games, but would finish 19 behind the Cardinals when all was said and done.

The first meeting between the Reds and Cardinals would be a short two game series in early May. The Reds would come into St. Louis, hoping to make a statement, as well as increasing their lead in the National League standings. The scheduling would be fortunate for the Reds as manager, Dave Bristol, would be able to use his two best pitchers: Jim Maloney (1-0) and Milt Pappas (2-1). Red Schoendienst and the Cardinals would counter with their top two starters: Bob Gibson (3-1) and Ray Washburn (0-2). You could always count on Bob Gibson to give you a good game, but it was a healthy Ray Washburn that gave Cardinals fans the most to cheer about in the early part of 1967.

May 2 – St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 0

In the first game, Bob Gibson was exceptional. The big right hander was never in trouble. Gibson would only give up two hits in this game: a leadoff double to future Cardinal Vada Pinson in the fourth and a single to Leo Cardinas in the fifth. While dismantling the Reds lineup, Gibson would fan 12 and walk 2. From the very first pitch of the game, Gibson overmatched the first place Reds, making a statement of his own.

Jim Maloney

On the other side of the diamond, the Cardinals would put pressure on Jim Maloney all night long. A single by Tim McCarver in the second inning, advancing on a ground out by Mike Shannon would set up the first Cardinal run. McCarver would steal third base and later score on a Jim Maloney wild pitch.

The Cardinals would add three more runs in the fifth inning when Mike Shannon would hit a bases loaded double, scoring all three baserunners. Roger Maris would single in Bob Gibson for the final Cardinals run in the sixth, giving the home team a 5-0 lead.

All in all, a nifty 2 hit complete game shutout for Gibson’s fourth win of the season.

But that’s not the story. That would come 22 hours later.

May 3 – St. Louis 2, Cincinnati 0

When the Cardinals took the field the next night, we expected a rejuvenated Reds lineup to try to earn a split in the short series. What we got was one of the best pitched games of the year by Ray Washburn. Finally healthy after dealing with arm troubles, the newly retooled Washburn kept the Reds off balance all night long. Where Gibson was striking out Reds hitters, Washburn was getting weak ground balls to the infield. When your infield consists of Mike Shannon, Dal Maxvill, Julian Javier and Orlando Cepeda, that is a recipe for success. Like Gibson in the previous game, Washburn would surrender only two hits: a two out single by Pete Rose in the fourth and a two out single by Chico Ruiz in the fifth.

Milt Pappas

Other than a shaky first inning, Milt Pappas was nearly as good as Washburn. The top of the Cards order would manage a small rally in the fourth inning. Just as he had done in the previous game, Mike Shannon would deliver the big blow, a bases loaded single to drive in two runs – the only runs that would be scored in the game.

As the game wore on, Washburn seemed to get stronger and stronger. Forget any hits; in the the last three innings, the Reds would get only a single base runner (on a walk). When they did hit the ball, only two made it out of the infield, both harmless fly outs to Curt Flood. It was also one of the quickest games I’ve ever heard, lasting only an hour and forty minutes.

More important, this game was something Cardinals fans had been waiting to see since 1962, a healthy and dominating Ray Washburn. We would see a lot of this over the next two seasons.

Message delivered

The high flying Reds game into Busch Stadium, hoping to extend their lead. Over two games and just under four hours of baseball, all they managed were four hits. They left St. Louis with their tails tucked between their legs, as they would several more times that unforgettable summer.

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.