RetroSimba

Only one teenager has struck out 10 or more Cardinals in a game. Gary Nolan, a Reds rookie, was 19 when he struck out 12 Cardinals in seven innings on July 19, 1967, at Cincinnati.

“Every major-league club probably has a kid in the minors with as much ability as Nolan has, but what the other kids don’t have is Nolan’s makeup _ heart _ or whatever you want to call it,” Phillies manager Gene Mauch told The Sporting News.

Nolan had an 8-2 record and 2.29 ERA entering his start against the Cardinals.

Through seven innings, Nolan held the Cardinals scoreless and limited them to four singles, walking none.

His 12 strikeouts came in the first six innings. Five Cardinals _ Roger Maris, Tim McCarver, Mike Shannon, Dal Maxvill and Larry Jaster _ each struck out twice. Lou Brock and Orlando Cepeda struck out once apiece.

The Reds led, 2-0, as Maxvill opened the Cardinals’ eighth against Nolan. Maxvill, who entered the game with a .210 batting average, doubled to right. According to the Associated Press, Nolan told Reds manager Dave Bristol the bicep in his right arm had tightened.

“The pitch Maxvill hit was up and you could tell Gary didn’t have much on it,” Bristol said.

Bristol lifted Nolan, citing the arm problem, and the umpires allowed reliever Ted Abernathy to take as many warmup pitches as he needed. (Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told the Associated Press he wasn’t convinced Nolan’s arm had tightened and implied the Reds had used the injury as an excuse to give Abernathy extra time to loosen.)

“I just didn’t want to take any chances,” Bristol said. “It was a muscle in his arm and he was tired.”

Said Nolan: “I wasn’t tired, but my arm tightened up.”

Nolan’s departure benefitted the Cardinals. Alex Johnson, the first batter Abernathy faced, doubled to center, scoring Maxvill. Two outs later, Maris singled, driving in the tying run.

The Cardinals won, 3-2, in 12 innings when Gerry Arrigo walked Bobby Tolan with the bases loaded. Boxscore

The victory sparked a run of 10 wins in 13 games for the Cardinals and vaulted them 4.5 games ahead of the second-place Cubs.

Six days after facing the Cardinals, Nolan made his next start against the Braves and held them to a run in eight innings. Nolan finished the 1967 season with a 14-8 record and 2.58 ERA, striking out 206 in 226.2 innings.

Previously: Cardinals vs. Reds: rich tradition of July 4 showdowns