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Taking advantage of a pitching staff with the worst earned run average in the National League, the 1937 Cardinals capped a doubleheader sweep of the Phillies by scoring their most runs in an extra inning.

On July 16, 1937, Terry Moore hit a three-run home run to highlight an eight-run 10th inning in an 18-10 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

No Cardinals club has scored more in an extra inning, though the 2017 team came close to matching the feat.

On June 20, 2017, Yadier Molina and Tommy Pham each hit a two-run home run to highlight a seven-run 11th in an 8-1 Cardinals victory over the Phillies. Boxscore

Hitter’s haven

The 1937 Phillies had one of the worst pitching staffs all-time. The Phillies finished the season with a 5.05 team ERA, yielding 868 total runs. Only three of their pitchers posted an ERA better than 5.00: Claude Passeau (4.34), Orville Jorgens (4.41) and Bucky Walters (4.75).

Just before the 1937 Cardinals arrived in Philadelphia, the Phillies blew a 10-4 lead at home, giving up six runs in the ninth, and losing 11-10 to the Giants in 10 innings.

The Friday afternoon doubleheader between the Cardinals and Phillies drew a Ladies Day crowd of about 9,000 in sweltering conditions.

“It was a hot, muggy day,” wrote J. Roy Stockton of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It is funny to hear people in Philadelphia talk about the St. Louis heat. You can breathe in St. Louis. In Philadelphia, when it is hot, the humidity creeps up and stifles you. It was that kind of a day.”

Walters started Game 1 for the Phillies and allowed a solo home run to Moore, a two-run home run to Joe Medwick and a double to Johnny Mize before he was relieved by Jorgens after retiring one batter.

The Cardinals scored five in the first _ four of the runs charged to Walters _ and five in the fifth off Jorgens, cruising to a 10-3 victory. Si Johnson pitched a complete game and earned the win for the Cardinals. Boxscore

It’s raining runs

Moore led off Game 2 by lofting a pop fly to George Scharein, a rookie shortstop. As Scharein made the catch, his cap fell off. When he reached for it, the ball slipped out of his glove. Moore, who hustled into second base, was ruled safe by umpire Bill Stewart.

Phillies fans, who thought Scharein had held onto the ball long enough for the play to be ruled an out, “threw pop bottles from the stands in the direction of Stewart,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Trailing 6-5, the Cardinals scored five in the eighth _ two off Wayne LaMaster and three against Walters _ for a 10-6 lead, but the Phillies responded with four off Lon Warneke in the bottom half of the inning, tying the score at 10-10.

After Walters held the Cardinals scoreless in the ninth, St. Louis manager Frankie Frisch brought in the Game 1 winner, Si Johnson, to pitch the bottom half of the inning. The Phillies didn’t score and the game went to an extra inning.

In the 10th, the Cardinals scored three off Walters and five against Jorgens for an 18-10 lead.

“Singles, doubles and home runs blossomed quicker than worms on a concrete walk after a rainstorm,” wrote Stan Baumgartner of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

When Johnson sealed the victory with a scoreless 10th, he earned his second win of the day. Walters was the losing pitcher in both games, even though he had “more stuff than he ever showed before,” Stewart, the umpire, told The Sporting News.

Previously: How Cardinals, Reds kept their heads above water