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The last Cardinals pitcher to give up five home runs in a game was Scott Terry.

On June 4, 1989, at St. Louis, Terry started for the Cardinals against the Cubs and gave up six hits in 4.1 innings _ five of those hits were home runs.

Ryne Sandberg and Shawon Dunston each hit two solo homers against Terry and Mitch Webster added a two-run shot in the Cubs’ 11-3 victory. Boxscore

Terry entered the game having allowed three homers in 58.2 innings over 10 starts that season.

“Not only does it hurt your confidence,” Terry told The Sporting News, “but it’s embarrassing.”

Said Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog to the Associated Press: “There were no cheap ones. Those hits were deep. I’ve never seen the ball carrying like that.”

After Sandberg smacked his second solo homer with one out in the fifth, giving Chicago a 6-3 lead, Herzog lifted Terry for Frank DiPino, a former Cub. DiPino threw a waist-high brushback pitch to the first batter he faced, Mark Grace, who charged the mound, prompting both benches to empty.

Though the melee was brief, it was costly. Grace partially separated his shoulder and was ejected. St. Louis third baseman Terry Pendleton bruised his elbow and left the game.

“It was not my intention to hit him,” DiPino said, “but I’ve got to show some protection for myself. They’ve just hit five home runs ahead of me and I’m going to lay one over the middle of the plate? It doesn’t work that way. It was a purpose pitch. I threw it where I wanted to throw it. But I didn’t do it so he would charge the mound.”

Said Grace: “(DiPino) didn’t like me last year, even when we were teammates.”

DiPino responded: “We weren’t the best of friends … I just don’t like guys who are cocky.”

Cardinals ace Bob Gibson never gave up five home runs in a game, but he did allow four multiple times.

On Aug. 28, 1963, when the Giants beat St. Louis, 5-3, at San Francisco, Tom Haller hit two solo homers, Orlando Cepeda hit one and Chuck Hiller hit a two-run shot against Gibson. Boxscore

The Giants also hit four homers against Gibson on May 8, 1973, at San Francisco. Bobby Bonds hit two homers _ a solo shot on Gibson’s first pitch of the game and a two-run homer _ and Willie McCovey and Dave Kingman each launched solo homers against Gibson in the Giants’ 9-7 victory. Boxscore

“If you get one hit off Bob Gibson, it’s a good night,” Bonds said, “so this one is great.”

In the other game in which Gibson allowed four homers, the Cardinals beat the Mets, 8-5, at St. Louis. Charlie Smith hit a two-run homer and Jesse Gonder, Johnny Lewis and Jim Hickman all had solo shots against Gibson. Boxscore

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(Updated Sept. 3, 2018)

Bill Greason had a short, but important, stint with the Cardinals. He was the first African-American Cardinals pitcher.

Greason, 29, made his major-league debut with the Cardinals on May 31, 1954, as the starter in the first game of a Memorial Day doubleheader at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

He yielded three home runs _ two to Hank Sauer and one to Ernie Banks _ and the Cubs beat the Cardinals, 14-4. Boxscore

Greason, an Atlanta native who served with the Marines in Iwo Jima in World War II, began pitching Negro League baseball in 1947. As a teammate of Willie Mays on the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, Greason posted a 6-4 record with a 3.30 ERA for the Negro American League champions. The lanky right-hander earned Birmingham’s only win in the 1948 Negro World Series against the Homestead Grays.

After stints in the Negro League and the Mexican League, Greason became the second black to play in the Texas League. In 1953, he was 16-13 with a 3.61 ERA and 193 strikeouts for Oklahoma City, catching the attention of the Cardinals.

On Oct. 13, 1953, the Cardinals acquired Greason from Oklahoma City for three minor league players.

In an article headlined “Cards, Reshuffling Hands, Get Texas Negro Ace In Deal,” Bob Broeg wrote in The Sporting News: “Greason, frequently mentioned in the past as highly promising, is likely to become the first Negro player ever to perform for the Cardinals.”

Pitching for Santurce in the Puerto Rico Winter League, Greason further impressed. On Jan. 6, 1954, after Tommy Lasorda pitched Santurce to a 4-3 victory over Caguas in the opener of a doubleheader, Greason won the second game, 3-2, holding Caguas to three singles, one by Hank Aaron.

On Jan. 20, 1954, The Sporting News wrote of Greason: “The big Negro hurler purchased by the Cardinal organization from Oklahoma City last fall has accounted for approximately half of Santurce’s conquests and is rated a good chance to make the Cardinal staff.”

Two weeks later, the magazine reported: “With the purchase of first baseman Tom Alston from San Diego (Pacific Coast), the Cardinals now have 14 Negro players in their organization. Alston is the only member of the parent club.”

As spring training ended, the Cardinals assigned Greason and another black pitcher, Brooks Lawrence, to Class AAA Columbus (Ohio), managed by Johnny Keane.

Alston made the Cardinals’ roster, and the first baseman became the first African-American to appear in a big-league game for the Cardinals when he started in the season opener April 13, 1954, against the Cubs at St. Louis. Boxscore

At Columbus, Greason compiled a 4-5 record, winning his last three decisions. On May 28, the Cardinals sent pitcher Mel Wright to Columbus and called up Greason.

Greason’s debut as the first African-American Cardinals pitcher started well. The Cardinals scored twice in the first. In the bottom half of the inning, Greason retired the first two batters. Then, Ralph Kiner singled and Sauer homered, tying the score.

In the third, with St. Louis leading 4-2, Greason again set down the first two Cubs batters. Then, Sauer homered, Randy Jackson singled and Banks homered, giving Chicago a 5-4 lead. In the fourth, Greason was lifted for pinch-hitter Sal Yvars.

Greason’s line: 3 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.

On June 6, a Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Greason got the start against the Phillies, but it was a disaster. The leadoff batter, Willie Jones, homered. When Greason walked the next two batters, Richie Ashburn and Earl Torgeson, Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky removed him from the game. Boxscore

Greason sat for two weeks before making his third and final appearance, pitching a scoreless inning of relief against the Giants in New York on June 20. Boxscore

Two days later, the Cardinals sent Greason and pitcher Stu Miller to Columbus.

“They’ll have a chance to come back if they do well enough at Columbus,” Stanky said, “but they weren’t helping us enough and we had to make the move.”

Greason never appeared in the major leagues again. His career stats: 4 innings, 8 runs (6 earned), 8 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 0-1 record, 13.50 ERA.

Greason pitched in the Cardinals’ minor-league system until 1959. After his playing career, Greason returned to Birmingham, worked in a department store and became a minister. In September 2014, Greason, 90, was honored by the Cardinals at Busch Stadium for having been a pioneer in helping break the franchise’s color barrier 60 years before.

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