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Home run helped Roger Maris feel at home in St. Louis

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on June 5, 2017| 11 Comments »

The first home run Roger Maris hit in St. Louis as a Cardinal was worth the wait.

On June 10, 1967, two months into his first Cardinals season, Maris hit a walkoff three-run home run in the 11th inning at Busch Stadium, giving St. Louis a 5-2 victory over the Dodgers.

The home run was Maris’ third for the Cardinals _ the first two occurred at New York and at Pittsburgh _ but was his first in his home ballpark since being acquired by St. Louis from the Yankees in December 1966.

Maris, who six years earlier had established a major-league single-season record with 61 home runs for the Yankees, no longer was a consistent power hitter, but he was a key member of a Cardinals club that would win the World Series championship.

His first Busch Stadium home run enabled the Cardinals to continue a hot streak that one week later would propel them into first place in the National League.

Stormy night

The Cardinals were 3.5 games behind the front-running Reds entering their Saturday night game against the defending NL champion Dodgers. Maris, batting .291, was held out of the starting lineup by manager Red Schoendienst. The Dodgers were starting a left-hander, Jim Brewer, and Maris did much better against right-handers.

Tornado warnings were issued in the St. Louis area that evening and a severe thunderstorm struck downtown St. Louis, delaying the start of the game 64 minutes and creating treacherous conditions in the outfield.

The Dodgers scored twice in the first inning off their nemesis, Larry Jaster, who had pitched five shutouts against them the previous year.

Brewer, primarily a reliever, held the Cardinals scoreless for six innings. “He told me he was tiring a little going into the seventh,” Dodgers manager Walter Alston said to the Pasadena Independent Star-News, “but you couldn’t take him out the way he was going.”

Curt Flood led off the Cardinals’ half of the seventh with a walk and Bobby Tolan lined a home run over the right-field wall, tying the score at 2-2.

Maris entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Jaster and popped out to second baseman Ron Hunt. Maris stayed in the game, replacing Alex Johnson in right field, and Joe Hoerner relieved Jaster.

Extra innings

Phil Regan, who came in for Brewer in the eighth, held the Cardinals scoreless for three innings.

In the 11th, Alston brought in Bob Miller to pitch. Miller, a St. Louis native, had made his major-league debut in 1957 with the Cardinals and pitched for them in four seasons.

Tim McCarver led off the 11th against Miller with a double. Dal Maxvill attempted to advance McCarver with a bunt, but Miller fielded the ball and threw out McCarver at third.

With Maxvill at first and one out, Tolan singled.

That brought Maris to the plate against the right-hander.

Easy swing

Maris swung at a 2-and-2 pitch.

“I was just trying to avoid making an out,” Maris said. “I didn’t swing hard. I just wanted to meet the ball.”

Said Dodgers catcher John Roseboro: “That’s the way it looked when he swung. He just dropped his bat in front of the ball.”

Joe Hendrickson of the Pasadena newspaper wrote, “The ball sailed like a rocket over the fence and into the seats.”

Said Maris: “That was my most satisfying hit since coming to St. Louis.” Boxscore

The victory was part of a stretch in which the Cardinals won 15 of 17 and surged to the top of the NL standings.

“This Cardinals team reminds me of my Yankees days,” Maris told United Press International. “The Yankees at one time played for the big hit. The atmosphere is also something like we had in New York. In those days, we’d get some runs behind, but we knew we were going to win it.”

Previously: With last homer, Roger Maris helped Cards clinch title

 

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Epic showdowns: Jim Bunning vs. Bob Gibson

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on May 30, 2017| 4 Comments »

As might be expected of two Hall of Fame pitchers, Jim Bunning and Bob Gibson engaged in a couple of classics when facing one another.

Bunning and Gibson were matched against each other as starters six times.

In those encounters, Bunning got 1 win, 2 losses and 3 no-decisions. Gibson got 2 wins, 2 losses and 2 no-decisions.

In the two most memorable Bunning vs. Gibson duels, Roberto Clemente and Dick Allen played key roles.

Seeking support

Bunning pitched in the major leagues for the Tigers (1955-63), Phillies (1964-67 and 1970-71), Pirates (1968-69) and Dodgers (1969). He had a 224-184 record, with 118 wins in the American League and 106 in the National League.

The right-hander’s record against the Cardinals was 5-11, but his teams were shut out in five of those losses and were held to one run in each of two others.

Bunning and Gibson faced one another on June 26, 1964, and Sept. 10, 1965, without either getting a decision.

On May 18, 1966, the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 4-3, at Philadelphia. Gibson, who allowed four runs in 6.1 innings, was the losing pitcher. Ray Culp, who pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Bunning, got the win. Bunning gave up three runs in five innings. Boxscore

Three weeks later, on June 11, 1966, Gibson pitched a shutout against the Phillies in a 2-0 Cardinals victory at Philadelphia. Bunning yielded two runs in seven innings and took the loss. Boxscore

Heated rivalry

The final two career matchups of Bunning vs. Gibson were the best.

The Pirates were in St. Louis to play the Cardinals in a doubleheader on a sweltering Sunday afternoon, July 13, 1969. Bunning, in his second season with the Pirates after being traded by the Phillies, was pitted against Gibson in Game 1.

Larry Shepard, the Pirates’ manager, pitched 10 minutes of batting practice in the 95-degree heat. In the second inning, Shepard, 50, experienced chest pains and was rushed to a hospital. Coach Bill Virdon took over as acting manager. Several fans were overcome by heat and given treatment, The Pittsburgh Press reported.

Bunning, 37, and Gibson, 33, dueled impressively in the oppressive conditions.

In the sixth inning, Gibson got his 2,000th career strikeout. It came against Roberto Clemente, the fellow future Hall of Famer, who two years earlier had hit a smash that struck Gibson and broke his leg.

Neither Bunning nor Gibson yielded a run through seven innings.

In the eighth, Matty Alou, who had reached on a bunt single, was on first with two outs. Next up was slugger Willie Stargell, who had struck out three times on outside pitches from Gibson.

“So I decided that I couldn’t do any worse looking for a fastball away,” Stargell said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Stargell slapped a single to left, advancing Alou to second.

The next batter, Clemente, slashed a Gibson delivery over the right-field wall for a three-run home run.

“Gibby gave Roberto a high pitch to hit after getting him out with low-and-away pitches,” said Pirates pitching coach Vern Law. “Gibby was bound to get tired in that heat. When a pitcher gets tired, he gets his pitches high.”

A wilting Bunning pitched a scoreless bottom half of the eighth. In the ninth, Virdon replaced him with Bob Moose, who preserved the 3-0 victory for Bunning and the Pirates. Boxscore

“I had good off-speed stuff, especially my change of pace,” Bunning said. “Everybody knows that control is the name of the game.”

Power game

The final career matchup of Bunning vs. Gibson occurred on May 23, 1970, a rainy Saturday night in Philadelphia.

Bunning had been reacquired by the Phillies in October 1969, but Dick Allen had the attention of fans and media. Allen, the slugger acquired by the Cardinals from the Phillies after the 1969 season, was playing his first games in Philadelphia since the trade. A controversial player with the Phillies, Allen had drawn a mix of boos and cheers in the first two games of the series.

Two weeks earlier, on May 11, 1970, Allen had hit a three-run home run off Bunning in the ninth inning at St. Louis, breaking a scoreless tie and giving pitcher Steve Carlton and the Cardinals a 3-0 victory. Boxscore

During a rain delay before Bunning and Gibson squared off in Philadelphia, Cardinals player Leron Lee put on Allen’s jersey and glasses, wrapped a towel over his head and ran across the field to the Phillies’ dugout to shake hands with infielder Tony Taylor.

“Don’t blame me if you get shot,” Allen told Lee.

The fans, thinking Allen was making a friendly gesture to a former teammate, cheered. Frank Lucchesi, Phillies manager, playfully pushed Lee out of the dugout, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In the third inning, with Lee on second base, Allen crushed a Bunning fastball well beyond the 410-foot sign in center for a home run and a 2-0 Cardinals lead.

Two innings later, Allen hit a Bunning curve onto the roof in left for a solo home run, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 3-0.

“He hit that second one one-handed,” Bunning said admiringly.

Said Cardinals third baseman Mike Shannon: “Watching Richie hit is like watching a stick of dynamite go off.”

Gibson, meanwhile, dominated the Phillies. He struck out 16 and got the win in a 3-1 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore

“That’s the hardest I’ve thrown since 1968,” Gibson said.

Allen Lewis of the Inquirer wrote, “It was difficult to tell which balls were traveling faster _ the ones Rich Allen hit or the ones Bob Gibson threw.”

Gibson struck out 17 in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against the Tigers. His 16 strikeouts against the Phillies were the most he achieved in a regular-season game. “I get keyed up with Richie playing here,” Gibson said. “Tonight, I had something extra and I got just about every pitch where I wanted.”

 

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Don Young: Ups and downs with Cardinals, Cubs

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Trades on May 12, 2017| 4 Comments »

(Updated April 18, 2020)

Don Young began his professional baseball career in the Cardinals system, played for George Kissell, departed and was brought back by Stan Musial.

Though he had two stints in the Cardinals organization, Young never played for St. Louis.

Instead, he played for the Cubs, made his debut in a legendary game and became a central character in one of their most notorious defeats.

Teen hopeful

Young was 17 when he signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent out of Aurora High School in Colorado in June 1963.

An outfielder, he was assigned to a Class A club in Brunswick, Ga., managed by Kissell, the respected instructor. Young batted .280 in 16 games for Brunswick and was sent to another Cardinals Class A team in Billings, Mont., where he hit .257 in 58 games.

After spring training in 1964, Young was placed on waivers, claimed by the Cubs and began to re-establish himself. In 1965, Young batted .273 with 25 doubles and 16 home runs for the Class AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs.

At 19, he was rewarded with a promotion to the Cubs in September 1965.

Big-league welcome

Young made his major-league debut as the starting center fielder and leadoff batter for the Cubs in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Sept. 9.

The Dodgers pitcher that night: Sandy Koufax.

The result: a perfect game.

Koufax retired 27 batters in a row and struck out 14. Young popped out twice and struck out. The Dodgers, held to one hit by Cubs starter Bob Hendley, won, 1-0. Boxscore

The next night, in San Francisco, Young, described by the Chicago Tribune as “perhaps the Cubs’ top outfield farm prospect,” got his first big-league hit, a solo home run off the Giants’ Ron Herbel. Boxscore

Lou Klein, Cubs manager and former Cardinals infielder, started Young in five games versus the Dodgers and Giants, drawing criticism from Braves manager Bobby Bragan for using a rookie in the pennant stretch against contenders.

Overmatched, Young batted .057 (2-for-35) in his September stint with the Cubs.

Musial maneuvers

Young was back in the minor leagues in 1966 and 1967.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were trying to figure out what to do with Ted Savage.

Savage, acquired by the Cardinals from the Pirates after the 1964 season, spent most of the next two years in the minor leagues.

After Musial became Cardinals general manager in January 1967, he promised Savage he would try to keep him in the major leagues.

Savage earned a spot as a utility player on the Opening Day roster of the 1967 Cardinals, but seldom played. In May, Savage was ticketed for a return to the minors, but indicated he wouldn’t report, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Determined to fulfill his vow, Musial looked for a big-league team for Savage.

Brief return

On May 13, 1967, the Cardinals traded Savage and outfielder John Kindl to the Cubs for Young and catcher Jim Procopio.

The Chicago Tribune noted Young was “once rated a potential Cubs center fielder” but “still was struggling in the minors.”

The Cardinals assigned Young to their Class AAA Tulsa team. Young played in 12 games for manager Warren Spahn, batted .147 and was sent back to the Cubs on Aug. 1, 1967.

Young spent the 1968 season with the Lodi (Calif.) Crushers, a Class A club.

Though he wasn’t on their 40-man roster, the Cubs invited Young, 23, to attend their 1969 spring training camp. It was there he received an unexpected opportunity.

Rebuilding project

Adolfo Phillips, projected to be the starting center fielder for the 1969 Cubs, broke his hand at spring training. Cubs manager Leo Durocher considered giving the job to a prospect, Oscar Gamble, but the 19-year-old had only a year of minor-league experience.

With his options limited, Durocher turned to Young.

Young “conceivably could be ready for the big time,” Jerome Holtzman of The Sporting News wrote.

“He hasn’t been a strong hitter,” Holtzman opined. “He is, however, a beautiful center fielder … and could very well become a Gold Glove winner _ if he can hit enough to stay.”

Young worked with Klein, his former manager who had become a batting instructor, and Cubs coach Pete Reiser on his hitting. Durocher also wanted Young to become more aggressive.

“He could have a great future, but it’s up to him,” Durocher said. “I can’t do it for him. I don’t care what he hits. I want to see more enthusiasm from him.”

Blame game

Young was the Opening Day center fielder for the 1969 Cubs.

The Cubs won 11 of their first 12 games and Durocher stayed with Young. In June, Phillips was traded to the Expos, solidifying Young’s hold on the job.

On July 8, 1969, the first-place Cubs opened a key series with the second-place Mets at New York.

The Cubs led, 3-1, in the ninth inning of the opener, but the Mets rallied for a 4-3 victory when Young was unable to catch two fly balls that fell for doubles. Cubs third baseman Ron Santo blamed the loss on Young. Boxscore

“He was just thinking of himself,” Santo said. “He had a bad day at the bat, so he’s got his head down. He is worrying about his batting average and not the team … He can keep his head down and he can keep right on going, out of sight, for all I care.”

The next day, Santo apologized: “What I said about Donnie, I didn’t mean. I said it because I was upset.”

In his book, “Thanks for Listening,” Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse said later in the day, “I was sitting on the team bus waiting to go to the park. I was sitting behind Young. Santo got on and sat on the armrest of Young’s seat and put his arm around the kid and apologized once more.”

The damage, though, was done. When the Cubs returned to Chicago, Santo was booed at Wrigley Field. The Mets eventually surged ahead of the crumbling Cubs, clinched the division title and went on to win the National League pennant and World Series crown.

“Let’s face it,” Brickhouse said in his book, “the Cubs were a ragtag team in the stretch, wandering aimlessly, with assorted regulars physically exhausted as the result of failure to get a day off here and there when their lead was commanding.”

“That had to be Leo’s responsibility,” Brickhouse said of Durocher, “and he added fuel to the fire with the tensions he created by nitpicking controversies with certain of his players and certain members of the media.”

Young finished the 1969 season, his last in the big leagues, with a .239 batting average in 101 games.

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How Cardinals rallied from 9 down to beat Braves

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on May 9, 2017| 4 Comments »

(Updated May 9, 2020)

A passed ball was the key to enabling the Cardinals to achieve one of their most amazing comebacks.

Trailing by nine runs, the Cardinals rallied to beat the defending National League champion Braves on May 9, 1992, at St. Louis.

The comeback represented the largest deficit overcome by the Cardinals since they rallied from being down 11-0 and beat the Giants, 14-12, on June 15, 1952, at New York.

The Cardinals totaled 15 hits and five walks against Braves pitchers John Smoltz, Juan Berenguer and Marvin Freeman, but still may have come up short if not for a mistake by catcher Damon Berryhill.

Makings of a blowout

Smoltz was matched against Cardinals starter Rheal Cormier in the Saturday night game at Busch Stadium.

It quickly became a mismatch.

Smoltz held the Cardinals hitless the first three innings.

The Braves scored eight runs off Cormier and another run off Juan Agosto and led 9-0 entering the bottom half of the fourth.

“You’d think with a 9-0 lead and a no-hitter going that we’re going to win,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Cardinals catcher Tom Pagnozzi: “When we were down 9-0, I turned to (umpire Bruce) Froemming and said, ‘This is ugly.’ ”

Staying alive

The Cardinals scored three times in the fourth, but the Braves came back with two runs in the fifth off Bob McClure for an 11-3 lead.

With that kind of support, Smoltz, one of the Braves’ best pitchers, usually would take control of a game. However, he gave up two more runs to the Cardinals in the fifth, making the score 11-5.

“When it was 11-5, I thought there still was time,” Pagnozzi said.

Felix Jose led off the St. Louis half of the seventh with a double against Smoltz. After Pedro Guerrero grounded out and Brian Jordan popped out, Todd Zeile singled, driving in Jose and cutting the Braves’ lead to 11-6.

Cox replaced Smoltz with Berenguer.

Big break

An intimidating, hard thrower, Berenguer struck out the first batter he faced, Pagnozzi, but the third strike eluded Berryhill for a passed ball, allowing Pagnozzi to reach first and Zeile to move to second.

Instead of being out of the inning and heading to the eighth with an 11-6 lead, the Braves still needed a third out.

“I just blew it,” said Berryhill. “It’s something that should never happen. I kept it alive for them.”

The next batter, Luis Alicea, walked, loading the bases.

Cardinals manager Joe Torre sent Gerald Perry to pinch-hit for pitcher Cris Carpenter. Perry, a former Brave, ripped a bases-clearing double, making the score 11-9.

Ray Lankford popped out, ending the inning, but momentum had swung toward the Cardinals.

“When we got those three runs, we thought we had a chance,” Perry said.

Awesome Alicea

In the eighth, Berenguer walked Ozzie Smith. Jose followed with a home run, tying the score at 11-11.

“I knew they had no chance after Felix’s homer,” Zeile told the Atlanta Constitution.

Cox replaced Berenguer with Freeman.

Guerrero grounded out, Jordan doubled and Zeile struck out.

With two outs and Jordan at second, the Braves opted to intentionally walk Pagnozzi and pitch to Alicea, the St. Louis second baseman who was batting .115 overall and was hitless with runners in scoring position.

Alicea thwarted the strategy with a single to left, but Ron Gant made a strong throw home. Jordan, racing for the plate, tried to score standing, stepped on Berryhill’s foot, and fell to the ground after crossing the plate. Froemming called him safe, giving the Cardinals a 12-11 lead.

Some thought Jordan’s foot never touched the plate, but Berryhill said, “I don’t know if I tagged him. I just know he stepped on my foot.”

Cox told the Atlanta Constitution, “He was out.”

Jordan told the Associated Press, “I was looking to run over him, but he stepped back. He had his foot on the plate, but I kicked it or stepped on it. I scored.”

To the Atlanta Constitution on whether he touched the plate, Jordan said, “I touched it according to the umpire and that is all that mattered.”

Defying the odds

Cardinals closer Lee Smith retired the Braves in order in the ninth, sealing the win.

The Braves scored all of their runs against left-handers: Cormier, Agosto and McClure. They were held scoreless by right-handers Carpenter, Mike Perez and Smith.

“This is the best (comeback) I’ve ever witnessed,” Perry said.

Said Cox: “The odds on you losing a nine-run lead are about 500-to-1.” Boxscore and Video

Previously: How Braves rallied from 9 down to beat Cardinals

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How Al Hrabosky sparked fight night at Busch Stadium

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on May 3, 2017| 2 Comments »

Predictably, a brawl involving two of the most temperamental characters in the major leagues, “The Mad Hungarian” and “One Tough Dominican,” was both intense and cartoonish.

On May 6, 1977, a melee among the Astros and Cardinals occurred in the ninth inning of a game at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

Astros batter Cesar Cedeno took issue with being drilled by a pitch from Cardinals reliever Al Hrabosky, the self-psyching showman known as “The Mad Hungarian.”

When Cedeno charged the mound, both dugouts emptied and fights erupted across the field, lasting 10 minutes before the game could resume.

Besides Hrabosky and Cedeno, the most prominent combatants included:

_ Joaquin Andujar, the Astros pitcher and self-proclaimed “One Tough Dominican,” who, like Cedeno, would play for the Cardinals in the 1980s.

_ Ted Simmons, the strong-willed Cardinals catcher and on-field leader.

_ Roger Freed, the burly and popular Cardinals pinch-hitter.

_ Dave Rader, a Cardinals backup catcher and former all-league high school football linebacker.

_ Cliff Johnson, a strapping 6-foot-4 Astros power hitter.

Asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to summarize the histrionics, Astros player Enos Cabell aptly declared, “It was a goodie.”

Slap happy

Tension developed in the seventh inning. With the Cardinals ahead, 2-0, Johnson was grazed by a pitch from starter Pete Falcone.

Simmons, crouched behind the plate, and Johnson exchanged words.

“He didn’t think I got hit,” Johnson told the Post-Dispatch.

In what he said was a playful gesture, Johnson slapped Simmons in the head.

“I told him, ‘Clifford, relax,’ ” Simmons said. “He told me, ‘Take it easy.’ ”

Said Johnson: “I was just trying to get his attention.”

In the eighth, Hrabosky relieved Falcone and retired the Astros in order. The Cardinals scored twice in the bottom half of the inning and took a 4-0 lead into the ninth.

Mind games

As Cedeno approached the plate to lead off the ninth, Hrabosky went behind the mound, turned his back on the batter and went into his self-motivating meditation act.

Miffed, Cedeno left the batter’s box, went to the on-deck circle, used a rag to apply pine tar to his bat handle and waited for Hrabosky to get onto the mound.

Home plate umpire Bob Engel “waved in disgust” for Hrabosky to pitch, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Hrabosky “threw up his hands in seeming protest,” wrote Rick Hummel.

The first pitch, a fastball, plunked Cedeno in the left arm.

Cedeno dropped his bat and advanced toward the mound. Hrabosky dropped his glove and waited.

As they neared, Cedeno threw a punch. Hrabosky ducked, avoiding the blow.

“If I get knocked down, I’m in a world of trouble,” Hrabosky said.

Simmons stormed toward Cedeno and jumped on his back.

Bedlam reigns

Battles broke out all over.

Andujar, at the center of a fight near the third-base line, swung wildly in every direction. One of his swipes nearly clipped umpire Bill Williams in the jaw.

After Williams ejected Andujar, the pitcher desperately tried to get at the umpire and had to be restrained by coach Deacon Jones and teammate Bob Watson. Colleague John McSherry prevented Williams from going after Andujar, according to United Press International.

Cedeno was involved in multiple skirmishes, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Simmons, after rescuing Hrabosky, dived “into a pileup in an attempt at peacemaking.” When he emerged, Simmons shed “his catching equipment, with the exception of one shin guard, and motioned the Astros to come after him if they wished,” Hummel reported.

Though some Astros moved toward him, none dared take on Simmons.

“They were doing a lot of woofing,” Simmons said.

Johnson, the Astros outfielder, tried to lighten the mood by shadow boxing some of the Cardinals, comically tugging at an umpire’s jacket and pretending to kick another umpire in the rear.

As the field began to clear, Cedeno and Freed got into a fight near the first-base line. While the two threw punches, Rader bolted toward Cedeno, tackled him around the midsection and drove him back 15 yards, Hummel wrote. Video

Show goes on

Andujar and Freed were the only players ejected.

When the game resumed, Hrabosky and Simmons still were the St. Louis battery and Cedeno was the base runner at first.

Cedeno swiped second and Watson drew a walk.

Hrabosky got Joe Ferguson to hit into a third-to-first double play, with Watson taking second. Johnson doubled, driving in Watson and making the score 4-1.

Art Howe walked, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. Hrabosky finally ended the drama by getting Cabell to line out to shortstop Garry Templeton. Boxscore

Lighten up

Hrabosky claimed the pitch that struck Cedeno wasn’t intentional. “I just thought it was an inside pitch,” he told the Associated Press. “I’ve been told there are certain people I’m supposed to pitch up and in. I know there’s a certain way I have to pitch him and I’m going to do it.”

Said Simmons: “I didn’t call for it (a brushback pitch). I think you have to assume it was an accident.”

The Astros weren’t buying that explanation. “There should have been more punches thrown,” said Watson. “You don’t hit a man and get away with it. It was flagrant. The umpire should have kicked Hrabosky out.”

In the clubhouse, after tempers cooled, Johnson, the prankster, waited for Cedeno to head to the showers and placed an autographed photo of Hrabosky on his teammate’s chair. The picture was inscribed, “Next time, it’ll be two.”

When Cedeno returned to his locker and saw the photo, he looked around the clubhouse, yelled, “Damn you, Johnson,” and laughed.

Previously: Cesar Cedeno and his amazing month with Cardinals

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Cardinals classic: Ray Lankford vs. Todd Worrell

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on April 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Proving he was recovered from major surgery and still had the ability to alter the outcome of a game, Ray Lankford dazzled the Dodgers in an epic ninth-inning performance that delivered a win for the Cardinals against their former closer.

In his first game since having an off-season rotator cuff operation on his left shoulder, Lankford sparked a Cardinals comeback against the Dodgers and Todd Worrell on April 22, 1997.

The Cardinals trailed by a run with two outs and none on in the ninth when Lankford performed his magic.

Help wanted

The Cardinals went to Los Angeles to complete a road trip that began with three games in Miami against the Marlins and continued with three versus the Padres in Honolulu.

Lankford, working his way back to form on an injury rehabilitation assignment with the Class A minor-league affiliate at Prince William, Va., initially wasn’t expected to rejoin the Cardinals until May 1.

However, when the Cardinals struggled to score five total runs over four games _ a pair of 2-1 losses to the Marlins and wins of 1-0 and 2-1 over the Padres _ general manager Walt Jocketty sent Jerry Walker, vice president for player personnel, to watch Lankford at Prince William.

When Jocketty received a glowing report _ “Jerry said he was swinging the bat well and throwing well,” Jocketty told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch _ the Cardinals brought Lankford to Los Angeles for the series opener against the Dodgers.

Call the closer

Manager Tony La Russa put Lankford in center field and batted him third in the order, behind Ron Gant and ahead of Brian Jordan, against Dodgers starter Pedro Astacio. Lankford drew a walk in the first inning, grounded out in the third, doubled in the fifth and flied out in the seventh.

In the ninth, Dodgers manager Bill Russell brought in Worrell to protect a 4-3 lead.

Worrell, 37, had pitched six seasons (1985-89 and 1992) for the Cardinals, amassing 129 saves and a 2.56 ERA. He was a key member of their 1985 and 1987 pennant-winning clubs.

The former Cardinal had gotten off to a good start for the 1997 Dodgers, with five saves and a 1.12 ERA.

Speed burns

Worrell appeared on his way to a routine save against the Cardinals. He retired Delino DeShields on a groundout and struck out Gant.

Lankford came up next and reached first safely on an infield single.

With Jordan at the plate, Lankford swiped second. Then he stole third.

“When we let catchers know that we’re running, that can kind of mess them up a little,” Lankford said.

A rattled Worrell walked Jordan.

“The prevailing theory is that when Lankford got to third with the tying run Worrell was reluctant to throw his slider for fear he would bounce it in the dirt,” wrote Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

The next batter, Gary Gaetti, was 2-for-19 on the season with runners in scoring position. With Jordan running on the pitch, Worrell grooved a fastball that Gaetti pulled into the left-field corner, scoring Lankford and Jordan and giving the Cardinals a 5-4 lead.

John Mabry followed with a double to right-center, scoring Gaetti.

“You don’t see that happen very often when Todd can’t hold the lead,” Russell told the Los Angeles Times.

Said Worrell: “Some nights you have it, some nights you don’t. I can’t get the third out. It makes it hard to swallow.”

Cardinals closer Dennis Eckersley set down the Dodgers in order in the bottom of the ninth, sealing the 6-4 St. Louis victory. Boxscore

Pressure points

“I figured (Lankford) would provide a spark,” said Jocketty. “I think he put some life into the team.”

Said La Russa: “Could it be any better than that? It was just the way he did it. He got base hits, he walked, he stole bases, he played good defense. Wow.”

The next night, April 23, the Dodgers led the Cardinals, 2-1, with one out and the bases empty in the ninth when Russell brought in Worrell. Gaetti greeted him with an infield single and was lifted for a pinch-runner, Steve Scarsone.

Mabry struck out and Scarsone swiped second.

Up next was Gant. He hit a towering fly into a 25-mph wind to left that was caught for the final out. “If the wind hadn’t been blowing in,” said Worrell, “that ball might have gone out.” Boxscore

Worrell, in the last year of an 11-season major-league career, posted 35 saves for the 1997 Dodgers, but had a 2-6 record and 5.28 ERA.

Lankford had one of his best Cardinals seasons in 1997. He batted .295 with 36 doubles, 31 home runs, 98 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 133 games. His on-base percentage of .411 was his single-season career high.

Previously: Ray Lankford found redemption in 5-strikeout game

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