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Mike Morgan delivered a special performance for the Cardinals at a special time in his life.

On July 3, 1995, Morgan came close to pitching a no-hitter. He held the Expos hitless until giving up an infield single with one out in the ninth at Busch Stadium.

Morgan’s gem capped a life-altering three-week stretch in which he became a father for the first time and got dealt from the Cubs to the Cardinals.

Trial and tribulation

A right-handed pitcher, Morgan was 18 when he was selected by the Athletics in the first round of the 1978 amateur baseball draft. He went directly from high school in Las Vegas to the big leagues and made his debut with the Athletics in a start against the Orioles on June 11, 1978.

Morgan embarked on an odyssey, pitching for the Athletics (1978-79), Yankees (1982), Blue Jays (1983), Mariners (1985-87), Orioles (1988), Dodgers (1989-91) and Cubs (1992-95). The Cardinals were the eighth of 12 teams he pitched for in the majors.

The most successful seasons Morgan had were 1991 with the Dodgers (14-10, 2.78 ERA) and 1992 with the Cubs (16-8, 2.55).

His most trying year was 1994. His mother had stomach surgery, his father developed a brain aneurysm and his wife suffered a miscarriage. Morgan was the Cubs’ Opening Day starter, went on the disabled list three times for multiple physical ailments as well as emotional stress, and finished the strike-shortened season with a 2-10 record and 6.69 ERA.

When the 1995 season began, Morgan was on the disabled list again with an injured rib cage, but his outlook brightened in late May. Morgan’s wife, who got pregnant again in October, was progressing encouragingly and Morgan returned to the Cubs’ rotation.

After winning two of three decisions for the 1995 Cubs, Morgan told The Sporting News, “If I’m healthy, I can pitch with anyone, and right now I’m healthy.”

The Cubs came close to dealing Morgan to the Phillies, prompting him to say, “I don’t want to go anywhere. Four years are the longest I’ve been with one club. These are my friends. They’re great dudes.”

Big changes

On the morning of June 16, 1995, Morgan was with his wife, who had gone into labor, at a hospital near their home in Utah. Soon after his wife gave birth to their first child, a girl, Morgan got a phone call from the Cubs. Expecting congratulations, Morgan instead was told he’d been traded to the Cardinals with two minor-league prospects for first baseman Todd Zeile. Morgan also learned the Cardinals had fired manager Joe Torre.

Morgan said goodbye to his wife and daughter, and dutifully reported to St. Louis, where two days later, June 18, 1995, he started for the Cardinals and took the loss against the Giants. Boxscore

He earned a complete-game win versus the Phillies in his second start and lost to the Astros in his third, giving him a 1-2 mark and 4.19 ERA with the Cardinals.

Taking control

Morgan, 35, made his next start against the Expos on a Monday night in St. Louis.

The Cardinals got a run in the first and five in the eighth, including John Mabry’s first home run in the big leagues, while Morgan kept the overeager Expos from getting a hit, enticing them to chase pitches.

“This is precisely the kind of guy who gives an undisciplined team like ours trouble,” Expos manager Felipe Alou told the Montreal Gazette.

The Expos didn’t get a ball out of the infield until Darrin Fletcher lined out to left in the eighth. Fletcher described Morgan’s pitches as “a little cutter away, a sinker away, a little harder sinker. Nothing inside.”

Rondell White, one of the Expos’ top hitters, said, “You get anxious because he’s not doing anything but throwing the ball to the outside. You’re up there hoping you get that fastball, just one of them, but it never comes.”

White hit a groundball in the eighth between first and second. Ranging to his left, second baseman Geronimo Pena gloved the ball, spun and threw blindly to first. The throw was wide and low, pulling first baseman Danny Sheaffer off the bag.

Official scorer Jack Herman gave an error to Pena. “I thought he had time to make a good throw,” Herman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also admitted to the Montreal Gazette, “I might have scored it differently if it wasn’t a no-hitter.”

Alou called the ruling “an insult.” Morgan said, “Let’s face it, that ball gets hit like that in Montreal and it’s scored a hit.”

The next batter, Jeff Treadway, hit a drive to deep center. Brian Jordan raced to the wall and made a twisting catch.

Tough play

In the ninth, after Curtis Pride led off and flied out to left, Tony Tarasco drew a walk and Wil Cordero came to the plate.

Cordero hit a grounder down the third-base line. Scott Cooper grabbed the ball with his bare hand and fired a low throw to Sheaffer, who scooped it out of the dirt as Cordero streaked across the bag for a single.

Umpire Wally Bell told the Post-Dispatch, “I don’t think he would have beaten it out if the throw was good.”

Sheaffer said, “He had it beat, no question.”

Said Morgan: “Cooper did everything he could.”

With the no-hit bid gone, Jeff Parrett, a former Expo, relieved Morgan and secured the win, striking out David Segui and getting Moises Alou to ground out. Boxscore

Morgan lost his next four decisions and didn’t win again until Aug. 25. He was 5-6 with a 3.88 ERA for the 1995 Cardinals.

In 1996, Morgan was 4-8 with a 5.24 ERA for the Cardinals before he was released in August. He went on to pitch for the Reds (1996-97), Twins (1998), Cubs again (1998), Rangers (1999) and Diamondbacks (2000-2002).

With the 2001 Diamondbacks, Morgan, 42, got to the World Series for the first and only time. He made three relief appearances versus the Yankees and held them scoreless over 4.2 innings.

Morgan finished his career in the majors with a 141-186 record.

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A stint with the Cardinals enabled Matt Keough to share a championship season with his father.

A right-hander who pitched in the majors for nine years, Keough endured an epic losing streak and survived being struck in the temple by a foul ball.

His father, Marty Keough, was a big-league outfielder who became a scout for the Cardinals. Marty scouted for the Cardinals from 1980 to 2018. Matt’s uncle, Joe Keough, also was an outfielder in the majors.

In September 1985, Matt Keough returned to the big leagues with the Cardinals after two seasons in the minors. Matt and Marty were in the same organization for the first time. While Marty was looking for talent to keep the Cardinals successful, Matt was looking to help them win a division title.

Changing positions

Matt Keough was a baseball standout at Corona del Mar High School near Newport Beach, Calif., just as his father Marty was years earlier in Pomona, Calif. A prized prospect of the Red Sox, Marty played 11 years in the majors.

In 1973, Matt, 18, signed with the Athletics after he was chosen in the seventh round of the amateur baseball draft. In his first three seasons (1974-76) in the minors, he played shortstop and third base. His manager in each of those years was Rene Lachemann, a future Cardinals coach.

Lachemann was a Keough booster. Though Keough threw well, he was an inconsistent hitter. When he struggled to hit at spring training in 1977, the Athletics made him a pitcher. “To me, it was make or break,” Keough told The Sporting News.

At Class AA Chattanooga in 1977, Keough led Southern League pitchers in strikeouts (153). He made the jump from Class AA to the majors in September.

Hitting the skids

The next year, Keough was named to the 1978 American League all-star team managed by the Yankees’ Billy Martin. In the All-Star Game at San Diego, Keough relieved Jim Palmer in the third inning and gave up a single to the Cardinals’ Ted Simmons, loading the bases with two outs, before escaping the jam by getting Rick Monday to fly out. Boxscore

A season of promise ended badly when Keough lost his last four decisions and finished at 8-15.

His personal losing streak carried over to the 1979 season. Keough lost his first 14 decisions, giving him 18 consecutive losses over two seasons. His 0-14 record in 1979 tied Joe Harris of the 1906 Red Sox for most losses to start a season. Keough’s 18 consecutive losses were one short of the league record of 19 in a row by Bob Groom of the 1909 Senators and John Nabors of the 1916 Athletics.

The skid ended on Sept. 5, 1979, when Keough got the win against the Brewers at Oakland, pitching a five-hitter before 1,772 spectators, including his uncle Joe. Boxscore

“I’m 1-0 now,” Keough said. “That’s how I’m looking at it. Everything else is behind me.”

Keough finished the 1979 season at 2-17.

Different approach

In the winter after the 1979 season, Keough played in Puerto Rico for a team managed by his former minor-league mentor, Rene Lachemann, who worked to restore the pitcher’s confidence.

Another positive development for Keough was a management change in Oakland. Two years after managing Keough in the All-Star Game, Billy Martin was named Athletics manager in 1980 and his sidekick, Art Fowler, became pitching coach.

“The main thing with Martin and Fowler is the confidence they give you,” Keough told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “They make you believe.”

According to some American League hitters, including Reggie Jackson and Jim Rice, Martin and Fowler also taught Keough to throw a banned pitch, the spitball.

Keough called the accusations “sour grapes.” Fowler said, “It’s nothing but a little sinker. They just turn the fastball over a little and throw strikes.”

In explaining the pitch to Gannett News Service, Keough said, “Fowler can take you down to that bullpen and show you how to throw the fastball without seams.”

Keough was 16-13, with 20 complete games, for the 1980 Athletics, and the starting staff made the cover of Sports Illustrated the following spring.

Going backward

Keough won his first six decisions of 1981 before feeling pain in his right shoulder. Some suggested Martin overworked him, but Keough said he hurt the shoulder when he slipped on the mound in Baltimore. Keough was 10-6 in 1981 and 11-18 in 1982.

In 1983, Martin returned to New York to manage the Yankees, who made a deal to acquire Keough. Experiencing persistent shoulder pain, Keough was 3-4 with a 5.17 ERA for them.

After the season, Keough agreed to go to the minor leagues in 1984 to try to develop a knuckleball. He was assigned to the Class AA Nashville team because the pitching coach was knuckleball master Hoyt Wilhelm.

After posting a 6.75 ERA in seven starts for Nashville, Keough was diagnosed with a partial tear of the rotator cuff and put on the disabled list. He underwent arthroscopic surgery in October 1984 and the Yankees released him.

Comeback trail

On April 23, 1985, the Cardinals signed Keough to a minor-league contract and sent him to extended spring training in Florida. In 19 innings, Keough had a 1.93 ERA and the Cardinals assigned him to Class AAA Louisville.

Keough, 30, had a 3.35 ERA in 19 starts for Louisville manager Jim Fregosi. “He’s gotten better and better since he’s been with us,” Fregosi told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I really think he can pitch in the big leagues again.”

Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said, “He always had a good spitball at Oakland.”

On Sept. 9, 1985, the Cardinals, in first place by a half game ahead of the Mets, called up Keough from Louisville. He made his Cardinals debut that night, pitching four scoreless innings in relief of Kurt Kepshire in a 3-1 win over the Cubs at St. Louis. Boxscore

Five days later, Keough relieved Kepshire again and pitched two scoreless innings against the Cubs in a 5-4 Cardinals win at Chicago. Boxscore

Herzog yanked Kepshire from the rotation and gave Keough a start on Sept. 19 against the Phillies, but he gave up five runs before being lifted in the third inning and the Phillies won, 6-3. Boxscore

“I was pitching 2-and-1 and 2-and-0 on everybody and I usually don’t do that,” Keough told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Keough’s last appearance for the Cardinals came Sept. 24 when he worked two scoreless innings in relief of Ricky Horton in a game the Cardinals won, 5-4, versus the Pirates. Boxscore

Keough was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA as a Cardinal, but in three relief stints he allowed no runs and struck out eight in eight innings.

Checkered past

The 1985 Cardinals went on to win the National League pennant. Keough was ineligible to pitch in the postseason because he joined the club too late, but the Cardinals gave him a championship ring. Granted free agency, he signed with the Cubs and split the 1986 season, his last in the majors, with them and the Astros.

Keough made one appearance against the Cardinals. Filling in for scheduled starter Dennis Eckersley, who developed back spasms, Keough pitched four innings, gave up a two-run single to Ozzie Smith and took the loss in a 4-3 Cardinals win over the Cubs at St. Louis on June 5, 1986. Boxscore

Like his father Marty, who finished his playing career in Japan in 1968, Matt went to Japan and pitched for four years (1987-90) with the Hanshin Tigers.

Keough, who had a big-league career record of 58-84, tried a comeback with the Angels at spring training in 1992. While seated in the dugout during a game at Scottsdale, Ariz., Keough was hit in the temple by a foul ball off the bat of the Giants’ John Patterson. Marty Keough, scouting the game for the Cardinals, watched as medical personnel attended to his son. Matt developed a blood clot in his brain and needed surgery.

Keough recovered and went on to scout for the Angels and Rays. He also served as special assistant to the general manager of the Athletics.

In April 2005, Keough was involved in a car accident in California, injuring a pedestrian. He pleaded guilty to felony charges of driving under the influence after he crashed his vehicle into another at a red light, pushing the vehicle into a man walking his bike across the street, police said to the Orange County Register. The injured man was admitted to a hospital.

In December 2007, Keough was arraigned on charges he was binge drinking at a bar in violation of his probation, authorities told the Orange County Register. The arrest came less than a week after Keough was released from the Newport Beach lockup, where he spent seven weeks as a jail trustee washing patrol cars and cleaning the facility after he was caught violating parole.

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The Phillies gave up on Curt Simmons and the Cardinals benefited.

On May 19, 1960, the Cardinals signed Simmons on his 31st birthday. A left-handed pitcher, Simmons was released a week earlier by the Phillies after he played in 13 seasons for them and won 115 games.

Determined to show the Phillies he wasn’t done, Simmons became a dependable Cardinals starter and did some of his best work against his former team.

Simmons was 4-0 against the Phillies in 1960 and 4-0 versus them again in 1964 when they finished a game behind the National League champion Cardinals.

Prized pitcher

Simmons was a standout pitcher for high school and American Legion teams in his hometown of Egypt, Pa., near Allentown. The Phillies signed him for $65,000 in 1947 when he was 18 and sent him to their farm team in Wilmington, Del.

Simmons had “a face like a B-picture villain,” the Sporting News noted, and threw with a herky-jerky motion. He was 13-5 for Wilmington and got called up to the Phillies near the end of the season. He made his major-league debut in a start against the Giants on Sept. 28, 1947, at Philadelphia and pitched a five-hitter in a 3-1 win. Boxscore

“I wouldn’t trade Curt Simmons for an entire ball club,” Phillies manager Ben Chapman told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I mean every word of it.”

In 1950, the Phillies, managed by Eddie Sawyer, won the National League pennant behind the pitching of Robin Roberts (20-11), Simmons (17-8) and Jim Konstanty (16-7, 22 saves), but Simmons was called into the Army before the World Series against the Yankees.

Simmons “was a better pitcher than Roberts in 1950 and it looked as if he’d stay that way,” Sawyer told The Sporting News. “He had more natural stuff than Robbie. He was a bonus kid trying to grow into a major leaguer and in 1950 he suddenly arrived. For the first time, he had control. He could throw a strike whenever he wanted.”

After serving in the Army through 1951, Simmons returned to the Phillies in 1952 and picked up where he left off, posting a 14-8 record with six shutouts.

In June 1953, Simmons was mowing his lawn when he accidently sliced off part of the big toe on his left foot. He pitched again a month later and remained a mainstay in the starting rotation, finishing 16-13, but Phillies owner Bob Carpenter said, “To me, his fastball lost that strikeout zip after the accident.”

Under repair

In April 1959, Simmons underwent surgery to remove bone chips in the left elbow. He returned to the Phillies in late May and made seven relief appearances, but Simmons wanted to test his elbow in a series of starts. He agreed to go to the Phillies’ farm team at Williamsport, Pa., “to find out for myself if I could still pitch, if my arm could take the strain,” he told the Inquirer.

Simmons was 4-1 in six starts at Williamsport and declared himself ready to return to the Phillies in 1960. At spring training, Simmons had a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings and Sawyer picked him to start the Phillies’ second game of the season, their home opener against the Braves.

The good vibes of spring training disappeared as soon as the season began. The Phillies lost the season opener to the Reds at Cincinnati on April 12 and Sawyer resigned the morning of the home opener on April 14, saying he no longer wanted to manage.

Gene Mauch, named to replace Sawyer, couldn’t arrive in Philadelphia in time for the home opener, so coach Andy Cohen filled in. Simmons started, gave up home runs to Hank Aaron and Joe Adcock in the first inning and was lifted after the first two batters reached base in the second.

In his next start, his first for Mauch, Simmons faced five Pirates batters, retired none and was taken out.

Simmons made two relief appearances and was released on May 11. His totals for the 1960 Phillies: four innings, eight runs, 13 hits, six walks.

“I don’t think I would have been released if Sawyer had been there,” Simmons told the Philadelphia Daily News. “When he quit, my stock went down to zero.”

Good move

The Cubs, Pirates and Orioles showed interest in Simmons, but the Cardinals were the first to make a firm offer with no conditions.

Solly Hemus, who played for the Phillies before becoming Cardinals manager, called his ex-teammate and asked simply, “Arm OK?”

“Yeah,” said Simmons.

“Then I want you,” Hemus replied.

After four relief appearances for the Cardinals, Simmons went into the starting rotation. In his first start, June 19 versus the Braves at Milwaukee, Simmons pitched six innings, allowed two runs and impressed, though he didn’t factor in the decision, a 4-3 Cardinals win. Boxscore

“I liked Curt’s fastball,” Cardinals pitching coach Howie Pollet told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He proved his arm was sound again.”

Take that!

Simmons’ first win for the Cardinals was extra satisfying because it came in his next start, June 25, versus the Phillies at Philadelphia. Simmons pitched 8.2 innings in the 1-0 triumph. It was his first win in the majors since Sept. 1, 1958.

“I knew I could pitch somewhere this year,” Simmons told the Inquirer.

Simmons and Phillies starter Jim Owens were locked in a scoreless duel until Ken Boyer led off the top of the ninth with a home run.

In the bottom half of the ninth, Lee Walls, batting with one out and none on, hit a drive deep to left. “I was afraid Walls’ ball might go for a home run,” Simmons told the Post-Dispatch.

Rookie John Glenn, who entered the inning as a defensive replacement for Stan Musial, leaped and got the web of his glove on the ball, but it fell out as he came down against the wall. Walls stopped at second with a double.

The next batter, rookie Ken Walters, hit a liner to right-center. Right fielder Joe Cunningham rumbled over, dived, slid on his belly and caught the ball inches from the grass for the second out.

Up next was Pancho Herrera, who had three singles in three at-bats against Simmons in the game. Hemus lifted Simmons for Lindy McDaniel, who got the save when center fielder Curt Flood made a running catch of Herrera’s shot to right-center. Boxscore

What a gift

The Cardinals won each of Simmons’ first six starts for them, though he was 2-0 with four no-decisions.

On July 31, 1960, he faced the Phillies for the second time, gave up 13 hits, all singles, but no walks and got the win as the Cardinals prevailed, 9-2, at St. Louis. Boxscore

A week later, on Aug. 9, 1960, Simmons pitched a five-hit shutout against the Phillies at Philadelphia. Afterward, Cardinals outfielder Walt Moryn asked Philadelphia reporters, “You guys got any more players you want to give away over there?”

Simmons told the Philadelphia Daily News, “I think I’m throwing at times as hard as I’ve thrown in the last five years, but the big thing is I’m keeping the ball down and I’ve been working on a half-baked screwball I use as a changeup. The fastball is the bread and butter though. If my fastball is no good, I can throw all the junk I want to and it won’t help.” Boxscore

On Sept, 11, 1960, Simmons got his seventh win of the season, and his fourth versus the Phillies, in a 7-3 Cardinals triumph at Philadelphia. “I wish we had him pitching for us the way he’s been pitching,” said Mauch. Boxscore

Simmons finished 7-4 with a 2.66 ERA for the 1960 Cardinals. Against the Phillies, he was 4-0 with a 1.02 ERA.

Simmons pitched for the Cardinals from 1960-66 and was 69-58 with 16 shutouts. In 1964, when the Cardinals were World Series champions, Simmons was 18-9.

In June 1966, the Cardinals sold Simmons’ contract to the Cubs. His 20th and final season in the majors was 1967 with the Angels. Simmons posted a career mark of 193-183 with 36 shutouts. His career record versus the Phillies was 19-6.

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