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How Mark Mulder stole the show in Busch III opener

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on April 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

On the day the 2006 Cardinals played the first regular-season game in their new ballpark before a sellout crowd that included luminaries such as Stan Musial, starter Mark Mulder took center stage with his hitting as well as his pitching.

mark_mulder3On April 10, 2006, Mulder slugged a two-run home run and earned the win in the Cardinals’ 6-4 victory over the Brewers at Busch Stadium III in downtown St. Louis.

After playing at Busch Memorial Stadium from 1966-2005, the Cardinals opened a ballpark that St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz described as a “splendid new bank vault” for a “revenue-rich franchise.”

Cardinals royalty

Among the 41,936 attendees were retired Cardinals standouts Musial, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Willie McGee, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith and Bruce Sutter.

Musial, 85, stood arm in arm with Brock during the national anthem. After the pregame ceremonies, Brock helped Musial walk off the field. “You know why I’ve got this bad knee?” Musial asked Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch. “Too many triples. I should have hit more home runs like (Mark) McGwire.”

Gibson and McGee caught ceremonial first pitches from 2006 Cardinals Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols.

Reflecting on the festivities, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said, “If you didn’t feel something, then you don’t have a heartbeat.”

Wrecking crew

David Eckstein got the first Cardinals’ hit in the ballpark with a bunt single in the second inning. Pujols hit a solo home run in the third.

In the seventh, with the Cardinals ahead, 4-2, Brewers reliever Jose Capellan walked No. 8 batter Aaron Miles with two outs. Mulder, who had doubled and walked, was up next, and La Russa opted to let him face Capellan.

A left-handed batter, Mulder worked the count to 3-and-2 before hitting his first and only big-league home run, a two-run shot over the wall in right-center field for a 6-2 Cardinals lead.

Calling the game on television, Joe Buck declared, “What a day for the Cardinal lefty … This ball was crushed … A one-man wrecking crew here on April 10.” Video

Said Mulder to the Associated Press: “I was trying not to smile or laugh running around the bases. I wanted to.”

Mulder received a curtain call, then went out to finish the job.

He pitched a scoreless eighth, but in the ninth Mulder yielded a leadoff single to Geoff Jenkins and was relieved by Braden Looper.

Last-inning drama

The first batter Looper faced, Carlos Lee, grounded into a double play, but Bill Hall doubled and Rickie Weeks singled, scoring Hall and cutting the lead to 6-3.

Jason Isringhausen replaced Looper, and after Weeks advanced to second on defensive indifference, Prince Fielder singled, scoring Weeks and getting the Brewers within two at 6-4.

Fielder moved to second on defensive indifference and Corey Koskie walked, increasing the tension. The drama finally ended when Gabe Gross, batting for reliever Danny Kolb, grounded out to Pujols at first. Boxscore

The night before, at Chicago, Isringhausen took the loss after yielding a grand slam to the Cubs’ Michael Barrett. Boxscore

“It was fun to get out there again,” Isringhausen said after his high-wire save against the Brewers. “When things are going bad, it seems like it snowballs, but things will be fine.”

Previously: Mark Mulder, Roger Clemens and the great duel at Busch II

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An interview with Cardinals reliever Rob Murphy

Posted in Games, Pitchers on March 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Rob Murphy Banner

Seeking a durable, dependable left-handed reliever, the Cardinals signed Rob Murphy in January 1993. Murphy delivered, establishing a Cardinals single-season record for left-handers by appearing in 73 games in 1993. He held the record until Steve Kline topped it with 89 appearances for the 2001 Cardinals.

Among relievers who inherited 20 or more runners, Murphy had the best ratio of runs allowed-to-runners inherited in each of two seasons with the Cardinals. He allowed four of 33 inherited runners to score in 1993 and eight of 33 inherited runners to score in 1994. Murphy was 4-3 with a 3.79 ERA in 50 appearances for the 1994 Cardinals before he was acquired by the Yankees a week before the start of the players’ strike.

With the Reds in 1988, Murphy led National League pitchers in appearances (76). He ranked second in the NL in 1987 (87 with the Reds) and in the AL in 1989 (74 with the Red Sox).

In 2016, Murphy, 55, is a respected youth pitching instructor in Jensen Beach, Fla., about 20 miles from the Cardinals’ spring training base in Jupiter.

On March 7, 2016, Murphy granted me an interview regarding his two seasons with the Cardinals. Thoughtful and accommodating, Murphy provided a wealth of insights. Here is an edited transcript of that taped interview:

rob_murphyQ.: After pitching for the Astros in 1992, you became a free agent. Why did you choose the Cardinals?

Murphy: “I was thinking of signing back with Houston. I had finished the (1992) season very well with them and they had put together a pretty good young team: Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Ken Caminiti.

“My agent, Alan Hendricks, called and said, ‘I got a call from (general manager) Dal Maxvill and the Cardinals are open to what you’re doing.’ They offered a guaranteed contract for two years with a base salary and incentives.

“Alan went back to the Astros and they were a little slow with moving to that level. Alan recommended I take the deal with the Cardinals.”

Q.: What was it like playing for Joe Torre as Cardinals manager?

Murphy: “Joe knew how to handle the players. That year, my older daughter, Grace, was born and I needed time off. Joe said, ‘Family comes first.’ Joe demanded 100 percent on the field, but there was a balance: You could do your job, but you knew you could take care of personal things.”

Q.: What other qualities did you see in Torre as a manager?

Murphy: “He was a good on-field manager. It was like playing for someone like Pete Rose because of his knowledge of the game. Nothing escapes him once he’s on the field. It was always a professional approach game after game.”

Q.: You had a better first half than you did a second half with the 1993 Cardinals. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that you were exposed to some situations you probably should not have faced. What did that mean?

Murphy: “I always thrived on a desire to pitch all the time. But sometimes it can go a little too far. Sometimes there are a lot of warmups that take place that don’t show in the boxscore.

“In 1993, we had a lot of young starting pitchers and they were handled with kid gloves and I think that took its toll on the bullpen. I was put in a lot. That was my job. I wasn’t complaining, but looking back, yeah, it might have been too much.”

Q.: Bob Tewksbury was the top winner on the Cardinals in your two years with them. How did such a soft tosser become so effective?

Murphy: “He knew how to get strike one. That was the key to Tewksbury’s success. He would throw strike one, then the next pitch he would throw 10 inches inside. It got the batter off the plate. Now Tewksbury owned the rest of the plate again.

“I never saw anyone do this as much and as consistently as he did. It was uncanny. If you put Tewks in a uniform from 1935, old-school baseball, he was right there. That’s how baseball is. It’s not a new phenomenon.”

Q.: Lee Smith, the closer, was your teammate with the Red Sox and the Cardinals. What was he like?

Murphy: “A great guy. One of the characters of the game. He’s a big guy, but he would take one-inch steps when he walked. Lee saved all his energy for pitching.

“He came from the back country of Louisiana and he had his own language. For example, you’d hear Lee say, ‘I wonder if the skunk on the trunk could get me some grease for the field mouse.’ What he meant was, ‘Could the flight attendant on the airplane get me some food to take home for my kids.’ ”

Q.: Should Lee Smith be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Murphy: “I think so. The guys in my memory with absolutely the best control were Lee Smith and Roger Clemens. At the time, Lee was one of the rare guys who could throw 100 mph. Now it seems like every team has a guy like that. I see that velocity go up and I see Tommy John surgery. There’s definitely a correlation.”

Q.: You played with two Hall of Fame shortstops: a young Barry Larkin with the Reds and an aging Ozzie Smith with the Cardinals. What did you see from them?

Murphy: “Barry is a wonderful guy. Gem of a human being. Outstanding ballplayer. To make it last as long as he did, that’s the reason he has that (Hall of Fame) jacket on. It’s his character, his ability and his results.

“Ozzie was like playing with Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle. When you see them everyday, you really can embrace their greatness because those guys are almost always the hardest-working guys on the field. Even though by then he was nearly 40, Ozzie, every day, worked on catching pop-ups over his shoulder.”

Q.: What do you recall about the 1993 game when your Cardinals teammate, Mark Whiten, had four home runs and 12 RBI against the Reds?

Murphy: “I remember my jaw being in my lap. You’d watch him daily, though, and he’s one of the greatest batting practice hitters of all time. I say that in a kind way. Everyday, you could stand in Busch Stadium with your back to home plate and you’d hear the crack of the bat and know it was a Mark Whiten rocket shot. He hit so many home runs in batting practice that it was amazing. Mark had a lot of top-deck talent.”

Q.: You baffled some outstanding hitters. Dale Murphy was 0-for-14 against you. Darryl Strawberry was 1-for 12. Ken Griffey Jr. was 1-for-7 …

Murphy: “The guy that schooled me was Keith Hernandez. It was almost always with two strikes on a slider away that would get most lefties out. He’d punch it right through the 5 and 6 hole. Tony Gwynn was like that, too. Barry Bonds hit a home run on a 3-and-1 slider away to left field. I said to myself right there: I’m going to stop doing that. From then on, I threw him fastball, fastball, fastball.

“In 1994 (on April 9), Cardinals are in Candlestick Park. I get called into the game to face Bonds. Bases loaded. Bottom of the ninth. Tie score. Instead of throwing my eight warmup pitches, I threw five because I was already warmed up.

“My first three pitches to Bonds were ball one, ball two, ball three. Place is erupting. I get the ball back and said to myself, ‘Those are my eight warmup pitches.’ I threw strike one, strike two and then Bonds popped up to second. I threw him nothing but fastballs.” Boxscore

Q.: What was your reaction when the Yankees got you from the Cardinals?

Murphy: “We were in Montreal. I came back to the hotel after lunch and the light was blinking on my phone. The message said, ‘Murph, Joe Torre. Give me a call.’ I called him and he said, ‘Come down to my room.’

“I get there and he said, ‘You’re going to the Yankees.’ I said, ‘I’m going from last to first! Are you kidding me?’ I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. He said, ‘I know. It’s a great opportunity for you.’ ”

Q.: When asked then by the Post-Dispatch about that 1994 Cardinals team, you said, “We had great chemistry in spring training, but it didn’t carry into the season.” What did you mean by that?

Murphy: “We flew from spring training up to Cincinnati to open the season and we had a fight between the players before the first game. Spring training had gone well. Joe had jump-started things well. Next thing you know, we’re getting a call around midnight to tell us we already had a fight. For whatever reason, it unraveled from there and it couldn’t get reined back in.”

Previously: Why the best Joe Torre Cardinals club wasn’t good enough

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Tom Hughes: 1st Panama native to play for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Prospects on March 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Sept. 13, 2019)

On his 25th birthday, Tom Hughes made his major-league debut as the starting pitcher for the Cardinals. His catcher was a 17-year-old, Tim McCarver, who was appearing in his fourth big-league game.

tom_hughesFrom there, the major-league careers of Hughes and McCarver took dramatically different paths. Hughes would appear in one more game for the Cardinals and never again would play in the big leagues. McCarver went on to play 21 years in the majors over parts of four decades (1959-80).

Hughes was the first native of Panama to play for the Cardinals. Subsequently, three others born in Panama also played for the Cardinals, catcher Einar Diaz in 2005, infielder Ruben Tejada in 2016 and infielder Edmundo Sosa in 2018-19.

Other natives of Panama who have played in the major leagues include Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Mariano Rivera.

For a time, it appeared Hughes would be one of the best, too.

Top prospect

Born Sept. 13, 1934, in Ancon, Canal Zone, Panama, Tom Hughes was the son of a Canal Zone police official, according to The Sporting News.

A right-handed pitcher, Hughes signed with the Cardinals in 1954 as an amateur free agent and was sent to the minor leagues.

Hughes had a breakthrough season in 1955, posting a 20-6 record and striking out 273 in 222 innings for Fresno of the Class C California League.

After that season, Hughes signed to play winter ball with the Chesterfield Smokers of the Panama Professional League.

The Cardinals invited Hughes to attend their early training camp for prospects at St. Petersburg, Fla., in February 1956, and assigned him to Houston of the Class AA Texas League.

Hot in Houston

After Hughes pitched a one-hit shutout against San Antonio on June 13, 1956, Houston general manager Art Routzong compared him with Cardinals left-hander Vinegar Bend Mizell.

“Tom right now is as good a major-league prospect as Vinegar Bend when Mizell was here in 1951,” Routzong said. “I don’t think Hughes is as fast as Vinegar, but he has a much better curve.”

Houston manager Harry Walker, the former Cardinals outfielder, also told The Sporting News he considered Hughes a major-league prospect.

In August 1956, with his record at 14-6, Hughes left Houston for St. Louis “to undergo a week’s therapy on his sore right elbow,” The Sporting News reported. The injury “baffled four Texas doctors.”

After being treated for what was diagnosed as an inflamed right elbow, Hughes returned to Houston and won his last four decisions, yielding one run in his final 39 innings.

His season totals for the 1956 Houston team: 18-6 record, 2.70 ERA, 223 innings and 16 complete games.

The Cardinals gave Hughes a look at spring training in 1957 and sent him back to Houston. He was 14-4 with a 2.87 ERA for the 1957 Houston team.

At your service

In October 1957, Hughes, 23, was inducted into the Army. He sat out the entire 1958 baseball season and most of 1959 while performing his military duty.

After his discharge from the Army, Hughes joined the Cardinals on Aug. 25, 1959. He hadn’t pitched in a professional game since September 1957.

The 1959 Cardinals entered September with a 61-72 record. Manager Solly Hemus decided to give the Cardinals’ prospects a look in the final month of the season.

“I saw a little of Hughes … at Houston (in 1957) and what I saw I liked,” Hemus said. “He showed a good assortment of stuff.”

Cuffed by Cubs

On Sept. 13, 1959, his 25th birthday, Hughes got the start for St. Louis against the Cubs at Chicago.

In the first inning, Hughes yielded a two-run single to Ernie Banks.

In the third, Banks hit a two-run home run and Irv Noren hit a solo home run, giving the Cubs a 5-0 lead. Hughes was relieved by Bob Duliba with two outs in the third. The Cubs won, 8-0, and Hughes took the loss.

Hughes’ line: 2.2 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks and 1 strikeout.

McCarver, batting leadoff, got his first big-league hit in that game. Boxscore

A week later, on Sept. 21, Hughes started against the Cubs at St. Louis and veteran Hal Smith was his catcher. The results, though, were about the same.

Hughes retired the Cubs in order in the first and the Cardinals scored a run off Glen Hobbie in the bottom half of the inning.

In the second, Banks led off with a triple and scored on Walt Moryn’s groundout. Bobby Thomson singled and scored on Sammy Taylor’s double, putting the Cubs ahead, 2-1. After Al Dark singled, moving Taylor to third, Hemus replaced Hughes with Ernie Broglio.

Broglio fanned Hobbie for the second out, then yielded a RBI-single to Tony Taylor and a three-run home run to George Altman, giving the Cubs a 6-1 lead. Four of the runs were charged to Hughes.

The Cubs won, 12-3, and Hughes again took the loss. Boxscore

In two games for the Cardinals, Hughes was 0-2 with a 15.75 ERA.

After playing in the minor leagues in 1960 and 1961, Hughes’ pitching career was finished two years after his major-league debut.

Previously: How Tim McCarver became a Cardinal at 17

Previously: Ernie Banks and his greatest hits against Cardinals

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Bob Gibson and his mighty home run seasons

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on March 22, 2016| 4 Comments »

In 1972, at age 36, Bob Gibson lost his first five decisions, causing some to wonder whether he was finished as an effective player for the Cardinals. Instead, Gibson put together a remarkable season, leading Cardinals pitchers in wins and placing among the top five Cardinals hitters in home runs.

bob_gibson21Gibson had 19 wins and five home runs for the 1972 Cardinals. He tied outfielder Luis Melendez for fourth on the club in home runs. The only Cardinals to hit more home runs than Gibson that season were catcher Ted Simmons (16), third baseman Joe Torre (11) and right fielder Bernie Carbo (seven).

Gibson, though, had far fewer at-bats (103) than Simmons (594), Torre (544), Melendez (332) and Carbo (302). It’s not a stretch to think Gibson would have led the 1972 Cardinals in home runs if he had gotten as many at-bats as an everyday player.

Gibson holds the Cardinals record for most home runs in a season by a pitcher. He hit five twice _ in 1965 and 1972.

During a Cardinals career from 1959-75, Gibson hit 24 regular-season home runs and two World Series home runs.

Here is a look at Gibson’s two five-home run seasons:

5 in 1965

_ May 16, Cardinals 6, Pirates 3, at Pittsburgh: In the ninth, with the Cardinals ahead, 5-3, Gibson hit a solo home run off Tommie Sisk. Gibson got a complete-game win even though he yielded 10 hits. Boxscore

_ June 27, Cardinals 8, Cubs 0, at St. Louis: In the second, with the Cardinals ahead, 2-0, Gibson hit a two-run home run off former teammate Ernie Broglio. In pitching the shutout, Gibson struck out 12, including Ron Santo twice. Boxscore

_ Aug. 15, Cardinals 12, Reds 7, at St. Louis: In the second, with the Reds ahead, 3-1, Gibson hit a three-run home run off Sammy Ellis. Gibson yielded seven runs in seven innings, but the Cardinals scored eight in the eighth. Reliever Ray Washburn got the win. Boxscore

_ Aug. 31, Cardinals 3, Cubs 0, at Chicago: In the fifth, with the Cardinals ahead, 1-0, Gibson hit a solo home run off Dick Ellsworth. Gibson pitched a two-hit shutout. The Cubs got back-to-back singles by Don Landrum and Joey Amalfitano with two outs in the sixth. Boxscore

_ Sept. 29, Cardinals 8, Giants 6, at San Francisco: In the eighth, with the Cardinals ahead, 4-0, Gibson hit a grand slam off Gaylord Perry. Gibson gave up five runs in 8.1 innings and got the win. Boxscore

Much ado in ’72

_ June 4, Cardinals 4, Dodgers 0, at Los Angeles: In the ninth, with the Cardinals ahead, 2-0, Dal Maxvill singled with two outs and Gibson followed with a home run off Pete Richert. Gibson pitched a five-hit shutout. Bill Buckner and Wes Parker each singled twice for the Dodgers. Boxscore

_ June 21, Cardinals 14, Padres 3, at St. Louis: In the seventh, with the Cardinals ahead, 10-1, Carbo walked, Maxvill singled and Gibson hit a three-run home run off Mark Schaeffer. Boxscore

The win was Gibson’s 211th, moving him ahead of Jesse Haines and into first place all-time among Cardinals pitchers.

“What I enjoy most about the record is being able to stay with one club long enough to win that many games,” Gibson said to Dave Johnson of the Burlington (Iowa) Hawk Eye. “The longevity factor means more to me than breaking some guy’s record.”

According to the book “Gibson’s Last Stand,” the Cardinals’ ace “pitched most of the game with a pulled hamstring” after scoring on a Lou Brock triple in the second inning.

Stan Landes was the home plate umpire for Gibson’s record-setting win. Landes also was the home plate umpire when Gibson got his first career win on July 30, 1959, at Cincinnati.

_ July 12, Cardinals 7, Braves 0, at St. Louis: In the fourth, with the Cardinals ahead, 3-0, Gibson and Brock hit back-to-back solo home runs off Ron Schueler. Gibson pitched a six-hit shutout in a game played in less than two hours.

“It doesn’t take Gibson long to embarrass you,” Braves manager Lum Harris told the Associated Press.

Said Braves pinch-hitter Jim Breazeale, who struck out against Gibson: “I didn’t even need to carry a bat up there.” Boxscore

_ July 21, Cardinals 2, Braves 1, at Atlanta: With the Cardinals ahead, 1-0, Gibson led off the sixth with a home run off George Stone for the decisive run. Gibson pitched a complete game and earned his 11th consecutive win. Darrell Evans hit a home run in the seventh for the run off Gibson. Boxscore

_ Aug. 30, Giants 3, Cardinals 2, at St. Louis: Gibson led off the sixth with a home run against Jim Willoughby, tying the score at 1-1. The Giants rallied with two runs in the ninth. Gibson struck out 14, including Dave Kingman twice. Boxscore

Previously: Cardinals pitchers enjoy grand slam streak

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Jonathan Broxton and his big-league debut vs. Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on February 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

In his debut series as a major-league pitcher, Jonathan Broxton handled Albert Pujols just fine. It was John Rodriguez who gave the big rookie trouble.

jonathon_broxtonIn 2016, Broxton, 31, entered his 12th year in the big leagues and his second as a Cardinals reliever.

The right-hander, an imposing 6 feet 4 and 305 pounds, is seeking an encore to his Cardinals performance in 2015, when he posted a 2.66 ERA in 26 appearances and struck out 26 in 23.2 innings after being acquired from the Brewers on July 31.

Broxton has built a solid big-league resume (3.23 ERA, 118 saves) since making his debut against the Cardinals a month after turning 21.

Right stuff

A second-round selection of the Dodgers in the 2002 amateur draft, Broxton began the 2005 season with Class AA Jacksonsville. Under manager John Shoemaker, Broxton was converted from a starter to a reliever. The transformation led to an increase in the velocity of Broxton’s fastball. It was recorded as high as 101 mph on the speed gun.

Before a series against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on the last weekend of July 2005, Broxton got the call to come to Los Angeles.

Asked why the Dodgers would have Broxton skip Class AAA and jump directly to the big leagues, Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta told MLB.com, “Because he throws 101. He has the perfect makeup for the bullpen. After his first game pitching relief, he came back to the dugout and said, ‘I could do this the rest of my career.’ He just took off in the role and made himself a major league-ready pitcher.”

Debut game

On July 29, 2005, Broxton’s first night in the big leagues, the Dodgers led the Cardinals, 5-4, after five innings when manager Jim Tracy opted to replace starter Brad Penny with Broxton.

The first batter Broxton faced, David Eckstein, singled to center. The next, Abraham Nunez, also singled to center, moving Eckstein to second base.

Pujols, the Cardinals’ best hitter, stepped to the plate.

Broxton struck out Pujols on a pitch described by Matthew Leach of MLB.com as “a biting slider.”

“It was my first time facing the guy and that’s always tough,” Pujols said.

Broxton still wasn’t out of trouble.

With Jim Edmonds at the plate, Broxton unleashed a wild pitch, enabling Eckstein to move to third and Nunez to second.

Tracy ordered an intentional walk to Edmonds, loading the bases for Rodriguez.

A left-handed batter, Rodriguez, 27, had made his big-league debut with the Cardinals 11 days earlier on July 18.

Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Eckstein with the tying run.

Broxton limited the damage by striking out Mark Grudzielanek, ending the inning.

Passing grade

In the seventh, Duaner Sanchez relieved Broxton, held the Cardinals scoreless and got the win when the Dodgers scored twice in the bottom half of the inning off starter Matt Morris. Boxscore

“Despite displaying a 96 mph fastball as advertised, Broxton admitted to feeling jittery and pitched that way,” wrote Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Asked why he had Broxton make his debut in a pressure situation, Tracy replied, “It was quite a test and he passed. What are you going to wait for? A seven- or eight-run lead? You can’t find out much then. In situations like this, you find out about ability, about character, about poise. He passed. He handled it extremely well.”

The game was attended by Broxton’s father, who coached his son from T-ball through middle school in Georgia.

“I’ve always dreamed of getting to this level and it was great having him there to share it,” Broxton said in the book “Major League Dads.”

Back-to-back

The next night, July 30, Tracy called on Broxton again.

This time, the situation was different, though the batters were the same.

With the Cardinals ahead, 8-4, Broxton, the Dodgers’ fourth pitcher of the game, entered to work the eighth.

Eckstein led off and flied out to center. Nunez walked.

Again, Broxton struck out Pujols. (Through 2015, Pujols had a career .143 batting average, 3-for-21, against Broxton.)

Edmonds walked and Nunez advanced to second.

With a runner in scoring position, Rodriguez delivered again, singling to right and scoring Nunez.

Like the previous night, the inning ended with Broxton striking out Grudzielanek. Boxscore

Broxton would finish the 2005 season with a 1-0 record, 5.93 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 13.2 innings for the Dodgers.

Through 2015, his career numbers versus the Cardinals: 2.47 ERA, six saves and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched.

Previously: Dodgers rake Tom Poholsky for 14 singles, lose to Cardinals

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Cardinals taught Mike Leake hard lesson as a rookie

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on February 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Dec. 21, 2024)

Matched against a big-game pitcher in an atmosphere overloaded with emotion, Reds rookie Mike Leake unraveled versus the Cardinals.

mike_leakeOn Aug. 9, 2010, Reds manager Dusty Baker gave Leake the start in the opener of a showdown series against the Cardinals at Cincinnati. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa countered with an ace, Chris Carpenter.

After a scoreless duel for three innings, Leake cracked. He yielded seven runs in the fourth and became unnerved, losing track of the number of outs and heading toward the dugout before being sent back to the mound.

Emboldened, the Cardinals won the game, swept the series and overtook the Reds for first place in the National League Central Division.

Five years later, on Dec. 22, 2015, Leake, a free agent, signed with the Cardinals.

Queen City drama

In 2010, the Reds were seeking their first NL Central title in 15 years. On the morning of Aug. 9, they held a two-game lead over the second-place Cardinals entering a three-game series against them.

The tension between the division rivals, already high, was intensified that day by two developments:

_ Reds general manager Walt Jocketty acquired Jim Edmonds from the Brewers for outfielder Chris Dickerson.

Jocketty won two NL pennants and a World Series title as Cardinals general manager before he was fired after the 2007 season. Edmonds was the Cardinals’ center fielder on those championship clubs, but was traded after Jocketty left.

Edmonds joined four other former Cardinals _ third baseman Scott Rolen, infielder Miguel Cairo and pitchers Russ Springer and Mike Lincoln _ on the Reds.

_ In an interview with Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips lit into the Cardinals. McCoy posted the comments online before the game and the Cardinals read the remarks.

Said Phillips of the Cardinals, “All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them. They’re little bitches … I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals.”

Schumaker slam

Dusty Baker started a lineup that night with Phillips in the leadoff spot, Rolen at cleanup and Edmonds, in his Reds debut, batting fifth.

The Cardinals focused on trying to lay off Leake’s sinker and get him to deliver pitches up in the strike zone.

In the fourth, the Cardinals produced six hits and six runs on 12 pitches. Jon Jay doubled and Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Colby Rasmus and Yadier Molina each singled. The hits by Holliday and Rasmus each drove in a run. Molina’s single loaded the bases for Skip Schumaker, who was playing his first game since spraining his left wrist Aug. 3.

Schumaker swung at Leake’s first pitch and drove the ball 408 feet over the wall in left-center field for his first career grand slam, giving St. Louis a 6-0 lead.

Dazed and confused

“They got six in a span of 12 pitches,” Baker said to the Associated Press. “It happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to get anybody warmed up.”

After Schumaker’s slam, Leake fanned two batters, jogged off the mound and was at the foul line before he realized there were two outs, not three.

Leake returned, pitched to Felipe Lopez, who singled, and got yanked. Reliever Carlos Fisher walked Jay and yielded a single to Pujols, scoring Lopez. That run was charged to Leake, whose final line showed seven runs allowed in 3.2 innings.

Good plan

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Joe Strauss wrote, “The Cards perfectly executed an early attack against Leake … They noticed a flattening of Leake’s assortment in his previous start and adopted a very aggressive tact.”

The Cardinals won, 7-3, and moved within a game of the Reds. Boxscore

Phillips was 0-for-5. Edmonds and Rolen also were hitless.

“I’m guessing Phillips really hated seeing Schumaker hit the grand slam, a massive hit that wasn’t very Cubs-like,” wrote columnist Bernie Miklasz.

Tempers flare

The next night, Aug. 10, Phillips sparked a brawl when, in the batter’s box, he used his bat to tap Molina’s shin guards. Molina responded angrily, both benches emptied and the fight carried to the backstop.

Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto kicked Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue in the head and he also kicked Carpenter in the back. Baker and La Russa were ejected.

The Cardinals won that game, 8-4, and moved into a tie with the Reds for first place. Boxscore

(Asked about the incident with Phillips, Molina said to Stan McNeal in an interview for the 2019 Cardinals Yearbook, “Moments like that are going to happen. We spent time together at the All-Star Game {the next year}, and we talked. I met his family. He met mine. We’re good.”)

On Aug. 11, the Cardinals completed the sweep with a 6-1 triumph. Rasmus hit a grand slam off Bronson Arroyo, Adam Wainwright pitched seven shutout innings and the Cardinals had first place to themselves.

The Reds, though, recovered and went on to win the division title, finishing five games ahead of the runner-up Cardinals.

 

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