May 24, 1974: Who's at Home?

     On May 24, 1974, the Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 victory at Wrigley Field in comical fashion, when the Cubs failed to cover home plate during a rundown in the ninth. The fateful play happened with one out, and Joe Torre standing at first, while Ted Simmons stood on third. Tim McCarver came to the dish and hit a grounder to Billy Williams at first, and Williams fired the ball home to his catcher Tom Lundstedt who looked to have Simmons dead to rights, before he flipped the ball to his third baseman Matt Alexander. Realizing no one was covering the plate, Simmons dashed past Lundstedt, and scored what proved to be the game winning run, while Alexander was chasing him in vain. The unusual ending took away from what was an absolute great pitching duel, as both starters went the distance for their respective clubs. Sonny Siebert took home the win, by scattering five hits, while striking out five for the Cards. While the Cubs starter Rick Reuschel gave up five hits of his own, while striking out nine men. However, Reuschel was his own worst enemy. By forgetting to cover the dish, he had helped the Cardinals celebrate a victory.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN197405240.shtml