June 12, 1984: Ricky Horton Gets The Job Done In His First Major League Start

     On June 12, 1984, with his family in the stands at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Cardinals rookie Rick Horton made his first major league start. Inserted into the rotation because of an injury to Bob Forsch, the 24-year-old hurler helped lead the Birds to a 7-2 victory over the Phillies. Horton was impressive as he went five strong, while allowing just two runs on a day that the offense provided him plenty of run support. Neil Allen took over for Horton in the sixth and was impressive as well, as he did not allow a hit the rest of the way. The offensive highlights included three hits by Ken Oberkfell, and a 2 for 5 performance by George Hendrick that included three ribbies, and a home run. Primarily a reliever throughout his career, Horton made a career high 18 starts during that rookie campaign.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198406120.shtml

On that same day St. Louis' own Kyle McClellan was born. The Hazelwood West grad was a key contributor in the 2011 Championship club, as he posted 12 wins for the team who made an extraordinary run at an 11th title.