August 7, 1971: The Cards Win A Thriller In The 10th

On August 7, 1971, 36,633 fans packed Busch Stadium to watch the Cards take on the visiting Dodgers in what would be a battle to the end. The Dodgers drew first blood with two runs in the sixth before the Cardinals came back with two of their own in the bottom of the seventh. With the game tied at two after 9 innings each and every fan in the stadium was hoping to see a walkoff hero, they got their wish but it was an interesting walkoff hero to say the least. With one out in the bottom of the tenth Matty Alou hustled his way aboard with a bunt. After Alou reached, Dodgers hurler Pete Mikkelsen and his second baseman Jim Lefebvre met at the mound to discuss how they were gonna work around Alou. They had one little problem, they had forgot to call time and an alert Alou took off for second. Realizing that the Cardinals outfielder was on the move Mikkelsen tried to throw the ball to Lefebvre who was attempting to get back to the bag, the ball went sailing over Lefebvre's head and Alou headed for third then turned the corner and headed for home. Lefebvre got to the ball and threw a wild pitch to the plate as Alou scored the game winning run. It was a thrilling finish for the Birds and everyone who witnessed it. I can just picture the scene as Alou crossed the plate, while he was being mobbed by his teammates, there were people in the stands giving each other high fives and maybe even hugging a total stranger after witnessing the epic finish.

Here's The Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN197108070.shtml