July 4, 1985: 14 Wins For Andujar

     On July 4, 1985, Joaquin Andujar locked down his 14th victory of the season, with a complete game 3-2 Independence Day win over the Dodgers in front of more than 38,000 fans in downtown St. Louis. The Cardinals catcher Tom Nieto was the offensive star of the day, as he knocked in two of the Cardinals runs, which included the game winner in the eighth inning. Nieto went 2 for 4 in the tilt, which was matched by Ozzie Smith and Terry Pendleton. Both Smith and Pendleton scored a run in the ballgame, with Pendleton's coming in that eighth inning when Nieto came through with a single to right. In an article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Andujar proclaimed that he was so tired when he went out to pitch the ninth that he could not see home plate. However, he got the job done by retiring the side in order. The second of those three outs came when Terry Whitfield got greedy by going for second after picking up a single, only to be gunned down by Vince Coleman who came up firing from left field. Andujar then set down pinch hitter Al Oliver with a ground out and his 14th victory was in the books. Andujar went onto win 21 games for that pennant winning squad.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198507040.shtml

On this day I would also like to extend thanks to all of the men and women in our armed forces. I often write about heroic feats on the playing field, however, the true heroes in this country are the heroes that protect our freedoms. I hope each of you have a great 4th of July, and I hope everyone is safe out there.