July 13, 1940: Mize Hits For The Cycle

On July 13, 1940, Johnny Mize hit for the cycle in the first game of a doubleheader against the Giants at Sportsman's Park. Mize completed the feat with a triple in the ninth, then scored the game winning run on an error by Giants catcher Harry Danning that gave the Redbirds a 7-6 victory. The nightcap would be decided in the bottom of the ninth as well, the Cardinals held a 3-0 lead after 6 innings then the Giants struck for a run in the 7th then 2 more in the 8th to set up another great finish. The Cardinals loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth then Terry Moore's single brought Mickey Owen into score. It was a thrilling day at the ole ballpark. The first win put to bed a 6 game losing streak and started a pretty decent stretch of ball for the club as they won 9 of their next 10 games.

Here are the box scores for both contests:
First game
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194007131.shtml
Second game
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194007132.shtml

July 12, 1980: The Cardinals Rally at Shea

On July 12, 1980, trailing 6-1 after five innings at Shea Stadium in New York, the Cardinals rallied to win the game 8-6 in the twelfth. The rally began in the sixth with a Terry Kennedy rbi, they picked up another run in the seventh when Gary Templeton knocked Ken Oberkfell in from third. Ted Simmons led the eighth off with a home run as the Cardinals closed the gap, with the score 6-4 the team had all the momentum on their side and it would carry over into the next frame. With one out in the ninth, third baseman Mike Phillips found his way to first after an error by the Mets second baseman. Gary Templeton tripled to score Phillips and was knocked in on a sacrifice fly by Leon Durham. Ken Oberkfell gave the Cards their first lead of the day with a triple in the twelfth that brought Terry Kennedy across the dish, before Mike Ramsey knocked him in with a single that gave the Cardinals an insurance run. John Littlefield set the Mets down in the bottom half of the inning to secure the Cardinal comeback winner. The game was a true team effort as they had their backs against the wall early then fought back slowly but surely, to pull off the win. The Cardinals starting pitcher Jim Kaat got rocked, he gave up three runs in the first, two more in third, then another in the fourth before Whitey Herzog went to the pen. The move to the pen was just what the doctor ordered, John Urrea, Don Hood, Kim Seaman, and John Littlefield kept the team in it by pitching eight scoreless innings while the birds pecked their way back. Littlefield pitched the last four innings which earned him a well deserved W. I love games like this one simply because it shows to not give up early, some days a starting pitcher has a rough outing and the team has to pick him up, the Cardinals did exactly that on that day at Shea.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198007120.shtml

July 11, 1950: Schoendienst Leads the National League To Victory With a 14th Inning Blast

On July 11, 1950, St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Red Schoendienst powered the National League to a 4-3 win with a solo shot off of Detroit's Ted Gray in the 14th inning of the All Star game at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was the first time an All Star game went into extra innings.  The National League struck first with 2 runs in the 2nd, then the American League came back with a run in the 3rd then two more in the 5th to give them a 3-2 edge  that would last until the 9th inning when Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates tied it with a long ball. Both pitching staffs were sharp as they held each other at bay until Schoendienst stepped to the dish to lead off the 14th, Schoendienst's shot landed in the left field stands giving his squad the edge. Ewell Blackwell pitched his third consecutive 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 14th to seal the deal for the National League.

Here's a link to a newspaper archive following the game: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D1pIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Uk4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4243%2C4035228

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS195007110.shtml

July 10, 1923: Two Complete Game Wins In a Doubleheader for Johnny Stuart

On July 10, 1923, Cardinals rookie pitcher Johnny Stuart pitched two compete game wins over the Braves in Boston. The first game Stuart allowed just 3 hits as the Cardinals rolled to a 11-1 victory. The second game wasn't as smooth for Stuart, he gave up 10 hits but only 3 Braves runners would score while the Cardinals plated 6 for their second win of the day behind the outstanding effort of the young hurler. Unfortunately it would be what he was remembered for the most, Stuart spent three full seasons with the Cardinals posting a 20-18 record before hanging up the cleats at the end of the '25 season.  In 1926 he was hired to coach the baseball team at Marshall University he held that position until 1932, the team posted a 67-21-1 record while he was at the helm. Only Bill Doak in 1917 and Hi Bell in 1924 have pitched and won both games of a doubleheader for the Cardinals, the last time any pitcher accomplished it in the majors was in 1926 when Dutch Levsen did it for the Indians.

Here are the box scores to both games
Game 1: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN192307101.shtml
Game 2: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN192307102.shtml

July 9, 1940: The All Star Game Comes To Sportsman's Park

On July 9, 1940, the Cardinals hosted the All Star game at Sportsman's Park, it was the first time the Mid Summer Classic would be played at the ballpark. The National League toppled the Junior circuit with a 4-0 victory that was highlighted by a 3 run home run off the bat of Boston Bees outfielder Max West in the first inning. West was injured in the second inning after colliding with the wall in right, although he had to leave the game early he provided his squad with some all important runs as both teams would keep each other off the scoreboard until the eighth when the National Leaguers picked up another run with an rbi single by Giants catcher Harry Danning. Five National League pitchers combined for a three hit shutout over the best the American League had to offer, it was the first ever shutout in the history of the All Star game. The game returned to Sportsman's Park in 1948 and 1957.

Here's a list of the 17 Future Hall of Famers that were on the two all star rosters: Luke Appling, Lou Boudreau, Joe  DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Leo Durocher, Bob Feller, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Billy Herman, Carl Hubbell, Ernie Lombardi, Joe Medwick,  Johnny Mize, Mel Ott, Arky Vaughn, Ted Williams, and Red Ruffing. Holy cow.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NLS/NLS194007090.shtml

July 8, 1967: Julian Javier Wins It In Extras With an Inside The Parker

On July 8, 1967, a three run inside the park home run by Julian Javier in the twelfth propelled the Cardinals to a 6-4 winner over Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. With the Cardinals ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth Johnny Callison spoiled Bob Gibson's day with a solo shot to send it into extras. The Cardinals second baseman would help Gibson sleep better that night. After both teams put up zeros in the tenth and eleventh, the twelfth started out with Lou Brock reaching on an error before Eddie Bressoud moved him to second with a single, then it was Javier's time to do some damage. Julian lined a ball into center that was misjudged by Johnny Briggs, leading to the inside the park shot that gave the Cardinals a 6-3 advantage. The Phillies began the bottom of the 12th with a home run by pinch hitter Phil Linz before Al Jackson came in and shut the door on the Philadelphia rally.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI196707080.shtml

July 7, 1962: Musial Jacks Four Home Runs in Consecutive At Bats

On July 7, 1962, after dropping the first game of a doubleheader to the Mets at the Polo Grounds in New York, Stan Musial picked the Cardinals up with a solo shot in the eighth inning of the second game to lead the team to a 3-2 victory. The next day Musial picked up three home runs in his first three at bats as he tied a major league record with four consecutive home runs in the 15-1 pummeling of the Mets. Bill White, Fred Whitfield, and Bob Gibson all joined Stan with a homer apiece in that contest. Stan was the only Cardinal to hit a homer in four consecutive at bats until Albert Pujols joined him in 2006. At the age of 41, Musial is the oldest player to hit three and four home runs in consecutive at bats.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196207072.shtml

Here's the box score for the three home run game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196207080.shtml