June 13, 1914: Griner Whitewashes The Trolley Dodgers

     On June 13, 1914, Dan Griner pitched a five hit gem in Brooklyn, as he led the Cardinals to a 6-0 win over the Dodgers. On the offensive side of the ball, Griner was assisted by every bat that was in the lineup besides leftfielder Ted Cather and himself. He was also assisted by six errors by the home squad. The Dodgers starter Raleigh Aitchison was on the bump for each of the Cardinals runs as he gave his club seven innings of work, although he was charged with just two of the six runs scored. With the way Griner was pitching the defensive lapses hardly mattered, since all he needed was a run to win the contest.

     When it comes to the pitchers that have come and gone in the history of the Cardinals organization, Griner will never be a name that is widely recognized. His career began with the Birds in 1912. After going 3-4 in seven starts, he found a regular spot in the rotation the following season. To call the 1913 season a rough one for Griner would be an understatement. In fact, that season in Cardinals baseball was a particularly rough one, as they won just 51 games while losing 99 which was good for last place. Griner led the National League with 22 losses that for the club during that abysmal season in which he carried an E.R.A. over five. While Griner failed to post a winning record in 1914, he did bring his E.R.A. down to a respectable 2.51 as he put together a 9-13 record for the team who looked to be turning things around as they went 81-72 during the 1914 campaign. However, the team would still fall short of true contention for a number of years.

    After going 5-11 in 1915, Griner's career with the Redbirds came to a close after four appearances during the 1916 season. It looked like his days on a big league diamond were over, but he did return in 1918 for those same Dodgers that he shutout in 1914. He went just 1-5 in Brooklyn, however, the one win is a win that might have been the best of his career. It came on May 6th of that season, as he nearly laid claim to a no-hitter, only to watch it disappear with two outs in the ninth in Brooklyn.

     Griner put together a 27-50 record during his five years in St. Louis, and while those are hardly numbers to be wowed by, I look at him as part of a family tree that  has been growing since the St. Louis Brown Stockings joined the American Association in 1882, and 100 years ago today him and his teammates trotted off the field with smiles on their faces after he helped lead them to victory.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO191406130.shtml

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.

June 12, 1927: Les Bell Comes Through With a Walk Off Blast

     On June 12, 1927, trailing 4-3, with one out, and a man on in the bottom of the ninth at Sportsman's Park, Cardinals third baseman Les Bell stepped to the plate and hit a walk off shot that propelled the Birds to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Phillies. That one swing of the bat instantly ruined the day of each of the men on that Phillies roster, but none bigger than that of Johnny Mokan. The leftfielder had picked up five hits in five trips to the plate, knocking in two, while only crossing the dish once. The June of '27 was the best month of the year for the defending World Series Champions, as they went 17-9. The club finished with 92 wins, which made them the first 90 win team since 1889 when they were the American Association's Browns. Despite improving their record by three games, the Cardinals fell short in repeating as National League Champions, as they finished three games behind the Pirates. With that said, they were a part of what was a Golden Era in Cardinal Baseball.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192706120.shtml
 

June 11, 1989: The Wizard Has The First Five Hit Game of His Career

     On June 11, 1989, Ozzie Smith picked up five hits in six trips to the plate during a 10-7 win over the Cubs in Chicago. It was the first five hit day for the future Hall of Famer who first stepped on a major league diamond in 1978. The victory was highlighted by an eight run seventh inning that saw Smith pick up two hits as the Cardinals batted around. Tom Brunansky and Pedro Guerrero also picked up two hits in the frame.The first hit for Brunansky was a two run homer, and the second was an RBI single. Brunansky led the way in the RBIs department with three on the day, while The Wizard, and Tony Pena each had two. Ozzie had one more five hit day during his illustrious career, which came on June 17, 1993, and once again he victimized the Cubs on their home turf with a 5 for 5 day that included three doubles, and six RBIs, as the Birds pulled off an 11-10 victory.

Today I am going to include the box score for both of Ozzie's 5 hit games:

6/11/89: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN198906110.shtml

6/17/93: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN199306170.shtml

June 10, 1967: Roger Maris Wins It With an 11th Inning Walk Off at Busch

     On June 10, 1967, tied 2-2, with two on, and one out in the bottom of the eleventh at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Roger Maris sent the crowd of more than 30,000 home happy with a walk off shot that led to a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The bomb was the 264th of his career, as well as the third and final walk off of his career. The man who had broken Babe Ruth's home run record with 61 in '61, only hit nine home runs with the Birds on the Bat across his chest, however, he was a key contributor in winning the National League Pennant, then in the World Series. Maris hit .385, with a home run, and seven RBIs, as he helped the Cardinals win their second title of the decade. He played one more season with the Birds before calling it a career, and helped the club win the National League crown once again. One year to the day of the walk off shot, the Cardinals were tied 2-2 in Atlanta when Maris connected on a two run bomb in the third inning. The home run proved to be the difference maker as the Birds hung onto win 4-3. Maris finished his career with 275 big blasts.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196706100.shtml

June 9, 1963: McCarver Belts an Inside The Park Grand Slam

     On June 9, 1963, after dropping the first game of a doubleheader to the Mets 8-7, the Cardinals bounce back with a 10-4 victory over the Mets at the Polo Grounds in New York. The bounce back winner was highlighted by an eighth inning inside the park grand slam off the bat of Tim McCarver that put the Birds up 10-2. The ball that McCarver hit looked to be a routine out to center until Ron Kanehl slipped and fell, which ended up with the ball going deep into the vast centerfield that the Polo Grounds held. An alert McCarver never did turn on the brakes until he was well past the dish.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196306092.shtml

June 8, 1945: Buster Adams Goes 5 for 6 as He Leads The Birds To Victory

     On June 8, 1945, Buster Adams picked up five hits in six trips to the plate, as he led the way to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Redbirds centerfielder knocked in the tying run in the ninth, then came through again in the thirteenth with a single to left that scored Red Schoendienst from third.

     The Pirates starter Al Gerheauser pitched all thirteen innings for his club, and took the loss on the chin, while Blix Donnelly got the call for the Cards, and pitched nine full innings. Donnelly was victimized by an error that led to two runs before his day on the bump ended after nine full innings.

     With the score tied 2-2, Billy Southworth put the ball in the hands of Ken Burkhart, and Burkhart looked to be getting the job done, until a hiccup gave the Buccos a 3-2 lead in the top of the thirteenth. The lead was short lived as Debs Garms picked up a one out pinch hit double, that turned into a run as Red Schoendienst knocked him in moments later. Johnny Hopp followed the Redhead with a single of his own, and by the time he was settled onto the bag at first, Red was standing on third. Then came the hot bat of Buster Adams to win it. A reported 3,695 souls walked through the gate at Sportsman's Park that day. It took 2 hours and 46 minutes to put it into the books, and those who stayed throughout witnessed a great finish to a hard fought battle.

     Buster Adams' career began with the Cardinals in 1939, although it was just a two game cup of coffee. He did not taste coffee in the big leagues again until 1943 when he was recalled by the Cardinals. The stay in St. Louis ended just eight games later when he was shipped to the Phillies. It took Adams a year of settling in at the big league level to find his footing, as he batted just .256 for the Philadelphia squad. However, he found some pop in his bat in '44 by hitting 17 home runs, and raising his average to .283. Eight games into the '45 season he was traded to the Birds for John Antonelli and Glen Crawford.

     Adams was plugged into center where the Cardinals had been shuffling the deck since Terry Moore left to fight for the country after the '42 season. The Phillie most likely looked back and wished they had not made the deal, as the '45 campaign turned out to be a career year for 30-year-old who hit .292, with 101 ribbies, and 20 home runs for the club who went onto win the National League Pennant. Moore returned to the team in '46, and after playing in 140 games in '45, Adams played in just 81 games or the Birds during the Championship campaign of 1946. Although, he did not get to bat in the World Series. With that said, he did hit .312 during those 81 games, and when he was on the field I would imagine he gave it his all.

    The Cardinals sold Adams back to the Phillies before the '47 campaign began. That season would mark his last season at  the big league level, as he moved onto the Pacific Coast League, where he spent four seasons before hanging up the cleats for good. Buster Adams' time in Cardinal Nation might have been short, but once you're a member, you're always a member, and today is a fine example of that as we look back on that great 5 for 6 performance that happened oh so long ago.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194506080.shtml

Interesting fact about the Phillies: in 1944, the team's new owner Bob Carpenter Jr. tried to rebrand the team by changing their nickname to the Blue Jays. The new nickname was picked by the fans in Philly through a poll, but those same fans never did adopt it. Before the 1950 season began it was announced that the nickname was headed to the scrap heap.