September 2, 1964, Gibby & The Captain Lead The Birds Past The Braves

     On September 2, 1964, Bob Gibson and Ken Boyer led the Birds to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Braves in St. Louis. Gibby delivered with a complete game seven hit, eight strikeout performance, while Boyer delivered with a sac fly that put the Birds on the board in the first, before coming up big with a triple that broke up a 1-1 tie in the third. Moments later Dick Groat knocked him in with single that gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead, and there was no looking back from there. A couple of errors led the way to three more Cardinals runs in the fourth, and while the Braves were able to grab a run in the top of the fifth they had no real answer for the man who wore the number 45 on his back. Gibby allowed just two more singles the rest of the way.

     As the article accompanied with the fact mentions the win was the eighth win in the last nine games. They were coming on like a wildfire and Boyer was one of many sparks that made that fire rage, as they stormed down the stretch. He ended the day with 97 RBIs, and he just kept on knocking in runners, as he finished with a league leading 119 ribbies. The Captain of the Cardinals ship, not only helped the team win the National League Pennant, and subsequent World Series, he also took home the MVP award for his contributions to the team that had celebrated their first title since 1946.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196409020.shtml

September 1, 1982: The Wizard Gets The Job Done In Extras

     On September 1, 1982, Ozzie Smith's two out RBI single in the top of the 13th led the Cardinals to a hard fought 6-5 victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The game was a chess match between two future Hall of Fame managers, as Whitey Herzog and Tommy Lasorda made move after move in an effort to put their opponent in check.

     The Cardinals had jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first, but the Dodgers plated a run in the fifth, then three runs in the seventh to tie it up, before taking the lead with a run in the eighth. Steve Howe needed three more outs to secure a Los Angeles victory, but it was spoiled by Tito Landrum who knocked in Tommy Herr with one out in the top of the ninth. The Landrum RBI sent it into extras, and both of the clubs had their opportunities to take the lead in each of the innings that followed, until Ozzie came up with the hit of the day in the 13th.

     While the papers of the day said that Lasorda used 27 men in the contest, he had actually used 25 according to the box score provided by baseballreference.com. On the other side of the diamond Whitey used 22 men to find the win column. One of the last moves the Cardinals skipper made was calling on Kelly Paris to pinch hit in the 13th. It was a big moment for the 24-year-old, as it was his first at bat in the major leagues. He did not disappoint, as he came through with a leadoff single. Two outs later Lasorda chose to walk George Hendrick with Ozzie on deck, and the Wizard made him pay as he ripped one up the middle that Steve Sax could not handle. The base knock brought Paris into score the game winning run, then Jim Kaat worked his way around a jam in the bottom of the inning to end the four hour and ten minute affair.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198209010.shtml

August 31, 1963: Boyer Makes Musial's 3,000th Game One To Remember

     On August 31, 1963, Ken Boyer made Stan Musial's 3,000th game in the majors a memorable one, as he blasted an 11th inning two run home run that proved to be the difference maker in a Cardinals 7-5 win over the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

     The two teams battled their asses off in this one, as Boyer sparked a three run inning with a leadoff double in the second. With the help of a walk, an error, and a two run double off the bat of Ruben Amaro in the bottom of that inning the 3-0 lead shrank to 3-2, as the Fightin Phillies shifted the momentum right back to them. Curt Flood took the wind out of their sails in the fourth with a solo shot, and Boyer doubled for the second time, then scored in the sixth to give the Cards a 5-3 edge. At that point it looked like the Cardinals starter Ernie Broglio was locked in, and victory would go to the Cardinals until the hurler served up a game tying home run to Clay Dalrymple with no outs in the ninth. It is just an example how quickly the tables can turn. Back to work.

     Broglio was lifted in the 10th for a pinch hitter, and his 15th win of the campaign would have to come on another day. That pinch hitter wore the number 6 on his back. As it turned out he would not be adding to his totals, as he popped out with a foul ball that landed in the glove of the rightfielder, but the game did have significance for him, because as mentioned before it was his 3,000th major league contest. He would appear in 26 more games before that season came to a close. To date, only eight men have played in 3,000 games.

     While Stan might not have come through during that 10th inning, he had reached another milestone in what is perhaps the most storied career that has ever been written in the City of St. Louis, and Boyer would still make it a very memorable one in the inning that followed. Johnny Klippstein had come on in relief  for the Phillies in the eighth, and he did one helluva job, until he saw it unravel in the 11th. The game winning rally started with an out by Dick Groat, then with two outs, Klippstein served Boyer up a pitch that the third baseman gave a long ride to the roof of the left field pavillion. Bobby Shantz worked his second scoreless inning in the bottom of the frame, and Stan, along with Boyer, and the rest of the boys who wore the Birds on the Bat across their chests left the ballpark winners.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI196308310.shtml

August 30, 1941: Lon Warneke No-Hits The Reds

     On August 30, 1941, Lon Warneke became the fourth man in the history of the Cardinals organization to record a no-hitter. The historic outing took place at Crosley Field in Cincinnati before a crowd of 9,859 who chose to cheer Warneke on, as they realized they were witnessing one of the greatest performances they might ever see. From an arsenal of pitches that allowed him to dominate in various ways to a splendid defense that erased the only three men who reached with base with quick turns of a double play. The man who was dubbed the "Arkansas Hummingbird" after he was traded from the Cubs to the Cardinals in the Fall of '36 had everything working for him. The performance also catapulted the Cardinals into first place, however, that was a race they would lose as they battled the Brooklyn Dodgers down the stretch. With that said, Warneke's no-hit performance was one of the great highlights of 1941 for the club that won 97 games. One of those 97 had the words no-hitter attached to it. It would take 27 years for another Cardinal to throw a no-hitter, as Ray Washburn recorded the fifth in the history of the franchise in September of '68.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN194108300.shtml

If you would like to learn more about the life and career of Lon Warneke give this a look: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/5a2fe3c9

August 29, 1944: Wilks Locks Down His 11th Win In A Row

     On August 29, 1944, with a dominant three hit performance, Ted Wilks recorded his 11th consecutive win, as he led the way to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Sportsman's Park. The Redbirds centerfielder Johnny Hopp provided Wilks with the run all the support he needed with an RBI double in the third, then he gave him a little more breathing room with a big fly in the fifth. Whitey Kurowski put the final Cardinals run on the board with an RBI in the sixth, and up to that point Wilks had not allowed a hit. His bid for a no-no was broken up in the eighth, however, he still proved to be dominant as he worked around another knock, and got out of the inning with no damage done. The 28-year-old rookie would then work around one more hit in the ninth before his 14th win of the season was added to his stat line. Wilks' winning streak came to an end the next time out, but he did finish that pennant winning campaign with 17 wins, and his contributions helped bring the Cardinals another title.

That '44 season proved to be the best of Ted Wilks' career. He was a two time champion with the Cardinals. However, his success in the postseason was very limited. With that said, he did something that most can only dream of, as he forged out a career on a major league diamond. You can read more about the life and times of Ted Wilks here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/26fbe8b8

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194408290.shtml

August 28, 2003: Kerry Robinson, and One Great Night In August

     On August 28, 2003, Kerry Robinson belted a walk off home run during the ninth inning of a contest against the Cubs at Busch. The St. Louis native's big blast off of Mike Remlinger gave the Cardinals a 3-2 win, and capped off one of the most memorable series of that season, as it was documented in the book Three Nights In August. While the book told the tale of a rift between Robinson and the Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa, it was all forgotten, at least momentarily, as the ball sailed over the wall in right. It was time to celebrate walk off style.

     The game was a battle from beginning to end, as Matt Morris and Carlos Zambrano went toe to toe like two boxers in a ring. Morris served up a big fly to Sammy Sosa in the first, and watched Ramon Martinez knock in a run with a sacrifice in the third. It might have looked like the Cubs had Morris on the ropes, but he settled down before Robinson came up with an RBI double in the sixth to spark the Cardinals offense. One inning later Scott Rolen took Big Z deep to knot things up at 2, and just like that it was a new ballgame.

     Steve Kline's dirty cap came in to pitch the eighth for the Cards, and he got himself in trouble quickly by putting runners on first and third after recording the first out of the frame. LaRussa called on newly acquired Mike DeJean to put the fire out, and he got the job done with an inning ending double play. The Cubs went to Remlinger in the bottom of the inning, who set the side down in order. DeJean matched Remlinger with  1-2-3 top of the ninth, then came Robinson. The man who wore the number 0 on his jersey battled the Cubs reliever in that final at bat, as he fell behind 0-2, then worked the count to 3-2, before he ended it with a swing of the bat that made it one very memorable night in August.

Get up baby!! Get up!!! Watch Kerry hit it, and listen to the Moon Man make the call here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnkUUp21xu8

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200308280.shtml

August 27, 1960: Stan The Man Walks Off Against The Buccos

     On August 27, 1960, with the score knotted at 4-4 with  two out in the bottom of the ninth at Busch Stadium, Stan Musial ended the game with a walk off blast off of Pittsburgh's Roy Face to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory in front of a crowd of more than 30,000.

     The Cardinals looked like they were going to grab victory early as the offense plated two runs in the first, another in the third, then one more in the fifth. While the Cardinals offense was feasting on Pittsburgh's starter Tom Cheney, Bob Gibson was dominating their lineup. He had allowed just two hits entering the seventh, then in the blink of an eye the spectacular performance turned south. He opened up that seventh with a leadoff double to Bob Skinner, then walked Roberto Clemente after retiring a man, before Smokey Burgess came up with a single that scored Skinner. Solly Hemus pulled the plug on Gibson's day, and called on Lindy McDaniel to put the fire out, but McDaniel could not put it out quick enough. The reliever watched the second Pirates run of the day score on a sac fly, and moments later pinch hitter Dick Stuart laced a double into left that scored two, and tied things up. Whole new ballgame.

     McDaniel was able to work past the hard luck, and kept the Pirates off the board in the eighth, while Face who had come on in relief for the Pirates worked around an eighth inning jam. The Cardinals called on Ron Kline to pitch the ninth, and he did not disappoint, as he set down the Pirates in order. Face came back to the mound in search of his third scoreless inning of work, and he damn near came up with it, as he retired Curt Flood and Joe Cunningham in quick succession, but he had to face one more man, and it was not just any man it was The Man. Stan came to the plate, fell behind 1-2, before unleashing his corkscrew stance on one that sent the ball flying onto the roof of the right field pavillion.

     The game winning blast was the 11th walk off  home run in the storied career of Stan Musial. That crowd that watched it was the largest crowd the ballpark had seen since the Summer of '56. The house was packed because the Pirates had a stranglehold on the National League, and those fans were hoping to see their Birds make it a race. The Birds tried. The next day they swept the Bucs out of town with a 5-4 win that closed the gap to 5 1/2 games. It was as close as the Cardinals would get, as the club from Pittsburgh ran away with it down the stretch. With that said, there were some great days for the fans in St. Louis that season, and one of them came on this day, in the bottom of the ninth, with two out, and Stan "The Man" Musial swinging the stick.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196008270.shtml

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