WEEK #2: Redbirds take 3 of 4 from Jints

Game 1 - 

An 11-innng thriller with Ron Bryant and Bob Gibson matching zeros for 9 innings.  The Cardinals threatened with runners on base in both the 9th and 10th innings, but broke through in the 11th.  Brock singled, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a ground out.  Torre was walked intentionally to set up the DP.  Ted Simmons delivered as requested, but he busted it down the line to beat the relay and plate Brock with the game winner, 1-0 St. Louis.

Game 2 - 

Another extra innings game, but one of a different flavor.  The

Giants went up 4-0 against Steve Carlton through 6 innings.  Then Tom Bradley fell apart.  A walk to Hague, PH Burda singled with one down.  A fly out, 2 away, Jose Cruz to the plate.  And he unloaded, a 3-run blast to cut the lead to 4-3.  An error on Kingman allowed Torre to reach and up came yesterday's hero.  To quote the Bay City Rollers, Ted said "I don't want to be Yesterday's Hero."  His HR made him the King of St. Louis and the Cards led 5-4.  But in the 8th with Frank Linzy pitching, the Giants tied the score at 5-5 when McCovey singled and Kingman doubled him home.  Top of the 9th the Giants went up 6-5 and could have had more.  PH Thomasson singled, Bonds singled him to 3rd, and stole 2nd with no outs.  Garry Maddox' fly ball to right was deep enough to plate Thomasson with the go-ahead run.  Drabowsky regrouped to get Matthews and McCovey.  Bottom of the 9th, Joe Hague, the bane of every right handed reliever, took Randy Moffitt deep to tie the game at 6-6.  On to the 10th...Giants get a pair of 2-out singles from Fuentes and Rader.  Up steps PH Mike Phillips, the bane of almost no one.  But he ruined Chuck Taylor's day with an RBI single to put the Giants up 7-6.  Old man Don McMahon worked the bottom of the 10th to save it for the Giants, 7-6.

Game 3 - 

Reggie Cleveland went 8 innings and held the Giants to 2 runs in the Cards' 6-2 win at Candlestick.  Brock and Cruz each had 2-out RBI hits in the 9th to salt away the game.  Joe Hague again homered and drove in 3.

Game 4 - 

The Giants put together four walks, a single, and a sac fly to score

3 times in the 2nd and take a 3-0 lead.  For Jerry Reuss, the free pass was an issue all day - eight of them, but he only suffered the three runs.  On the other side, Juan Marichal was in 60s form, throwing a shutout through 6.  In the 7th, it fell apart.  Ted Sizemore doubled in a run, 3-1.  The Cards loaded the bases but a wild pitch from Elias Sosa and Lou Brock's 2-run single put the Cards in the lead at 4-3.  Jose Cruz followed with another hit, 5-3 St. Louis.  The Cardinals tacked on single runs in the 8th and 9th to finish with a 7-3 win and a 3-1 series win.

Thanks Joe for a fun series!

--submitted by Jesse Elicker--