At this point in the season, winning a pennant seemed like a lost cause for the Cardinals - a team struggling to just get above .500. In fact, the team they were hosting in today's game - the Houston Colts - in only their third season in existence - were a mere half game behind the Cardinals - a storied franchise that had been around for over 70 years. For die-hard Cardinal fans, this was a revolting development.
Pennant fever? Hardly. The Cardinals were so far out of it at this point, they were actually closer to ninth-place in the National League standings - than fourth-place. That may explain why very few fans bothered to pay good money to see this mediocre team battle another mediocre team for fifth-place.
Roger Craig was a spot starter for the Cardinals in '64; whereas Bob Bruce was the ace of the Houston pitching staff - at least in this particular season. The Cardinals were going to have their work cut out for them in order to maintain their stranglehold on fifth-place mediocrity. That was the harsh reality.
Sure enough, Houston grabbed an early lead - scoring a second-inning run on a triple by Walt Bond and an RBI double by Bob Aspromonte.
The Cardinals tied the game in the third-inning when a Julian Javier lead-off double preceded a run-scoring single by Roger Craig - helping his own cause with the bat, as good pitchers do.
Houston broke the 1-1 tie in the sixth-inning when the hot-hitting Aspromonte whacked a lead-off home run; however, Craig was able to regroup to prevent any further damage.
As the Cardinals came to bat in the eighth-inning, still down by a run, Curt Flood was able to coax a one-out walk off a tiring Bruce. However, the scoring opportunity looked bleak after Lou Brock's slicing foul fly ball down the left field line stayed in play - for out number two.
But then Bill White stroked a line drive single to center, as Flood easily advanced to third. The tying run was just 90 feet away as cleanup hitter Ken Boyer not only got Flood home - he also scored White - with an opposite-field double to right. Dick Groat followed Boyer's lead with a double of his own to score the third and final run of the inning - on three straight two-out hits.
Seldom-used reliever Glen Hobbie pitched the ninth-inning for St Louis, since Craig (4-3) had been lifted for a pinch hitter in that three-run eighth-inning - and he was able to get his first and only save of the season - which would also prove to be the sixth and final save of his eight-year major league career.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals had successfully defended their fifth-place spot in the soon-to-be-changing National League standings - and in the process, returned to that all-important .500 plateau (34-34). One step at a time. With 94 games to play, anything could happen - but for now, all this team was concerned with was staying over .500.
Pennant fever? Hardly. The Cardinals were so far out of it at this point, they were actually closer to ninth-place in the National League standings - than fourth-place. That may explain why very few fans bothered to pay good money to see this mediocre team battle another mediocre team for fifth-place.
Roger Craig was a spot starter for the Cardinals in '64; whereas Bob Bruce was the ace of the Houston pitching staff - at least in this particular season. The Cardinals were going to have their work cut out for them in order to maintain their stranglehold on fifth-place mediocrity. That was the harsh reality.
Sure enough, Houston grabbed an early lead - scoring a second-inning run on a triple by Walt Bond and an RBI double by Bob Aspromonte.
The Cardinals tied the game in the third-inning when a Julian Javier lead-off double preceded a run-scoring single by Roger Craig - helping his own cause with the bat, as good pitchers do.
Houston broke the 1-1 tie in the sixth-inning when the hot-hitting Aspromonte whacked a lead-off home run; however, Craig was able to regroup to prevent any further damage.
As the Cardinals came to bat in the eighth-inning, still down by a run, Curt Flood was able to coax a one-out walk off a tiring Bruce. However, the scoring opportunity looked bleak after Lou Brock's slicing foul fly ball down the left field line stayed in play - for out number two.
But then Bill White stroked a line drive single to center, as Flood easily advanced to third. The tying run was just 90 feet away as cleanup hitter Ken Boyer not only got Flood home - he also scored White - with an opposite-field double to right. Dick Groat followed Boyer's lead with a double of his own to score the third and final run of the inning - on three straight two-out hits.
Seldom-used reliever Glen Hobbie pitched the ninth-inning for St Louis, since Craig (4-3) had been lifted for a pinch hitter in that three-run eighth-inning - and he was able to get his first and only save of the season - which would also prove to be the sixth and final save of his eight-year major league career.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals had successfully defended their fifth-place spot in the soon-to-be-changing National League standings - and in the process, returned to that all-important .500 plateau (34-34). One step at a time. With 94 games to play, anything could happen - but for now, all this team was concerned with was staying over .500.
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