1967 - At Busch Stadium II: Lou Brock's 2-Run 5th-inning home run paces the Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Steve Carlton's (4-1) complete game 3-hitter is marred only by a Ted Savage 8th-inning solo home run. Second-place St Louis (26-16) is only 2 games behind Cincinnati, and closing fast.
1968 - At Shea Stadium: The Cardinals sweep a doubleheader over the New York Mets to take sole possession of first place in the National League (27-21) - one-half game ahead of the second-place San Francisco Giants. Bob Gibson (4-5) wins the first game, 6-3, but is so irritated with his performance he refuses to allow another run over his next four starts in the month of June. Dick Hughes (1-2) wins the nightcap, 3-2, but arm trouble would soon end the career of of last season's Rookie of the Year runner-up. He'd only win one more game before calling it quits.
1982 - At Busch Stadium II: Joaquin Andujar (5-4) throws a six-hit complete game shutout over the San Francisco Giants, as the Cardinals prevail, by a score of 1-0. Andujar got the only run support necessary in the third-inning, when Ozzie Smith walked, stole second, advanced to third on a ground-out, then scored on a Keith Hernandez two-out single. The National League East division-leading Cardinals (32-19) now hold a 4.5 game lead over three division rivals.
1996 - At Busch Stadium II: Todd Stottlemyre (5-3) pitches the Cardinals (26-29) into a virtual first-place tie with their NL Central rivals - the Houston Astros (27-30), with a complete game 2-0 shutout of Houston. A second-inning RBI single by John Mabry was enough on this day, but the Redbirds added an insurance run in the eighth when Luis Alicea was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. St Louis would finish the season with a NL-best 62-45 record, to win their first ever NL Central title.
2000 - At Busch Stadium II: Darryl Kile (8-3) pitches the first-place Cardinals (31-23) to a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Kile allowed just three hits in his eight innings of work. He also walked three and struck out nine. The only run allowed came via a Jim Thome fourth-inning home run. Ray Lankford provided all the run support needed today with a two-run fifth-inning triple, scoring Edmonds and McGwire.
2001 - At Busch Stadium II: Matt Morris (8-3) struggles through 5.1 innings against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing five runs (four earned runs) on six hits, but it's good enough to win, 8-5, as the St Louis lineup scores early and often - and the bullpen does the rest - keeping the Reds scoreless over the final 3.2 innings. Gene Stechschulte picks up the save, after Christiansen, Timlin, and Kline slammed the door shut on any further Cincinnati scoring. Ray Lankford's two-out two-run first-inning home run was part of a four RBI game for the long-time Redbird star, while Eli Marrero and JD Drew both hit solo home runs in the second-inning to spark the offense. The second-place Cardinals are now 3.5 games behind the Cubbies - but this would become a two-team race between St Louis and Houston, who finished with identical 93-69 records. However, the Astros fared better in head-to-head competition with the Cardinals - so they would be declared division champs while St Louis would settle for the wild card.
2004 - At PNC Park: Chris Carpenter (6-1) allows three runs on seven hits in 7.1 innings, as the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3. Carpenter didn't walk a single batter and struck out nine. Pirates killer Albert Pujols' first-inning two-run home run gave the Redbirds the early advantage, while John Mabry added two RBI of his own, to provide the margin of victory. At this point in the season, the Cardinals (29-23) were still in second-place - 2.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds. But not for long, as St Louis would go on to finish the season with a major league-best 76-34 record, en route to a 105-win season.
2009 - At Busch Stadium II: Albert Pujols and Nick Stavinoha drove in two runs apiece in a 5-2 Cardinal win over the Cincinnati Reds. Starting pitcher Brad Thompson worked the first five innings for St Louis, allowing two runs on five hits. The Cardinal bullpen - Miller, Motte, Reyes, McClellan, and Franklin - not only kept the Reds from scoring, they kept them hitless (with two walks) over the final four innings. Franklin recorded the only strikeout by Redbird pitching in this game, as he got the one-inning save (13). Jason Motte (2-1) worked 1.2 innings at the most opportune time to get the win. Strangely enough, the free-swinging Cardinal hitters struck out nine times, but when they made contact, they usually hit the ball hard. At this point in the season, St Louis and Milwaukee were deadlocked in a first-place tie in the NL Central (30-22), but the Cardinals would pull away from everybody in the division with a 61-49 record to close out the season.
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