Thursday, October 23, 2014

October 23. 1985 - Tudor Blanks Royals, 3-0 - Cards Take 3 Games to 1 World Series Lead

Wednesday, October 23, 1985 - World Series - Game 4 vs Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium II - Attendance:  53,634 - Starting Pitchers:  John Tudor vs  Bud Black

John Tudor blanked the Royals on five hits - while the Cardinal offense played a long-ball/Whitey Ball parlay - en route to a 3-0 Game Four World Series victory.  With a three games to one lead over Kansas City in the Fall Classic, the Cardinals were on the cusp of their second world championship in four years.

With methodical efficiency, Tudor had this game under control from start to finish - issuing just one base on balls while striking out eight.

Meanwhile, Kansas City starter Bud Black made few mistakes in his five innings of work, but when he did, the Cardinals were able to capitalize.  With one out in the second-inning, Tito Landrum's opposite-field solo home run down the right field line gave Tudor the only run he would need.

The unexpected power surge continued - when 1982 World Series hero Willie McGee launched another solo home run off Black - this one coming with two out in the third-inning.

In the fifth-inning, the Redbirds scored their final run of the night in a more conventional manner - at least for Whitey Herzog's '85 Cardinals.  With one out, Terry Pendleton lined a triple in the right center field gap - then scored when catcher Tom Nieto laid down a perfect squeeze-play bunt.  In fielding the ball, a distracted Black threw wildly past first base, allowing Nieto to reach second, but that was inconsequential.  Nieto didn't score, but three runs were plenty tonight.

Those three runs would've come in handy in Game Six - the devastating 2-1 loss when Cardinal fans are still blaming a blown call at first base for costing the team a world championship.  What really cost the Cardinals was their inability to hit - and score runs.  Credit the Royals' pitching staff for doing their job against a once-potent Cardinals' offense.

With this Game Four win, manager Whitey Herzog still had his trump card available for a possible seventh game showdown - John Tudor - who had been so flawless for the Cardinals in his first two World Series starts.

No comments:

Post a Comment