July 28, 2002 - The Edgar Renteria Game: 10-9 Walk-Off Winner Over Cubs

In the past fifty years of Cardinal baseball, there have been some memorable games played on July 28.  Here's a sample:

1964 - At Wrigley Field - The Cards come-from-behind to send the game into extra innings - Score 5 runs in the 10th to beat the Cubs, 12-7.  White, McCarver & Shannon homer for St Louis.

2001 - At Wrigley Field - The Cards break a 4-4 tie with 3 runs in the 8th to beat the Cubs, 7-4.  Pujols, McGwire & Paquette homer for St Louis.

2004 - At Great American Ballpark - The Cards out-slug the Reds, 11-10.  Rolen hits 2 home runs - Womack & Edmonds add one apiece for St Louis.

2007 - At Busch Stadium III - In an otherwise dismal season, the Cards sweep a double-header over the Brewers - Scoring three 9th-inning runs for a 7-6 walk-off win in the first game.  St Louis wins the second game, 5-2 - as '06 World Series hero Anthony Reyes gets his first win of the season - to go with 10 losses.

2009 - At Busch Stadium III - The Cards score six runs in the 6th - then four runs in the 8th - in a decisive 10-0 win over the Dodgers.  Strangely enough, LA out hit St Louis - 9 to 8 in the game.

2010 - At Citi Field - The Cards score six runs in the first-inning - but the Mets score four runs in the eighth to send game into extra innings, tied 7-7.  The Redbirds finally win it in the 13th-inning - when Pujols singles in Schumaker with the game-wining run.  Final score:  St Louis 8 - New York 7.

All very exciting games - but the most memorable game happened exactly twelve years ago.  I like to call it The Edgar Renteria Game:

Sunday, July 28, 2002 - At Busch Stadium II (Matt Morris - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent:  Chicago Cubs (Matt Clement - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance:  47,583

It was a hot and muggy evening in St Louis.  The game time temperature was 95 degrees, with a nine mph wind blowing from right to left, as Jon Miller and Joe Morgan welcomed the ESPN viewing audience to another edition of Sunday Night Baseball.

Things didn't start out so well for the home team.  Matt Morris struck out the first two batters he faced, but had trouble getting that third out.  A walk to Sammy Sosa, then a single by Fred McGriff preceded a two-run double off the bat of Moises Alou.

The 2-0 Chicago lead quickly became 6-0 in the third-inning.  Once again, Sosa drew a two-out walk, followed by a McGriff single.  Alou drove in the first run with a single, then Corey Patterson shocked everybody with a three-run bomb.

The score remained 6-0 until the Cardinals finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth-inning - aided by a defensive miscue, along with a questionable managerial decision.

Jim Edmonds began the inning with a single to right field.  Albert Pujols then grounded one to shortstop Mark Bellhorn, whose only play was at first base - however, he threw wildly - very wildly - allowing Edmonds to score and Pujols to ramble into third.  At this point in the game, Cubs starter Matt Clement had been in total control - but manager Bruce Kimm decided to yank him - hoping the bullpen could navigate through the final four innings and protect what was currently a five-run lead.  In other words, Kimm panicked.

Jeff Fassero was the first of four Cub relievers to enter the game.  The first batter he faced - JD Drew - doubled, scoring Pujols.  After Drew advanced to third on a Tino Martinez infield ground out, Edgar Renteria picked up his first RBI of the game with a single to center field.  The next batter - Mike Difelice - doubled to left, advancing Renteria to third.

Kyle Farnsworth was then summoned in from the Cubs bullpen to face pinch hitter Kerry Robinson - who walked, to load the bases.  Then, lead-off hitter Fernando Vina singled to right field, scoring Renteria, as Difelice had to stop at third.  The rally came to an abrupt halt when Eduardo Perez grounded into a 6-4-3 double play - but at least the Cardinals were back in the game - trailing 6-4.

The Cubs were relentless, however.  With Steve Kline now pitching for the Cardinals, Corey Patterson's one-out seventh-inning double was followed by a Delino DeShields walk, a Todd Hundley RBI single and a Kyle Farnsworth sacrifice fly - to give Chicago a secure 8-4 lead - which became an even more secure 9-4 lead after Bill Mueller's solo eighth-inning home run off Dave Veres.

Farnsworth completed his 2.2 scoreless inning stint in the bottom of the eighth-inning, as Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were chatting about Jon's poor taste in neck ties, how the NL Central race was still up for grabs, and a reminder to stay tuned - Sports Center is coming up next.

Statistically speaking, the Cardinals had a one percent chance of winning this game - entering the home half of the ninth-inning, trailing 9-4.  Tom Gordon was the new Cubs pitcher - and much to Bruce Kimm's chagrin - three straight Cardinal batters reached base:  Vina singled, pinch hitter Miguel Cairo doubled him in, then Edmonds singled Cairo in.  It was now a 9-6 ballgame - and St Louis now had an eight percent chance of winning this game.

Time to bring in the closer - Atonio Alfonseca - to close this one out.  In a sense, that's exactly what happened.  The first batter - Albert Pujols - patiently worked the count full, then walked on the seventh pitch of the at bat - bringing the tying run to the plate, in the person of JD Drew - who struck out on a called third strike.  But then Tino Martinez - less than a year removed from his World Series heroics with the Yankees - stroked a single to right field - scoring Edmonds to make it a 9-7 game.

This brought the winning run to the plate - in the person of Edgar Renteria.  After Alfonseca missed with the first pitch, Edgar was anticipating a fastball - in the strike zone - and he got it.  And he got all of it - sending the ball on its merry way over the left field wall, for a dramatic three-run walk-off home run.

It was a classic moment that many Cardinal fans no doubt had the foresight to record on their now-antiquated VCR's - to play back from time to time, for posterity's sake.

July 13, 2000 - Cards Drop 13-Run Bomb on White Sox

Thursday, July 13, 2000 - At Comiskey Park II (Andy Benes - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent:  Chicago White Sox (Mike Sirotka - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance:  32,263

Four years and one day after the St Louis Cardinals annihilated the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field - 13-3 -  with a franchise-record seven home run attack - the Cardinals dropped another 13-run bomb at Comiskey Park - clobbering the White Sox - 13-5.  Four Redbird home runs were a part of the arsenal this time around - giving Andy Benes (10-3) a relatively easy seven-innings pitched win.

The Cardinals wasted no time in getting down to business - scoring a pair of first-inning runs on a pair of solo home runs - the first by Edgar Renteria and the other by Fernando Tatis.

They tacked on three more runs in the third-inning, on an RBI single by Eric Davis and a two-run double by Ray Lankford - to build a 5-0 lead - which grew to 7-0 in the fourth-inning after Tatis hit his second home run of the game - a two-out two-run shot, which chased starting pitcher Mike Sirotka (8-7).

In the fifth-inning, with Kevin Beirne now pitching for the White Sox, the Cardinals got something going after two were out.  After Mike Matheny singled to left, Shawon Dunston doubled down the left field line, and when left fielder Carlos Lee bobbled the ball, Matheny was able to score an unearned run.  Although Dunston wasn't credited with an RBI this time, he more than made up for it his next trip to the plate - in the seventh-inning.

Before that, however, the White Sox were able to score a run in the sixth-inning - on an RBI single off the bat of Paul Konerko - driving in Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who had doubled previously.

Heading into the seventh-inning with an 8-1 lead, the Cardinals sent ten batters to the plate - starting with a lead-off single by Eric Davis, who would strike out to end the inning.  In between, Ray Lankford followed Davis' single with one of his own - then one out later, Mike Matheny walked to load the bases.  At this point, White Sox manager Jerry Manuel replaced Beirne with Jesus Pena - whose first pitch to Dunston was promptly deposited into the left field bleachers, for a grand slam home run.  The Cardinals added another run on a Jim Edmonds sacrifice fly that scored Fernando Vina from third, to build a very comfortable 13-1 lead.

After Benes allowed another run in the bottom of the seventh, manager Tony LaRussa gave him the rest of the night off - bringing in Mike James to work the eighth-inning - who gave up a solo home run to Chris Singleton.  Then, Heathcliff Slocumb made it through the ninth, after being touched for a couple more cosmetic runs.

In the end, every Cardinal batter in the starting lineup - except Craig Paquette - had at least one hit and scored at least one run.  With one swing of the bat, Dunston had 4 RBI - Tatis drove in three - Lankford added two more RBI - while Renteria, Edmonds and Davis had one apiece.

Missing from the lineup was a gimpy-kneed Mark McGwire, who was still the number one power source for the Cardinals this season - but they had plenty to spare tonight.

May 9, 2006 - Waino's First MLB Win - May 10, 2002 - Renteria's Game Winning HR - May 11, 1964 - Javier's Game Winning HR

May 9, 2006 - On a cloudy 73 degree evening in St Louis, the Cardinals played host to the Colorado Rockies in their beautiful new ballpark- Busch Stadium III - with a nice crowd of 40,375 anticipating another Redbird victory.  The pitching match-up seemed like a mismatch, as the Cards had their ace, Chris Carpenter on the mound facing Colorado's Josh Fogg, a 29-year old journeyman with a career ERA around 5.  No problem?

The Cardinals struck early.  After a lead-off single by David Eckstein was erased on a double play grounder by John Rodriguez, Albert Pujols laced a double down the left field line.  Batting cleanup was Jim Edmonds, who promptly put St Louis up 1-0 with a line drive single to right.  However, that single first-inning run would be all the scoring the Redbirds would muster off Fogg, who limited St Louis to just three hits over the next six innings of work.

To no one's surprise, Chris Carpenter also pitched well, although the Rockies managed to score an unearned run in the third-inning, thanks to an error by shortstop David Eckstein and another by second baseman Aaron Miles.

The game remained tied heading into the seventh-inning.  With two out and nobody on base in the seventh, Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday, demonstrating his ability to hit in venues other than Coors Field - untied it with a home run to left field, giving Colorado its first lead of the game, 2-1.  After Fogg held the Cardinals scoreless in their half of the seventh, his night was over.  He would be in line for the win if the Colorado bullpen could protect the lead.  No such luck.

Carpenter's night was also over after seven innings of work, on the hook for a possible loss with his team trailing by a run.  Rookie Adam Wainwright, who would appear in 61 games for St Louis in '06, appeared in this one; setting Colorado down in order in the eighth-inning to keep it close.

Replacing Josh Fogg on the mound for the Rockies in the bottom of the eighth-inning was the venerable Jose Mesa, who was nearing the end of a nineteen year major league career.  At one time, Mesa was an elite closer, logging 40 or more saves four times, including an American League-leading 46 saves in 1995 while pitching for the American League champion Cleveland Indians.  But that was a long, long time ago.  Mesa, who was now just thirteen days shy of his 40th birthday, was no longer a closer.  And tonight, his role as setup man didn't go so well.

Leading off the inning was lead-off hitter David Eckstein, who did what good lead-off hitters do - get on base:  Ground ball single to left field.  The next scheduled hitter - John Rodriguez - was lifted for a pinch hitter - Juan Encarnacion - who reached on an infield hit on the right side of the diamond, moving Eckstein to second base.  Neither batter got particularly good wood on the pitches, but they managed to elude the defenders, putting Mesa in a two-on-nobody-out predicament.  The situation was exasperated by the fact that the best hitter on the planet - Albert Pujols - was now stepping into the batter's box.  Ten seconds later, he'd be circling the bases after depositing a Mesa offering 457 feet out to left field.  The three-run blast - already his 17th of the season - put the Cards up, 4-2, and suddenly put Adam Wainwright - who faced just three batters - in a position to pick up his first major league win.  Sure enough, he got it, as closer Jason Isringhausen pitched a perfect ninth-inning, striking out the side.

Win Number One was officially in the books for Waino, and nobody was happier about it than his mentor and pal, Chris Carpenter, whose stellar seven innings of work in this game didn't go to waste.

May 10, 2002 - The Cardinals had gotten off to a slow start in 2002, falling four games under .500 (15-19) prior to this Friday night contest at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati.  Their opponents for this game - the Reds (20-13) - currently occupied the top spot in the NL Central; 5.5 games ahead of the Cardinals.  That would be the largest deficit St Louis would experience for the season.  The comeback to the top would begin tonight, with a crowd of 29,008 to witness the soon-to-be-surging Cardinals defeat the inevitably fading Reds, by a score of 4-2.

The Cardinals put a quick first-inning run on the board against Reds starter Jimmy Haynes, on an RBI single from Jim Edmonnds - scoring Fernando Vina.  That would be the extent of the Cardinals' offense until a sixth-inning double by Albert Pujols preceded a Tino Martinez run-scoring single.

In the meantime, the Cardinals' starting pitcher - Jason Simontacchi - made it through five innings with just one run allowed, but ran into trouble of his own in the sixth-inning.  After the first two batters reached base, the call was made to the bullpen; Mike Mathews took over on the mound, but not for long; he walked the only batter he faced, loading the bases with nobody out.  Enter Gene Stechschulte, who got out of the jam with just one run scored.  The game was now tied, 2-2.

Meanwhile, the third pitcher of the evening for Cincinnati - Gabe White - retired the side in order in the seventh before issuing an eighth-inning one-out walk to Tino Martinez.  For some reason, Danny Graves was summoned from the bullpen to face Edgar Renteria.  Instead of preserving a 2-2 tie ballgame, Danny served up a hanging slider which Edgar deposited in the left field stands for what turned out to be the game-winning two-run home run.  Graves managed to get through the inning with no further damage, despite being roughed up for a couple more hits.

The beneficiary of the Renteria home run - Gene Stechschulte - improved his record to 3-1, with a little help from Dave Veres and Jason Isringhausen, who prevented any further scoring.  Gabe White, whose only mistake of the night was that one lousy base on balls - was tagged with the loss - with a lot of help from Danny Graves, and of course, Edgar Renteria.

May 11, 1964 - The Cardinals traveled to Philadelphia for this important Monday night game with the first-place Phillies, who were already three games in front of St Louis, barely a month into the schedule.  The outcome of this game would quickly be forgotten, but in hindsight, its significance can't be overstated; especially since the Cardinals clinched the pennant on the very last day of the season.

With a friendly crowd of 11,200 in attendance at historic Connie Mack Stadium, the Cardinals sent winless Ray Sadecki (0-3) to the mound; hoping to tame the potent Phillies' lineup, featuring the slugging rookie, Richie (Call me Dick) Allen.  Ray Culp started this one for the Phillies, and pitched brilliantly until the seventh-inning, when he probably wishes he could have one pitch back.  Unfortunately for Culp, there are no Mulligans in baseball (along with "no crying").

Sadecki had a shaky start to this one, as the aforementioned Allen drove in a first-inning run for Philadelphia with a two-base hit, but was later stranded at third.  In the second-inning, the Phillies parlayed a single, a walk, a balk and a ground out into another run.  They now led the Cardinals 2-0, and that's where the score remained until the Redbirds suddenly came alive in the seventh-inning.

After Ken Boyer struck out, and Tim McCarver grounded out - first baseman to the pitcher covering the bag for the out - Culp (perhaps a bit winded) ran into trouble.  Johnny Lewis lined a two-out single to center field, then with Charlie James batting, moved to second on a passed ball.  James then reached on an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop.  Lewis wisely didn't try to advance on the play.  This brought Julian Javier to the plate with a chance to be a hero.  Two on, two out; Cards down by two runs late in the game.

Javier, who would hit all of 12 home runs in '64, picked a good time to hit one now.  The three-run blast put the Cardinals in front of the shocked Phillies by a score of 3-2.

Sadecki escaped a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh, then cruised through the eighth and ninth, to bag his first win of the season.  He'd go on to win twenty; and the Redbirds certainly needed every one of those twenty wins to punch their ticket to a (victorious) World Series showdown with the New York Yankees.