August 8, 1985 - Tudor Blanks Cubs on One Hit

Thursday, August 8, 1985 - At Busch Stadium II (John Tudor - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent:  Chicago Cubs (Scott Sanderson - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance:  39,203

John Tudor pitched the finest game of his major league career - a one-hit shutout of the Chicago Cubs - and got more than enough offensive support, as the Cardinals cruised to an easy 8-0 win.  Tudor (14-8) allowed just two base runners all night - a two-out fourth-inning walk to Gary Matthews, and a one-out fifth-inning single off the bat of Leon Durham - while striking out six.

In essence, the game was decided just two batters into the game - when Vince Coleman doubled off Cubs starter Scott Sanderson (5-5) - advanced to third when right fielder Keith Moreland misplayed the ball - then scored when Willie McGee singled.

But the Cardinals were far from finished plating first-inning runs.  Tommy Herr then scored McGee with a double to give the Redbirds a 2-0 lead.  After Jack Clark flew out to left field, Andy Van Slyke hit one out to right - the two-run shot gave St Louis a 4-0 lead.  Terry Pendleton then made it 5-0 with another home run - a rare back-to-back power display from a team known for its base stealing prowess - not the long ball.

The Cardinals knocked Sanderson out of the game in the fifth-inning - when Tudor led-off with a triple, then scored on Coleman's single.  The relentless Vincent Van Go immediately stole second, then scored on McGee's single.  That was it for Sanderson - as reliever Warren Brustar came in to pitch to Herr - who singled McGee over to third.  Clark then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make it an 8-0 game.  At that point, the Cardinal offense took the rest of the night off - joining the Cubs in that capacity - at least for their final three at bats.

The Cardinal win enabled them to remain just a half-game behind the first-place New York Mets - who had already clobbered Montreal by a 14-7 score.  The NL East would be a two-team race for the remainder of the season, as the Cards and Mets jockeyed for the top spot in the division, almost on a daily basis.  In the end, St Louis would prevail, thanks in large part to the exceptional work from their left-handed ace - John Tudor - who had a few more sensational outings in his bag of tricks - although none would quite measure up to the performance he came up with on August 8.

June 14, 1985 - Wild Win at Wrigley

The Cardinals didn't have much luck against the Chicago Cubs in '84.  In fact they were, as sportswriter Rick Hummel put it, "mauled" by Chicago that season - losing 13 of 18 - featuring the excruciating, nationally televised Ryne Sandberg Game - a loss so devastating, it seemed to psychologically end the Cardinals season - and it was only June.

Payback time came just a year later.  In '85, it was the Cardinals doing the mauling - winning 14 of 18 - featuring the wildest win of the season - by far.

Friday, June 14, 1985 - In a game that featured 26 hits, six errors, 12 walks and three wild pitches between the two teams, the Cardinals eventually came away with a wild 11-10 win at Wrigley Field.  For the 36,745 bi-partisan fans watching this contest unfold, it was an E-ticket ride - definitely worth the price of admission.

The Cardinals sent Joaquin Andujar to the mound - a wild Joaquin on this day - escaping a first-inning jam that included three walks and three stolen bases - but no hits or runs allowed.  It was going to be that kind of day.  Weird and unpredictable.

Dick Ruthven got the start for Chicago - and through the first four innings, held the Cardinals scoreless.

In the meantime, the Cubs scored an unearned run in the second-inning, following right fielder Andy Van Slyke's error - then scored two more in the third, on a Jody Davis two-run double - to take a 3-0 lead.

The Redbirds finally got something started in the fifth-inning, thanks in large part to first baseman Leon Durham's error which kept the inning alive for Andujar to help his own cause with a two-run double.  Inspired, the irrepressible Willie McGee later tripled Joaquin home with the tying run - at least for now.

The Cubs answered back in the bottom of the fifth - scoring a run on a pair of hits and a wild pitch, to take a 4-3 lead - at least for now.

The Cardinals took the lead for good in the sixth-inning on a two-run Tom Lawless double, who later scored on another error by Chicago.

The 6-4 Redbird lead grew to a seemingly comfortable 10-4 lead in the seventh-inning - on a Jack Clark RBI single, and later with two runners on, Andy Van Slyke's three-run home run.

The Cubs weren't cooperating.  Against relievers Bill Campbell and Jeff Lahti, they used two hits, two walks and a wild pitch to score three runs - then tacked on another run in the eighth with three successive two-out singles.  It was now 10-8, and starting to get more than a little tense in the Redbird dugout.

In the Cardinals' ninth-inning, what would prove to be the winning run scored on yet another bizarre play.  With two out, Clark drew a base on balls off reliever George Frazier.  With Van Slyke batting, Clark moved to second on a wild pitch.  Van Slyke was then intentionally walked, whereupon he was picked off first - but the throw from Frazier sailed out of Durham's reach - scooting far down the right field line, into foul territory - allowing Clark to lumber all the way around from second to score the 11th run of the game - a run that would be necessary to win this hell ride.

The normally reliable Jeff Lahti quickly retired the first two batters in the ninth, but couldn't quite close it out.  Pinch hitter Richie Hebner's base hit preceded Dave Lopes' two-run home run.  After Ryne Sandberg predictably kept the inning alive with a double - suddenly, the tying run was in scoring position, with Keith Moreland now batting.

Herzog had seen enough.  Bob Forsch replaced Lahti, and induced Moreland to pop one up down the right field line - in foul territory.  With the wind blowing the ball further into foul territory, it seemed destined to sail out of play, into the first couple of rows of seats along the line.  Somehow, Van Slyke, avoiding all sorts of obstacles, running full speed, snatched the ball out of thin air - and kept running with the ball still in his glove, into the relieved Cardinals' dugout.

Andujar managed to escape with his 12th win of the season, against one loss.  Ruthven (3-5) took the loss.

The Redbirds came into town 4.5 games behind the first-place Cubbies.  No doubt infused with a little extra energy after this bizarre marathon, they went on to sweep Chicago out of first place.  Montreal grabbed temporary possession of the top-spot in the NL East - but the Redbirds were fast approaching.

June 3, 1985 - Runnin' Redbirds Run Ryan Ragged

Monday, June 3, 1985 - John Tudor felt confident going into this game with the Houston Astros, although his last start, in Atlanta, hadn't gone so well.  For that matter, the entire season hadn't gone so well for the taciturn Tudor.  In his latest six innings of futility, he had been hit hard - five runs on eight hits -  losing to the Braves, 5-3.  With just one win against seven losses, Tudor had hit rock bottom.

A buddy of his, who happened to be watching the game on Braves' Super Station WTBS, also happened to discover a subtle flaw in Tudor's delivery.  One phone call later, Tudor had been enlightened.  Now, he could hardly wait for his next start.

Nolan Ryan was Tudor's mound opponent for this game at Busch Stadium II, as a crowd of just 18,891 filed through the turnstiles - an indication that the Cardinal fan base hadn't bought into how good this team really was.  They were about to find out, right off the bat.

After Tudor retired the Astros in order in the first-inning, the Cardinals went to work in the bottom half.  Vince Coleman coaxed a walk out of Ryan, then wasted no time in stealing second with Willie McGee at the plate.  Willie then beat out an infield hit, as Coleman moved to third.  With Tommy Herr batting, McGee took off for second, but was nailed for the first out of the inning.  Ryan - a bit wild tonight - walked the patient Herr.  With cleanup hitter Jack Clark batting, Coleman decided to surprise the whole world by stealing home.  Not to be outdone, Herr then stole second and advanced to third as the throw from the catcher skipped into center field.  Clark, probably a bit distracted by all the activity on the bases, struck out; but Andy Van Slyke picked up the two-out RBI with a double down the right field line.  The next hitter, Terry Pendleton popped up to the first baseman as Van Slyke became the first Cardinal base runner in the inning to not attempt a stolen base.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the third, when McGee singled with one out, then scored on Herr's double.  With Clark batting, Ryan uncorked a wild pitch, moving Herr to third.  After Clark popped out to the first baseman in foul territory, Van Slyke once again delivered a two-out run-scoring hit - a single to center.  Pendleton flew out to left to end the inning, but Tudor now had a comfortable 4-0 lead to work with.

After Houston failed to score in the fifth-inning, St Louis broke the game wide open in the bottom half.  Coleman led off with a single, but this time was nailed trying to steal second.  McGee, who had already been thrown out stealing in the first-inning, decided to give it another try, after lining a single to center.  He made it this time, then came around to score on Herr's base hit to right.  Before Herr had a chance to do anything funny, Clark deposited a Ryan fastball into the left field bleachers.  Van Slyke then got his third straight hit, advanced to second on a two-out walk to Ozzie Smith - which ended Ryan's nightmarish outing - then scored the fourth and final run of the inning when Tom Nieto greeted new pitcher Bill Dawley with a base hit to center.

Tudor may have lost his concentration with that eight-nothing lead as he faced the Astros in the sixth-inning.  A walk and two singles had a run in for Houston, with runners at the corners with nobody out.  At that point, Tudor was replaced by Ken Dayley, who had some issues of his own in the inning, as the Astros scored four runs - two of which were unearned.  He went on to pitch the final four innings, securing an eventual 9-5 win with his fifth save of the season.

Things got a little sloppy at the end of this game, but Tudor was now on track, really for the first time all season.  In his next start against the Mets at Shea Stadium, there would be no momentary lapses in concentration.  He'd win a 1-0 thriller over Dwight Gooden - the first of a league-leading ten shutouts he'd bag in '85.  After that dreadful 1-7 start, and some helpful advice from an old friend, Tudor would become the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, winning 20 out his next 21 decisions.

As for this game, it was pretty obvious the Cardinals were a running team.  They stole four bases, got caught stealing three times.  Even Tudor tried to steal a bag - unsuccessfully.  The '85 Cardinals were a team built for speed.  They would run whenever they had a chance to run, which was just about anytime they got on base.  They would wreck havoc on the bases, causing the opposition to get out of sync - make bad throws, mishandle otherwise routine plays.

The strategy worked to perfection tonight.  It undoubtedly affected Nolan Ryan's game - his concentration.  In short, these runnin' Redbirds ran Ryan ragged tonight.  They were just getting started.  After this game, the Cardinals (25-23) were still a fourth-place team in the National League East - still 5 games behind the New York Mets.  After tonight, however, St Louis would post the best record in baseball - 76-38 - a .667 winning percentage - good enough for a division title.

Not bad for a team universally picked to finish last by all the baseball experts.