Saturday, October 21, 2006 - World Series - Game One vs Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park - Attendance: 42,479 - Starting Pitchers: Anthony Reyes vs Justin Verlander
The Cardinals - just two days after shocking the Mets at Shea Stadium in Game Seven of the NLCS - stun the baseball world again in Game One of the World Series, with a decisive 7-2 drubbing of Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers.
This wasn't supposed to happen. Detroit had already won seven of eight postseason games against the best competition in the American League (Not to mention, they had already swept a three-game series over the visiting Cards back in June).
By contrast, St Louis stumbled and bumbled their way into the postseason with a stretch run so wretched, they seemed destined for doom - at least eventually. Fortunately, that destiny at least waited until 2007 - after becoming World Champions.
Game One began as planned. Initially. After Verlander easily dispatched the Cardinals in their first at bat, the Tigers immediately pounced on rookie Anthony Reyes. A one-out double by Craig Monroe and a two-out walk to Magglio Ordonez preceded a Carlos Guillen run-scoring single to right field. When Juan Encarnacion booted the ball, the runners - Guillen and Ordonez - moved up to second and third for hot-hitting Ivan Rodriguez - who hit the ball hard - but right at third baseman Scott Rolen to end the threat.
Instead of being in at least a 3-0 hole, the Cardinals trailed by a mere run when Scott Rolen - who speared that Rodriguez liner - hit a one-out home run deep to left field. Just like that, this game was tied. It was all downhill for the Tigers after that.
The Cardinals continued their assault in the third inning. Game Seven NLCS hero Yadier Molina stroked a lead-off single to right - then, after advancing to second on an infield out - Verlander caught David Eckstein looking at a called third strike.
However, DH Chris Duncan got the two-out RBI - a double to right field - to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.
Next up - Albert Pujols, who struck out his first time up - got some revenge this time off Verlander - with an opposite field two-run blast over the right field wall - to suddenly give the Cards a 4-1 lead.
Meanwhile, after that shaky first-inning, Reyes was nearly perfect over his next seven-innings of work, protecting that lead - which grew to 7-1 by the time the Cardinals were done in the sixth.
In that fateful sixth-inning, after Pujols drew a lead-off walk, Verlander had him picked off, but threw the ball away - the first of five throwing errors Tiger pitchers would accumulate in the five game series. They had some help from their third baseman, Brandon Inge - especially a bit later in this inning.
At the moment, with Pujols standing on third base, the next hitter - Jim Edmonds - drove him in with a single to right field. After Scott Rolen's opposite field ground rule double into the right field seats put runners on second and third, manager Jim Leyland brought in a relative unknown reliever - Jason Grilli - who induced Encarnacion into hitting a routine ground ball to third baseman Inge.
However, Inge - apparently auditioning for a spot on the pitching staff - threw it away trying to nail Edmonds at home - allowing both Edmonds and Rolen to score - then, on the same play Inge threw it away again, but Encarnacion could only make it as far as third - just missing a rare Little League home run in a World Series game.
After Reyes gave up a lead-off home run to Craig Monroe in the bottom of the ninth, manager Tony LaRussa took no chances - bringing in a new arm to finish the job. Braden Looper retired the side to preserve this surprisingly easy 7-2 Game One winner for St Louis.
Meanwhile, distraught FOX Network television executives are ruefully anticipating the downward spike in ratings this supremely boring World Series will create. Another Subway Series vanished when the Yankees disappeared in the ALDS, followed by the big market Bay Area ousting of Oakland in the ALCS. Then the Cardinals had the audacity to bounce the other New York team out of the picture, while Detroit was on a five day vacation.
Sure enough, this would become the lowest rated World Series in television history. Much to the delight of the greater St Louis area and other remote points throughout Cardinal Nation.
Showing posts with label scott rolen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scott rolen. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
September 3, 2001 - The Bud Smith No-Hitter
Monday, September 3, 2001 - At Qualcomm Stadium (Bud Smith - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent: San Diego Padres (Bobby Jones - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance: 36,535
When Bud Smith and Bobby Jones last met - in St Louis on August 29 - things didn't go so well for either pitcher - as their pitching lines indicate.
Jones: 1.2 IP - 7 H - 9 R - 4 ER - 1 BB - 0 SO - 2 HR (L - 8-16)
Smith: 3.1 IP - 5 H - 7 R - 5 ER - 4 BB - 4 SO - 1 HR (ND)
Total: 5 IP - 12 H - 16 R - 9 ER - 5 BB - 4 SO - 3 HR
The two bullpens produced similarly horrific results:
Padres: 6.1 IP - 8 H - 7 R - 5 ER - 0 BB - 6 SO - 1 HR
Cards: 5.2 IP - 10 H - 7 R - 7 ER - 2 BB - 7 SO - 3 HR
Total: 12 IP - 18 H - 14 R - 12 ER - 2 BB - 12 SO - 4 HR
The two teams combined for 30 runs - the ninth time in Cardinals' franchise history they've participated in games with a combined total of at least 30 runs. They haven't accomplished that dubious feat since - which is more of a testament to their pitching, which has usually been above average since 2001.
Now, five days after their disastrous starts in St Louis, both pitchers were hoping for significantly better results in this different venue - especially since this game was to be telecast to a nationwide audience on ESPN.
In the top of the first-inning, Albert Pujols - a 21-year old rookie slugger for St Louis - quickly put his hitting prowess on display for all to behold. His thirty-second home run - a two-run shot off Jones staked Smith to a 2-0 lead (Pujols now had 106 RBI). In his most recent start, Smith was unable to secure a 9-4 lead - heading into the third inning. That is to say, he was unable to convince his manager - Tony LaRussa - that he should be allowed to stay in the game long enough to qualify for the win - as San Diego began teeing off on him like he was throwing batting practice.
St Louis tacked on a couple of more runs - one in the fifth - on a two-base throwing error by catcher Ben Davis - trying to nail Placido Polanco at second base on a stolen base attempt. The throw ended up in center field, instead - a well-placed projectile as far as Polanco was concerned - allowing him to dash home with the third run of the game - as Bud Smith not only kept the Padres from scoring - he kept them from hitting safely, as well. Was this really the same Bud Smith who had trouble getting anybody out in the San Diego lineup just five days ago?
The answer to that rhetorical question is, "Yes, indeed. Believe it or not."
The Cardinals closed out the scoring in the seventh. With two out, Fernando Vina walked - then scored on Polanco's double in the left-center field gap. That, of course, was more than enough run production. What a difference five days makes.
Meanwhile, Smith was still managing to prevent the Padres from hitting safely, and the Cardinal defense did its part by committing no errors, whatsoever. Bud did have some control issues, however - walking four batters - Lankford (second-inning), Henderson (third and sixth-innings), then Jiminez (ninth-inning). He also struck out seven along the way.
LaRussa was getting concerned with the relatively high pitch count, but as long as his young hurler continued getting outs, he would remain in the game. When the final out was recorded at 8:55 pm - local time - Phil Nevin on a ground ball right back to the mound, which was fielded cleanly by the young pitcher who tossed to first for the out - Bud Smith had thrown 134 pitches - and he had his first and only no-hitter in his brief career. As a matter of fact, this was the only complete-game shutout he would accomplish in his major league career.
By today's standards, 134 is an extremely high pitch count - which would probably cause most managers to remove him from the game - for precautionary reasons. All that exertion didn't seem to adversely affect Smith, however - at least not this season. This win raised his season's record to 4-2 - he would finish at 6-3. Not bad for a late season call-up.
Smith wasn't so sharp the following season, however, as the Cardinals packaged him, Polanco and reliever Mike Timlin to Philadelphia - in exchange for the great Scott Rolen. That was probably Bud Smith's greatest contribution to the franchise. Unfortunately, he never pitched for Philadelphia - or any other major league team, for that matter.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals contributed another "loss" for Bobby Jones to absorb, as his record fell to 8-17. He'd go on to lead the NL with 19 losses that season - then 2002 would mark the end of his career, as well.
When Bud Smith and Bobby Jones last met - in St Louis on August 29 - things didn't go so well for either pitcher - as their pitching lines indicate.
Jones: 1.2 IP - 7 H - 9 R - 4 ER - 1 BB - 0 SO - 2 HR (L - 8-16)
Smith: 3.1 IP - 5 H - 7 R - 5 ER - 4 BB - 4 SO - 1 HR (ND)
Total: 5 IP - 12 H - 16 R - 9 ER - 5 BB - 4 SO - 3 HR
The two bullpens produced similarly horrific results:
Padres: 6.1 IP - 8 H - 7 R - 5 ER - 0 BB - 6 SO - 1 HR
Cards: 5.2 IP - 10 H - 7 R - 7 ER - 2 BB - 7 SO - 3 HR
Total: 12 IP - 18 H - 14 R - 12 ER - 2 BB - 12 SO - 4 HR
The two teams combined for 30 runs - the ninth time in Cardinals' franchise history they've participated in games with a combined total of at least 30 runs. They haven't accomplished that dubious feat since - which is more of a testament to their pitching, which has usually been above average since 2001.
Now, five days after their disastrous starts in St Louis, both pitchers were hoping for significantly better results in this different venue - especially since this game was to be telecast to a nationwide audience on ESPN.
In the top of the first-inning, Albert Pujols - a 21-year old rookie slugger for St Louis - quickly put his hitting prowess on display for all to behold. His thirty-second home run - a two-run shot off Jones staked Smith to a 2-0 lead (Pujols now had 106 RBI). In his most recent start, Smith was unable to secure a 9-4 lead - heading into the third inning. That is to say, he was unable to convince his manager - Tony LaRussa - that he should be allowed to stay in the game long enough to qualify for the win - as San Diego began teeing off on him like he was throwing batting practice.
St Louis tacked on a couple of more runs - one in the fifth - on a two-base throwing error by catcher Ben Davis - trying to nail Placido Polanco at second base on a stolen base attempt. The throw ended up in center field, instead - a well-placed projectile as far as Polanco was concerned - allowing him to dash home with the third run of the game - as Bud Smith not only kept the Padres from scoring - he kept them from hitting safely, as well. Was this really the same Bud Smith who had trouble getting anybody out in the San Diego lineup just five days ago?
The answer to that rhetorical question is, "Yes, indeed. Believe it or not."
The Cardinals closed out the scoring in the seventh. With two out, Fernando Vina walked - then scored on Polanco's double in the left-center field gap. That, of course, was more than enough run production. What a difference five days makes.
Meanwhile, Smith was still managing to prevent the Padres from hitting safely, and the Cardinal defense did its part by committing no errors, whatsoever. Bud did have some control issues, however - walking four batters - Lankford (second-inning), Henderson (third and sixth-innings), then Jiminez (ninth-inning). He also struck out seven along the way.
LaRussa was getting concerned with the relatively high pitch count, but as long as his young hurler continued getting outs, he would remain in the game. When the final out was recorded at 8:55 pm - local time - Phil Nevin on a ground ball right back to the mound, which was fielded cleanly by the young pitcher who tossed to first for the out - Bud Smith had thrown 134 pitches - and he had his first and only no-hitter in his brief career. As a matter of fact, this was the only complete-game shutout he would accomplish in his major league career.
By today's standards, 134 is an extremely high pitch count - which would probably cause most managers to remove him from the game - for precautionary reasons. All that exertion didn't seem to adversely affect Smith, however - at least not this season. This win raised his season's record to 4-2 - he would finish at 6-3. Not bad for a late season call-up.
Smith wasn't so sharp the following season, however, as the Cardinals packaged him, Polanco and reliever Mike Timlin to Philadelphia - in exchange for the great Scott Rolen. That was probably Bud Smith's greatest contribution to the franchise. Unfortunately, he never pitched for Philadelphia - or any other major league team, for that matter.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals contributed another "loss" for Bobby Jones to absorb, as his record fell to 8-17. He'd go on to lead the NL with 19 losses that season - then 2002 would mark the end of his career, as well.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
July 26, 2004 - Cards' Power-Hitting Trio Keys Extra-Inning Win Over Reds
Monday, July 26, 2004 - At Great American Ballpark (Woody Williams - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent: Cincinnati Reds (Paul Wilson - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance: 23,155
The Tremendous Trio - Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds - each homered and scored two runs, as the Cardinals won an eleven-inning war of attrition over the Cincinnati Reds, by a final score of 9-6. The three Redbird home runs were required to send the game to extra innings - deadlocked at five runs apiece.
Cincinnati also went yard three times; however, it would be a dropped fly ball by Reds' right fielder, Wily Mo Pena, which opened the floodgates in the eleventh-inning - allowing the opportunistic Cardinals to score four unearned runs to ensure victory.
St Louis starter - Woody Williams - had better games. He got off to a shaky start when a Sean Casey RBI double and a two-run home run off the bat of D'Angelo Jiminez gave the Reds a quick 3-0 lead after one inning.
The Cardinals got one run back in the second, when Scott Rolen led-off with a double - but only advanced to third when Jim Edmonds hit a long fly ball to center which Rolen thought was going to be caught - but it landed safely - causing a red-faced Rolen to hear Edmonds chirping from second base about being deprived of an RBI. Instead, Reggie Sanders had the honor - scoring Rolen with a sacrifice fly, to make it a 3-1 game.
In the fourth-inning, Rolen took matters into his own hands with a one-out solo home run - his 21st of the season - to trim the deficit to a 3-2 Cincinnati advantage.
Edmonds responded in the sixth-inning - jumping on the first pitch from Reds starter Paul Wilson for a two-out two-run home run - his 25th of the season - to give the Cardinals a brief 4-3 lead.
The Reds regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth, on a pair of solo home runs - the first from Adam Dunn, leading-off the inning - and one out later, a blast from Wily Mo Pena.
After Wilson retired the first two Cardinal batters in the eighth-inning, Pujols tied the game in dramatic fashion - by bashing his 29th home run of the season. At that point, Reds manager Dave Miley went to the bullpen - first bringing in Todd Jones, then Danny Graves - to keep the Cardinals scoreless until the eleventh.
Likewise, Tony LaRussa went to the bullpen after Williams completed his six innings of work - using Calero, Kline, Tavarz, Eldred and King (4-1) to keep the Reds in check through ten-innings.
With Phil Norton (1-3) on the mound for the Reds to begin the eleventh-inning, Edmonds coaxed a lead-off walk. That would be the only batter Norton would face, as John Riedling was summoned in from the bullpen to face Sanders - and he got his man on, a fly ball to right field. However, John Mabry couldn't be contained - lining a single to left, as Edmonds stopped at second.
Then, Mike Matheny cleverly lined one to Wily Mo Pena in right field - who dropped the ball. The clanging sound of ball meeting glove reverberated throughout the vast confines of Great American Ballpark - as the opportunistic Redbirds now had the bases loaded with just one out.
The Cardinal batters decided right field was the place to hit it - and they did just that to score four unearned runs.
Tony Womack drove in the first unearned run for the Cardinals, with a single to Wily Mo - scoring Edmonds. Next up, pinch hitter So Taguchi (batting for winning pitcher Ray King) hit a long sacrifice fly to Wily Mo - not only scoring Mabry with the second unearned run of the inning - it also advanced the clever and speedy Matheny to third. Womack then stole second with Edgar Renteria at bat. With first base open, Riedling, not so cleverly decided to pitch to the Cardinals' shortstop - and Edgar rewarded him with a two-run single to Wily Mo - to conclude the scoring for St Louis: Four unearned runs, to take a 9-5 lead, heading into the bottom of the eleventh.
Jason Isringhausen - in a non-save situation - closed the game out - although he allowed an unearned run of his own - but that was it. John Mabry - a good hitter but not a great left fielder - dropped Adam Dunn's line drive to open the bottom of the eleventh. The clanging sound reverberated nicely from the acoustical splendor of left field. Then one out later, with Dunn on second base, Wily Mo tried to atone for his earlier gaffe - lining a ground rule double to score the final run of the game for Cincinnati.
In the end, the game that began as a six-home run slug-fest in regulation, became an extra-inning comedy of errors. The Cardinals had the last laugh - improving to 63-36 - first place in the NL Central - now 10 games ahead of the second-place Cubs.
The Tremendous Trio - Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds - each homered and scored two runs, as the Cardinals won an eleven-inning war of attrition over the Cincinnati Reds, by a final score of 9-6. The three Redbird home runs were required to send the game to extra innings - deadlocked at five runs apiece.
Cincinnati also went yard three times; however, it would be a dropped fly ball by Reds' right fielder, Wily Mo Pena, which opened the floodgates in the eleventh-inning - allowing the opportunistic Cardinals to score four unearned runs to ensure victory.
St Louis starter - Woody Williams - had better games. He got off to a shaky start when a Sean Casey RBI double and a two-run home run off the bat of D'Angelo Jiminez gave the Reds a quick 3-0 lead after one inning.
The Cardinals got one run back in the second, when Scott Rolen led-off with a double - but only advanced to third when Jim Edmonds hit a long fly ball to center which Rolen thought was going to be caught - but it landed safely - causing a red-faced Rolen to hear Edmonds chirping from second base about being deprived of an RBI. Instead, Reggie Sanders had the honor - scoring Rolen with a sacrifice fly, to make it a 3-1 game.
In the fourth-inning, Rolen took matters into his own hands with a one-out solo home run - his 21st of the season - to trim the deficit to a 3-2 Cincinnati advantage.
Edmonds responded in the sixth-inning - jumping on the first pitch from Reds starter Paul Wilson for a two-out two-run home run - his 25th of the season - to give the Cardinals a brief 4-3 lead.
The Reds regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth, on a pair of solo home runs - the first from Adam Dunn, leading-off the inning - and one out later, a blast from Wily Mo Pena.
After Wilson retired the first two Cardinal batters in the eighth-inning, Pujols tied the game in dramatic fashion - by bashing his 29th home run of the season. At that point, Reds manager Dave Miley went to the bullpen - first bringing in Todd Jones, then Danny Graves - to keep the Cardinals scoreless until the eleventh.
Likewise, Tony LaRussa went to the bullpen after Williams completed his six innings of work - using Calero, Kline, Tavarz, Eldred and King (4-1) to keep the Reds in check through ten-innings.
With Phil Norton (1-3) on the mound for the Reds to begin the eleventh-inning, Edmonds coaxed a lead-off walk. That would be the only batter Norton would face, as John Riedling was summoned in from the bullpen to face Sanders - and he got his man on, a fly ball to right field. However, John Mabry couldn't be contained - lining a single to left, as Edmonds stopped at second.
Then, Mike Matheny cleverly lined one to Wily Mo Pena in right field - who dropped the ball. The clanging sound of ball meeting glove reverberated throughout the vast confines of Great American Ballpark - as the opportunistic Redbirds now had the bases loaded with just one out.
The Cardinal batters decided right field was the place to hit it - and they did just that to score four unearned runs.
Tony Womack drove in the first unearned run for the Cardinals, with a single to Wily Mo - scoring Edmonds. Next up, pinch hitter So Taguchi (batting for winning pitcher Ray King) hit a long sacrifice fly to Wily Mo - not only scoring Mabry with the second unearned run of the inning - it also advanced the clever and speedy Matheny to third. Womack then stole second with Edgar Renteria at bat. With first base open, Riedling, not so cleverly decided to pitch to the Cardinals' shortstop - and Edgar rewarded him with a two-run single to Wily Mo - to conclude the scoring for St Louis: Four unearned runs, to take a 9-5 lead, heading into the bottom of the eleventh.
Jason Isringhausen - in a non-save situation - closed the game out - although he allowed an unearned run of his own - but that was it. John Mabry - a good hitter but not a great left fielder - dropped Adam Dunn's line drive to open the bottom of the eleventh. The clanging sound reverberated nicely from the acoustical splendor of left field. Then one out later, with Dunn on second base, Wily Mo tried to atone for his earlier gaffe - lining a ground rule double to score the final run of the game for Cincinnati.
In the end, the game that began as a six-home run slug-fest in regulation, became an extra-inning comedy of errors. The Cardinals had the last laugh - improving to 63-36 - first place in the NL Central - now 10 games ahead of the second-place Cubs.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
JUNE 10: 2003 - Cards Out-Slug Red Sox - 2005 - And Crush Error-Prone Yankees
2003 - At Fenway Park: The Cardinals and Boston Red Sox played a wild, see-saw slug-fest before a partisan Tuesday night crowd of 34,937 - and in the end, a two-run ninth-inning rally finally gave the persistent Redbirds a 9-7 win over the equally persistent Red Sox.
After St Louis failed to score in the first-inning off Boston starter Byung-Hyun Kim - a World Series basket case for the Arizona Diamondbacks in '01 (back-to-back blown saves against the Yankees) - the Red Sox scored twice in the bottom half off Woody Williams, with back-to-back RBI doubles by Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.
The Cardinals finally broke through in the fifth-inning against Kim. Renteria led-off with an opposite-field double down the line in right - then Tino Martinez - who greatly facilitated Kim's '01 Fall Classic meltdown - just missed hitting this one out to dead-center. Renteria advanced to third on the catch, and stayed there as Mike Matheny's lazy fly ball to right became out number two.
Part-time outfielder Orlando Palmeiro's base hit to right scored Renteria - then an infield single by Miguel Cairo, along with a throwing error by second baseman Todd Walker had runners on second and third for J.D. Drew, who got a pitch he could handle, and drove it way out to right field - for a three-run home run.
The Cards added three more runs in the seventh, on an Albert Pujols two-run home run and Edgar Renteria's two out RBI single, scoring Jim Edmonds - who reached on an error - with an unearned run.
The 7-2 St Louis lead quickly evaporated as Boston scored three in the seventh - including a Manny Ramirez two-run home run, which ended Williams' night - then a two-run eighth-inning blast by Jason Varitek off reliever Kiko Calero - which tied the game, 7-7.
St Louis answered back with a pair of runs of their own in the ninth, off reliever Brandon Lyon. Back-to-back one-out doubles by Edmonds and Rolen scored the tie-breaker, then with two out, Eduardo Perez punched an RBI single to left.
Cal Eldred preserved the 9-7 win for St Louis with one scoreless inning for his eighth save of the season.
Although the Cardinals hung on for the win, this game typified the team's biggest weakness in 2003 - an unreliable bullpen. That would change for the better in '04 - after one of the heroes in this St Louis win - J.D. Drew - would be part of a package to the Atlanta Braves that brought back some reliable arms for the bullpen - including a pitching prospect by the name of Adam Wainwright.
2005 - At Busch Stadium III: The Cardinals had no trouble in dispatching an error-prone New York Yankees team, as St Louis starter Jason Marquis (8-3) had one of his better outings: 8 IP - 6 H - 1 R - 2 BB - 3 SO. Final score: St Louis 8 - New York 1.
Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang (3-2) lasted just four innings - allowing seven runs (only four were earned runs) on seven hits - featuring a pair of big name players who each made an error tonight - Cano and A-Rod - as well as one by pitcher Chien-Ming "the Merciless" Wang, himself.
The Cardinals immediately jumped on Wang in a two-run first-inning - on RBI singles by Albert Pujols and Larry Walker - then piled on five runs (only two were earned runs) on three hits and two costly errors - in the third-inning to take a 7-0 lead - much to the delight of the 50,250 that packed the house tonight.
Pujols capped a three-hit-two-RBI night with a sixth-inning home run to end the St Louis scoring.
Derek Jeter's fifth-inning RBI double was all the Yankees could muster off Marquis tonight - as Randy Flores pitched a scoreless ninth to put the Bronx Bombers out of their misery.
After St Louis failed to score in the first-inning off Boston starter Byung-Hyun Kim - a World Series basket case for the Arizona Diamondbacks in '01 (back-to-back blown saves against the Yankees) - the Red Sox scored twice in the bottom half off Woody Williams, with back-to-back RBI doubles by Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.
The Cardinals finally broke through in the fifth-inning against Kim. Renteria led-off with an opposite-field double down the line in right - then Tino Martinez - who greatly facilitated Kim's '01 Fall Classic meltdown - just missed hitting this one out to dead-center. Renteria advanced to third on the catch, and stayed there as Mike Matheny's lazy fly ball to right became out number two.
Part-time outfielder Orlando Palmeiro's base hit to right scored Renteria - then an infield single by Miguel Cairo, along with a throwing error by second baseman Todd Walker had runners on second and third for J.D. Drew, who got a pitch he could handle, and drove it way out to right field - for a three-run home run.
The Cards added three more runs in the seventh, on an Albert Pujols two-run home run and Edgar Renteria's two out RBI single, scoring Jim Edmonds - who reached on an error - with an unearned run.
The 7-2 St Louis lead quickly evaporated as Boston scored three in the seventh - including a Manny Ramirez two-run home run, which ended Williams' night - then a two-run eighth-inning blast by Jason Varitek off reliever Kiko Calero - which tied the game, 7-7.
St Louis answered back with a pair of runs of their own in the ninth, off reliever Brandon Lyon. Back-to-back one-out doubles by Edmonds and Rolen scored the tie-breaker, then with two out, Eduardo Perez punched an RBI single to left.
Cal Eldred preserved the 9-7 win for St Louis with one scoreless inning for his eighth save of the season.
Although the Cardinals hung on for the win, this game typified the team's biggest weakness in 2003 - an unreliable bullpen. That would change for the better in '04 - after one of the heroes in this St Louis win - J.D. Drew - would be part of a package to the Atlanta Braves that brought back some reliable arms for the bullpen - including a pitching prospect by the name of Adam Wainwright.
2005 - At Busch Stadium III: The Cardinals had no trouble in dispatching an error-prone New York Yankees team, as St Louis starter Jason Marquis (8-3) had one of his better outings: 8 IP - 6 H - 1 R - 2 BB - 3 SO. Final score: St Louis 8 - New York 1.
Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang (3-2) lasted just four innings - allowing seven runs (only four were earned runs) on seven hits - featuring a pair of big name players who each made an error tonight - Cano and A-Rod - as well as one by pitcher Chien-Ming "the Merciless" Wang, himself.
The Cardinals immediately jumped on Wang in a two-run first-inning - on RBI singles by Albert Pujols and Larry Walker - then piled on five runs (only two were earned runs) on three hits and two costly errors - in the third-inning to take a 7-0 lead - much to the delight of the 50,250 that packed the house tonight.
Pujols capped a three-hit-two-RBI night with a sixth-inning home run to end the St Louis scoring.
Derek Jeter's fifth-inning RBI double was all the Yankees could muster off Marquis tonight - as Randy Flores pitched a scoreless ninth to put the Bronx Bombers out of their misery.
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