Redbirds take 3 of 4 from Cincy

The 2002 St. Louis Cardinals stayed hot, winning three of four from the 1973 Cincinnati Reds in a series where both stadium were drenched in crimson. But the series could have easily gone 3 of 4 the other way. The games in St. Louis were particularly thrilling.

Cardinal ace Matt Morris opposed Reds stalwart Jack Billingham in the opener in St. Louis. Billingham was cruising along with the 3-hit shutout through seven, and 3-0 lead thanks to a Johnny Bench 2 run homer in the sixth, and a Davey Concepcion sac fly plating Tony Perez in the 8th.

In looked like Billingham would carry his shutout to the ninth, when Kerry Robinson opened the Cardinal eight with a pinch hit single, but then was erased in a double play liner off the bat of Fernando Vina. But JD Drew kept things going with a single, and MVP candidate Albert Pujols hit a gapper to right center to plate Drew with the Cardinals first run. Cleanup hitter Jim Edmonds then finally did what manager Bike Mike has been waiting to see all year, as he crushed a fastball into the right field stands for a two run homer tying the game. Billingham was a bit shell shocked at the quick three runs, so much so that he grooved a pitch for Scott Rolen, who then untied it with a circuit shot of his own.

Jason Isringhausen came in for the save, surrendering a lead off single to Ken Griffey but getting pinch hitter Hal King to hit a comebacker which was turned into a double play and Pete Rose, who had a monster series, to ground out to end the game.

Game two was one for the ages, and is perhaps the longest game in KOD history. The game featured 18 innings of baseball, 39 hits, 514 pitches by 15 pitchers, and 53 players used in total. Thank goodness for the expanded rosters.

The Cardinals started the scoring in the second off of starter Fred Norman when Fernando Vina doubled home Placido Polanco and Miguel Cairo. The Reds grabbed the lead in the 5th, plating three off Cardinal starter Jason Simontacchi on a Bobby Tolan homer leading off the inning, then doubles by Pete Rose and Joe Morgan, Morgan's hit scoring Rose, and a run scoring single by Dan Dreissen.

St. Louis vaulted back in front in the sixth with two, making the score 4-3. This was the scoring entering the ninth, when manager Bike Mike summoned lefthander Steve Kline from the bullpen to face lefty hitters Tolan and Cesar Geronimo. Reds manager Jesse Elicker called for righthanded hitter George Foster to hit for Tolan, and the move proved masterful as Foster delivered a game-tying pinch hit home run. Geronimo batted for himself and tripled, so Kline faced two hitters and gave up seven total bases.

Rick White was called on to restore some sanity, and got the Cardinals out of the inning, but Geronimo did score the lead run on a bouncer off the bat of Ed Armbrister.

Pedro Borbon was called on to save it for Cincinnati. But Albert Pujols had other ideas, lining a ball into the right field corner for a triple to lead off the inning. With the infield drawn in, seldom used pinch hitter Todd Cruz accommodated the Reds by hitting a ball right at third baseman Dreissen to hold Pujols at third. But Eli Marrero singled through the drawn in infield to plate the tying run. Borbon escaped further trouble and we were all knotted at 5 after nine innings of play.

After a scoreless 10th, the Reds jumped back in front in the 11th on a Joe Morgan single, stolen base, and two fly outs, the second a Johnny Bench sacrifice fly.

Tom Hall was pitching his second inning and looked to have the game won, retiring Polanco and Pujols to start the Cardinal 11th. Bike Mike then called on Antonio Perez to hit with two outs. Perez' father, Tony, was playing first base for the Reds. The younger Perez then electrified the crowd by sending a Hall breaking ball deep into the left field stands for a game tying, two out home run.

On they battled as the bullpens kept things scoreless in innings twelve through 17, with both teams missing some opportunities to grab the lead or the win.

Joe Morgan finally broke the scoring drought, leading off the 18th with a solo home run off of the eighth Cardinal pitcher of the night, Gene Stechschulte. That proved to be the game winner as the Cardinals went down in the bottom half, no doubt fatigued after 18 grueling innings of baseball.

The weary warriors moved to Cincinnati for games three and four. Game three looked to be an easy Cardinal win as the Redbirds mounted an 11-2 lead after six innings behind Woody Williams, who had also homered to help his own cause. Bike Mike pulled Williams after seven innings, trusting the bullpen could hold a nine run lead. But the Reds burned through seven of those nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings, causing such a scare that Bike Mike called on closer Jason Isringhausen to get four outs and preserve the win, 11-9. Pete Rose went five-for-five in this one, and despite the loss the Reds hammered five home runs.

After such a wild three games, game four was rather mundane as the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead in the second and went on to a 5-1 victory. Andy Benes pitched six scoreless frames and Jim Edmonds continued his surge with two more homers and four RBI.

The three wins pulled the Cardinals to .500 at 14-14. The Reds dipped a couple of games under at 13-15.