Redbirds take 2 of 3 from Friars

In a series that featured three close games, the St. Louis Cardinals took 2of 3 to get within a game of .500 while the San Diego Padres hopes to escape the Expansion cellar took a hit.

 

The Padres took the opener in St. Louis, 4-3. Stan Jefferson had three hits including a one out triple in the 7th, where he scored after an intentional walk to the "Secretariat", Dave Winfield, when Albert Pujols misplayed Mike Ivie's grounder. This broke a 3-3 tie and proved to the game winner as Greg Walter and Luis DeLeon finished off the eighth and ninth for the Padres, with DeLeon's scoreless ninth earning him his 4 th save of the season.

 

Matt Morris scattered 3 hits and struck out 9 in 7 1/3 innings as the Cardinals even the series with a 3-1 win in game two. Joe Cunningham homered and Don Blasingame drove in two runs to give Morris enough offense, while three Cardinal relievers held down the fort late in the game, Al Hrabosky, Cloyd Boyer, and Todd Worrell - Worrell earning his 6th save.

 

Pitching ruled in the rubber match as lefthanders Vinegar Bend Mizell and Mark Thurmond set the tone, and the Cardinals eventually pushed a run across in the top of the tenth inning to grab a 2-1 win. Mizell went the first 7 innings for St. Louis, giving up 4 hits and one run, while Thurmond went nine innings and gave up a run, that one coming on Albert Pujols' sixth home run of the year.

 

The Cardinals 10th inning run was a bit of a gift as Padre reliever Rich Rodriguez' wildness helped them out. Alex Grammas singled to start the extra frame, and speedy Julian Javier followed with a bunt single. Eddie Kasko sacrificed the runners to second and third. After striking out Curt Flood for the second out, Rodriguez walked Allen Craig and Pujols, the latter forcing what proved to be the winning run. Worrell pitched a 3 up-3 down bottom half to get save number 7.

 

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