- Dec 17, 2003
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[h3]Cards sweep Dodgers to claim first place[/h3]Holliday's walk-off single puts St. Louis on top in NL Central
By Michael Bleach / MLB.com
07/18/10 7:55 PM ET
ST. LOUIS -- Before the series finale began against the Dodgers on Sunday, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa expressed regret that by sitting Albert Pujols, he may be robbing the fans of the main attraction they spent their money to see.
Funny how things work out.
In one of the most scintillating games of the season, All-Star slugger Matt Holliday capped a five-run comeback spread over the game's final two innings by stinging a walk-off single against Dodgers All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton with two outs in the ninth to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory.
The win gave the Redbirds a four-game series sweep, pushed them into first place of the National League Central and put their record 10 games over .500 for the first time since June 5, a favored achievement mark of La Russa's.
"Just a heck of an effort and it got better and better," La Russa said. "Can't give them enough credit for how they hung in there."
In a ninth-inning battle with the hard-throwing Broxton, the Cardinals refused to go away. Down one run entering the final frame, Yadier Molina started the rally with a single. Already in the game as a substitute for catcher Jason La Rue, the Cardinals were stuck with the less-then-speedy Molina -- to put it politely -- on the basepaths as the tying run. With Molina reaching second on a sacrifice bunt from shortstop Brendan Ryan, the game came down to the final out after Lopez smacked a deep fly ball that Dodgers left fielder Xavier Paul was able to haul in.
Rookie Jon Jay saw six fastballs before walking and rookie Allen Craig -- at first base and batting in the three-hole in place of Pujols -- collected his second clutch base knock in a row to tie the game and advance Jay to second.
That brought Holliday to the plate. Criticized by fans early in the year for struggling to produce with runners on base, the left fielder came through on the fourth pitch he saw from Broxton. High and on the outside corner, Holliday took it to the opposite field, clearing the outstretched glove of Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier.
"That is probably the best at-bat he has had in our uniform," La Russa said.
It was Holliday's second walk-off hit with the Cardinals and the fourth time this season the dugout has had a chance rush the field.
"They punched me a lot," Holliday said of the celebration. "But they were good punches."
Although Holliday delivered the final blow, he certainly was not the only one responsible for the comeback.
Baserunning and defensive blunders by the Cardinals, four bases given away on balls and one untimely wild pitch -- combined with a less-than-imposing lineup missing two middle-of-the-order bats -- gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead through seven innings.
In the eighth inning, however, the Cardinals quickly made up for their previous miscues.
Ryan started the inning with a walk, his second of the game and the third time the shortstop reached base on Sunday. After a flyout from Lopez, Jay walked to set up Craig's two-run double. Dodgers manager Joe Torre opted to bring in Broxton, and the closer promptly induced a popout to right field from Holliday. A sharp single from Randy Winn drove in Craig, however, and a walk from Skip Schumaker caused La Russa to go to his bench for Pujols. The All-Star slugger was 8-for-21 for his career as a pinch-hitter and had the crowd of 40,743 screaming on their feet. Pujols grounded out after a spirited seven-pitch battle, but the inning managed to drive up the pitch count of Broxton, normally a one-inning pitcher.
"We just asked too much out of Broxton," Torre said. "You don't want him to come in and face the same guy [Matt Holliday] twice. It's a tough one to let get away and much tougher under these circumstances. This takes a lot out of you. We had to go to him too early."
Although Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan didn't pick up his first win of the season, his best start of the year kept the Cardinals in the game long enough for the ending heroics.
Suppan was efficient, needing only 79 pitches to record 18 outs. He pitched to his strengths, recording nine groundouts and keeping three of his five hits allowed on the ground.
Most importantly, he avoided the big inning, stranding two runners in scoring position in the fifth after giving up his only run of the game.
"I'll tell you, he was very effective," La Russa said. "Did a lot of good things. Hopefully he will keep moving forward. He pitched very well."
Michael Bleach is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Now that's what I am tallking about, back in 1st too
