“At least there hasn’t been a complete breakdown.” – Bing Devine
June 14, 1964
St. Louis Cardinals (28-29)
at
Houston Colt 45s (26-32)
The game 58 lineup:
- Curt Flood CF
- Dick Groat SS
- Bill White 1B
- Ken Boyer 3B
- Charlie James LF
- Bob Skinner RF
- Tim McCarver C
- Julian Javier 2B
- Bob Gibson P
The under .500 Cardinals would seem to be getting a break by getting to play the recently expansion Colt 45s. But would they really? They were only 2.5 games ahead of the Colts ahead of this 4 game set. 3 more losses in a row, and the Cardinals would find themselves in 9th place. They were a 1/2 game out of 1st less than a month ago!
Bob Gibson would be starting for the Cardinals, which should have been a slam dunk win right there. Keane made it known Gibson would be pitching every 4 days for the foreseeable future. Me thinks some panic was charging in.
The Cardinals had to face the somehow good Turk Farrell who entered the game 9-1 on the year, and was looking to become the league’s first 10 game winner. The Houston pitching coach Cot Deal said he ranked Farrell with Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal.
Right. Sure.
If Turk was so good, why did he give up 2 hits to the Cardinals in the first huh? Huh??? It doesn’t matter. They didn’t score anyway. Dick Groat and Bill White each singled, but White got doubled off on a Ken Boyer 0 for eternity line drive double play to 3rd.
Houston had the exact same 1st inning, but with a bit more luck. Gibson, whose 1st inning woes had been gone recently, gave up a double to Bob Lillis to start the game, Nellie Fox hit an infield single to advance him to 3rd. A sac fly scored him, and then the inning ended on a….line drive double play. 1-0 Colts. And the spiral continues.
The 1-0 score would hold until the bottom of the 5th when Gibson would allow the 1st 5 batter to reach. Dave Roberts started with a pop fly double to left that the Post-Dispatch said a speedy fielder might have been able to get to. Hmm. A speedy left fielder. You know, that’s not a half bad idea?
Rusty Staub drew a walk next, and Houston then added its first run of the inning on a John Bateman single up the middle. Turk Ferrell hit a sac bunt, which Gibson got to, but slipped and fell off the mound making everyone safe. Bases loaded. And Bob Lillis walked. Sigh.
Gibson regained his composure and got the next 3 batters out, but not without one hitting a sac fly to give Houston a 4-0 lead. You were hoping for good news? You were hoping to read about a win? I’ve been warning you how bad things were going to get.
Bob Gibson: “You pitch differently when a team is going bad. You bear down harder, and when you bear down harder sometimes you make more mistakes. The secret of pitching is relaxing, and it’s hard to relax when you go out there feeling you have to pitch extra good because you’re not scoring runs.”
In the 6th inning Bill White led off with a triple, and Ken Boyer hit a single to drive him home. Savor that sentence. Read it again and again. Bill White was starting to hit with power, and Ken Boyer’s 0-23 streak was over. Something’s happening here. Though what it is isn’t exactly clear.
Boyer would later be forced out at second.
The Cardinals would not score again. They’d lose. 4-1. They’d fall farther out of 1st place – 6.5 games. The largest margin of the season. They were now only 1.5 games ahead of these 9th place Colts. Devine didn’t think it was a total breakdown. It sure looks like one to me.
But later in the game White and Boyer hit back to back singles. It didn’t produce a run, but White having a 3 hit game, and Boyer getting 2 of his own meant there were signs they were coming out of it.
Oh, and with the trade deadline 1 day away, maybe that could produce some results.
Speaking of trades, Bob Skinner played his first game as a Cardinals. He walked, struck out twice, and went 0-3 on the day. A starting outfielder was still needed.
And, because I love them so much, here’s more old men super angry at the modern 1964 baseball player types.
Frankie Frisch wrote into the paper the following….theory.
“I know Mr. (Branch) Rickey doesn’t drink. But he made my arthritis act up when he told the Sporting News that pitchers today ‘concentrate and study batter’s weaknesses more than they did years ago.’
I know one darn thing – the old timers never walked in the tying and winning runs as they do now. Ask my old boss and good friend go from first to third on groundball singles through the infield.”
I will say this about that near incomprehensible drivel. It made me laugh! And also, I’ve often wondered when reading these why players never took the other base. But besides that, what does Rickey not drinking have to do with Frankie’s arthritis? And does anyone know what studying hitter weaknesses has to do with runners taking the extra base? And pitchers never walked in the tying or winning runs in a game? Really? Really Frank? Do we even have to look this up?
But I love it. 1964 was in the crapper, and the Gas House Gang is still entertaining me by being pure wackos. Only now they are cranky old man wackos, and somehow it’s even better.
Now Frankie did – in some weird 3rd person way – wish the Cardinals his best.
“The Old Flash would like to see the old Cards come through this year in that humdinger of a National League race. The could do it if one of those outfielders started clubbing that apple.”
Well Frankie, one of two of them would. And I especially like this quote. Openly rooting for the Cardinals, deep in 8th place, makes me smile. The team that made Frankie famous, that had him in his prime – the Giants – were only 1/2 game out of 1st. Screw them. Once you become a Cardinal, that’s where your loyalties best lie until the end of time.
