What a game! Wednesday night’s marathon between the Dodgers and Cardinals was the best game that I’ve attended this season, in addition to being the longest game I’ve ever been to. It had a little bit of everything. There were plays at the plate, an appeal for missing a base which ended up being called an out, and of course, Manny being Manny. Just under five hours after the game had begun, 
the had Cardinals rallied three times, twice for the tie and once for the win.
However, the game could’ve ended much earlier. After Colby Rasmus drove in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth in his first at-bat of the game, he was thrown out at second base attempting to steal. I thought he was out when I was watching live at the game, but I slowed it down when I got home, and it looked like he got in there ahead of the tag. If he’s called safe, perhaps Yadier Molina singles and brings him in. In the 12th inning, we got to see Joe Thurston’s latest baserunning gaffe. To Thurston’s credit, he’s put together some very solid at-bats this season as a pinch-hitter. He continued that trend on Wednesday by lining a ball down the right field line. He even made the smart decision to not try and extend his hit into a triple when he was representative of the winning run. Unfortunately, he missed first base. The Dodgers appealed to first and he was called out. Maybe Thurston needs to stick around late after the Cards’ game on Sunday against Houston. It’s a “Kids Run the Bases Day” at the ballpark and perhaps he can get some pointers from Tee-Ball players.
The Cards finally picked up the win in the 15th inning, but not in the way anyone expected. Brendan Ryan led off the inning with a triple which was partially due to Manny Ramirez’ lackadaisical fielding in left. It was the second play of the night where Manny took his sweet time going after the ball. The only difference was that Albert Pujols was running the first time, so it would’ve been a double either way. We ended up getting a pop up, a walk, and a ground out with the throw coming home to eliminate Ryan at third. The replay showed he was safe, but the umpire kept the Dodgers alive by missing the play. Pujols followed this up by battling to a full count, fouling off a few pitches, and eventually lined a single to center over Matt Kemp’s head to win it. It was nice to see Pujols put a charge into the ball after struggling for most of the night. It’s clear that his timing isn’t completely in sync, as he just hasn’t been stinging the ball lately. It was his first RBI in nine games. It must be nice to not be hitting well and still manage to go 3-for-7.
Manny is another star who has been struggling lately. He's gone just 3-for-13 since arriving in St. Louis and just 4 of his last 21 overall without a home run. However, he was still entertaining on Wednesday, confusing fans and umpires with a leaping catch before tossing the ball into the stands during the 7th, cutting a ball off on a single in the 11th by rolling towards it, and getting thrown out at home in the top of the 12th after taking a big-rig angled turn around third base.
This was a character building win for the Redbirds. The first run that the Dodgers scored followed an ill-advised dive by Ryan Ludwick which transformed a Casey Blake single into a triple. Joel Pineiro pitched around it as best as he could, but Blake would score to put the Dodgers on top. It was the only blemish against Pineiro and although he deserved a win, his team at least got him off the hook. Ryan Ludwick also got two chances to redeem himself. He singled in the ninth with two outs before coming around to score to tie it, while also driving in a run in the bottome of the 11th to retie it. He also got another chance to throw a guy out at home when he nailed Manny in the 12th after his upline throw in the 11th allowed the Dodgers to get their second run. Baseball is fantastic that way. Players always have a chance to redeem themselves after a mistake, and usually that oppurtunity will come around in the same game.
The Cards fell behind twice and even got down to their final out once, but they grinded out at-bat after at-bat until they could secure a win. This was the first time in 50 games this season that the Dodgers took a lead to the eighth inning and failed to close it out. This is the kind of win that a playoff team secures while average clubs would’ve gone home in the ninth or the 11th after falling behind. The Cards have now taken the first three from the team with the Major League’s best record. They have found their stride.
The photo was taken by the AP.
