CARDINALS HOLD ON FOR WILD WIN

Keen Survives Rough Afternoon As Redbirds Take Series From Reds

A fellow could have worn out a scorecard Tuesday afternoon.

The Cardinals and Reds spent much of the day knocking the horsehide all over Sportsman's Park before St. Louis finally staggered across the finish line with a 9-7 victory.

It wasn't pretty.

It wasn't smooth.

But it counted just the same.

The Cardinals jumped on Cincinnati from the opening gun and never stopped swinging.

Neither Vic Keen nor Dolph Luque brought their best assortment to the ballpark. By the time the smoke cleared from a lengthy first inning, five runs had crossed the plate and both clubs looked ready for a long afternoon.

The Cardinals then poured on four more runs in the second inning and appeared headed toward an easy victory.

One of the biggest blows came from young Jake Flowers.

Starting at first base, Flowers unloaded on a towering three-run home run, his second circuit clout of the season, helping the Cardinals seize command of the contest and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

At that point Sportsman's Park smelled blood.

The Cardinals led 7-2 and appeared to have Luque on the ropes.

The Reds, however, refused to fold.

Cincinnati chipped away throughout the afternoon while the Cardinals struggled to put the visitors away.

The rough infield produced its share of adventures and neither club looked especially sharp with the leather.

By the fourth inning, Ray Blades added another loud blow, launching his fifth home run of the season to extend the St. Louis advantage to 9-3.

That shot looked enormous at the time.

As it turned out, the Cardinals would need every bit of it.

The Reds continued scratching.

Continued fighting.

Continued making noise.

By the eighth inning Cincinnati had closed the gap considerably and began making Cardinal supporters more than a little nervous.

Curt Walker delivered a home run off Keen during the rally and suddenly what had once looked like a comfortable afternoon became a white-knuckle affair.

The Reds trimmed the margin to 9-7.

The grandstand grew restless.

Every Cincinnati batter seemed to arrive at the plate carrying danger.

To his credit, Vic Keen kept battling.

The right-hander did not possess his finest stuff, but he possessed something equally valuable.

Nerve.

Again and again he found a way to record the outs he needed.

The final inning brought one last scare.

Cincinnati placed pressure on the Cardinals and attempted one final charge.

But with the crowd standing and the tension thick enough to slice with a pocketknife, Rube Bressler lifted a harmless pop fly toward Les Bell.

Bell settled beneath it.

Glove up.

Ball down.

Game over.

The Cardinals had survived.

The victory gave St. Louis its second straight triumph over Cincinnati and guaranteed the club at least a series victory with one game still remaining.

No one inside the Cardinal clubhouse was likely to complain about style points.

Not after a day like this.

The pitching may have been shaky.

The fielding may have been rough.

But the bats were loud.

Jake Flowers delivered a mighty wallop.

Ray Blades added another.

And when the dust finally settled, the Cardinals owned another victory.

Sometimes that's all that matters.

— Mike Allen

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