The St. Louis Cardinals have certainly had a glorious history in the National League. The team has won 18 pennants and captured 11 World Series titles, most recently last October against the Texas Rangers.

Here are the top 10 home run hitters of all time for the Cardinals:

Johnny Mize #10, 158 home runs – Mize played for the Cardinals for the first six years (1936-1941) of his long major-league career. He led the league in home runs twice as a Cardinal—in 1939 and 1940.

Ted Simmons #9, 172 home runs – Simba probably could have hit more home runs, but he played in an era when Busch Stadium was a terrible place for the long ball. Simmons played for the Cards from 1968-1980. His best season for homers was 1979 when he hit 26.

Jim Bottomley, #8, 181 home runs – Bottomley played for St. Louis for 11 seasons. His best season was 1928 when, as the NL MVP, he led the league in triples (20), home runs (31), RBIs (136), and total bases (362). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

Rogers Hornsby, #7, 193 home runs – Another member of the Hall of Fame, Hornsby ranks as one of the best hitters ever. His career average of .358 is second only to Ty Cobb’s in the history of the game. Hornsby’s best season for home runs was 1922 when he hit 42 four-baggers.

Mark McGwire, #6, 220 home runs – McGwire joined the Cardinals mid-way through the 1997 season. The next year he and Sammy Sosa thrilled fans with their home run duel. McGwire finished with a then-record 70 home runs and hit another 65 the following year.

Ray Lankford, #5, 228 home runs – Lankford played for St. Louis from 1990-2001 and returned for a final season in 2004. His best home run output was 31, accomplished both in 1997 and 1998.

Jim Edmonds, #4, 241 home runs – Known for his dynamic play in centerfield, Edmonds also provided plenty of power for two pennant-winning Cardinals teams. He hit 42 home runs in 2000 and 2004.

Ken Boyer, #3, 255 home runs – Boyer was a slick-fielding third baseman who won five Gold Glove awards in his career. He also won the 1964 NL MVP as he helped the Cards to the pennant and World Series title that season. Boyer hit a high of 32 home runs in 1960.

Albert Pujols, #2, 445 home runs – The three-time NL MVP would likely have topped this list with just one more season in St. Louis. Pujols has never hit fewer than 32 home runs in a season for his career. He led the NL in home runs twice, and his best season was 2006 when he hit 49.

Stan Musial, #1, 475 home runs – Considering Pujols’ move to Los Angeles and the fact that no one else on this list is an active player, Stan-the-Man’s place as the best Cardinals home run hitter is safe for a long time. Musial did it with consistency and longevity; he never hit 40 home runs in a season, nor did he ever lead the league in home runs. The Hall of Famer’s best season was 1948 when he hit 39 homers en route to his third NL MVP Award.

Statistics found at http://www.baseball-reference.com.

A native of St. Louis, Brad Boeker has rooted for the Cardinals for over 40 years.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

–

After winning the World Series in 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals stumbled for four seasons before righting the ship and recapturing the crown this past season. A similar pattern has occurred across the river from Busch Stadium, though unfortunately this news from the metro-east will provoke hand wringing. not hand clapping.

The year 2006 was the last time Madison and St. Clair counties were infamously ranked among the nation’s worst “judicial hellholes.” But after four years of relative improvements in the fairness of the judicial systems, the counties have landed back on the list of the nation’s worst “judicial hellholes” in the latest annual rankings by the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Madison and St. Clair counties were jointly ranked as the nation’s fifth worst “judicial hellhole.” ATRF defines a “judicial hellhole” as “a place where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner.”

We saw a good example of this unfairness and imbalance earlier this month. The asbestos trial docket for Madison County for 2013 was set on Dec. 1 by Judge Barbara Crowder, and she awarded a whopping 82 percent of those future trial slots to three personal injury lawyer firms. On Dec. 5 and 6, those three firms gave Crowder’s campaign committee a total of $30,000.

It’s bad enough that this looks like a quid pro quo, but it’s just as bad that Crowder reserved all those 2013 trial slots for cases that haven’t even been filed.

This kind of questionable behavior encourages personal injury lawyers to file lawsuits in Madison County — even lawsuits that have nothing to do with the metro-east. The “judicial hellholes” report found that only about one in 10 of Madison County’s asbestos cases have any connection to the area, with most plaintiffs living in other states.

Being ranked as one of the worst places in the country for legal fairness may encourage personal injury lawyers to flock here, but it will just as likely keep new employers away. Businesses expand or relocate in places where the legal system is considered fair and balanced, so returning to “judicial hellhole” status will undoubtedly impede job growth efforts at a time when new jobs are desperately needed.

After the lawyers’ campaign contributions to Crowder were revealed, she was removed from overseeing the asbestos docket. Very soon, voters will have a chance to render their own verdicts on Madison and St. Clair County judges who have allowed metro-east courts to relapse into “judicial hellholes.”

Judges as well as judicial candidates on the ballot in 2012 will be pressed to spell out what they will do to strengthen reforms and restore fairness to metro-east courts. Good judges matter, and making the metro-east a more attractive place for job growth depends on a fair judiciary.

Down-ballot judicial elections often get overlooked, but climbing back out of the “judicial hellhole” and bringing jobs and opportunities back to the metro-east depends on voters placing a high priority on these elections.

Though we may all wish for a World Series repeat, let’s hope a “judicial hellholes” repeat is not in the cards.

Travis Akin is executive director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW), a grass-roots watchdog group dedicated to educating the public about the widespread costs of lawsuit abuse.

No Jim Brown, no Gary Collins, no problem as the Cleveland Browns defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 27-24, on this date, Dec. 19, of 1965.

Long-suffering Cleveland Browns fans deserve a holiday treat. So we’re offering 10 victories in 10 days leading up to Christmas.

Here’s the game story, as it appeared in the next day’s Plain Dealer.

Browns Win With Collins, Brown Out

Busch Stadium, St. Louis

By Charles Heaton
Plain Dealer Reporter

The Browns’ wild regular-season finale in St. Louis may be just the
tuneup the team needed for the National Football League title match.

They rallied in the last quarter yesterday to topple the St. Louis
Cardinals, 27-24, at Busch Stadium. And they did it with both Jim Brown
and Gary Collins on the bench

Jim had been tossed out of the game
late in the second quarter along with Joe Robb, the Cards defensive end,
after a kicking, fist-swinging altercation.

Collins, the clutch
catcher and league’s leading punter, moved to the sideline earlier with
bruised ribs. Stunned by the loss of two standouts, the Eastern
champions saw the Cards score 17 points to take a seven-point lead.

Then the Browns slashed back with Tom Hutchinson taking a 24-yard pass from Frank Ryan in the end zone for the winning points.

Now the Blanton Collier club, which wound up with an 11-3 mark, must
start preparations for the Jan. 2 visit to Green Bay or Baltimore and
its bid for a second straight NFL crown. Yesterday’s finish, in which
the Browns beat the Cards after two straight losses to the Missouri
club, started out like a romp.

THE BROWNS jumped out to a 17-0 lead and seemed on the way to another score when the roof started to come down.

Collins had opened the scoring with a nice catch of a 13-yard pass from Ryan. That came in the first period.

Early in the second quarter, Jim Brown bulled three yards for a score
so the fullback’s banishment a few minutes later killed his chances of
moving ahead of Chicago’s Gale Sayers in the touchdown race. An
interception by Jim Houston, Cleveland’s all-pro linebacker, had given
the Browns those two scoring opportunities.

THEN LARRY BENZ picked
off a pass by Buddy Humphrey in the same period to set the Browns in
motion again. This time they settled for Lou Groza’s 44-yard field goal.
The mighty Toe also had one for 45 yards in the final.

Cleveland seemed on its way to clinching the victory on this bright
chilly day as many of the 29,348 fans booed the Cards in general and
Humphrey in particular. It was second down on the St. Louis 20 with
seven yards to go when Ryan fired in the direction of Brewer.

The slot end, who caught five passes for 51 yards, was well covered.
Larry Wilson, who finished the day with three thefts, grabbed the ball
and set out down the sideline.

Ryan tried to block the gutty
safetyman out of bounds about the Cleveland 20, but failed and Wilson
scooted in for the score. So the Cards trailed by only 10 at the half.

ST. LOUIS struck back in the third quarter with Terry Nofsinger, a Pittsburgh castoff, at quarterback.

Terry scored the first touchdown on a sneak and then accurate Jim Bakken evened the count at 17-all on a 23-yard field goal.

The Cleveland offense, with Charley Scales at fullback, and Hutchinson
replacing Collins, couldn’t move in the third period and Bobby Franklin
punted poorly.

So the Cards had field position and kept the pressure on as the finale started.

WILSON made
his third interception and returned 19 yards to the Cleveland 16. Five
plays later, Nofsinger passed to Bill Triplett, former Miami of Ohio
star, for five yards and the touchdown.

Bakken’s extra point
gave the Cards a 24-17 bulge and it seemed that the Browns would take a
second straight defeat into the title game.

Matters still
remained dark when Groza missed a 39-yard field goal. Minutes later,
however, the Toe redeemed himself with one of 45 right through the
uprights.

That made it 24-20 in favor of the Cards. A touchdown would mean victory.

THAT’S WHEN Vince
Costello made the biggest interception of all. The veteran middle
linebacker picked off a Nofsinger pass intended for Triplett and
returned 10 yards to the St. Louis 24.

On the first play, Ryan
fired a strike to Hutchinson, who beat Pat Fischer, a pro bowl defensive
back last season, to get open in the end zone.

There were more than four minutes left and time for a final St. Louis threat.

The Browns again were able to move into field position but the fiery
Fischer sliced through to block Groza’s try from the 38. And Pat,
picking up the ball about midfield, raced all the way to the Cleveland
23 before being slammed down.

THE BROWNS’
defense, which sagged in the third period, suddenly became a
championship unit again. Galen Fiss reached out with one arm to stop
Willis Crenshaw for a one-yard gain when the big back seemed about to
break away.

Then Nofsinger’s pass to Triplett made only three and Jackie Smith couldn’t hang on to another in the end zone.

St. Louis could have had a tie with the usually unerring Bakken ready,
but coach Wally Lemm went for the victory. Nofsinger couldn’t find Bobby
Joe Conrad with his pass, however.

It was an important victory
because the club shook off the loss of Brown and Collins and rallied to
win. Now on to Green Bay or Baltimore.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost the league’s biggest bat when Albert Pujols signed on with the Los Angeles Angels this offseason. So it’s going to need to find offense in all sorts of  new places next season.

According to ESPN, one new face that might be trying to help put runs on the board for the Cards next season is Carlos Beltran. The site notes that St. Louis is after Beltran and a “resolution (is) possible early in the week.” Word came Saturday from Fox Sports that Beltran was considering offers of two and three years. The other teams involved, according to Fox, are the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Boston Red Sox.

Beltran, of course, spent most of the last six seasons with the New York Mets, missing large chunks of two of them due to injury. This past season, the team traded him to the San Francisco Giants as the Giants tried to inject some offense into its World Series defense. Unfortunately for Beltran, he had a  stint on the DL soon after arriving there. However, he did hit .323 with seven homers when he was in the lineup for the Giants. For the season, the switch-hitting outfielder had 22 dingers and batted .300.

For his career, the 34-year-old six-time All-Star has won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger trophies, but hasn’t taken home any of those awards since 2008.

Find out before your friends. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Related: Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltrán, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

Read More: Albert Pujols (1B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins

According Jon Heyman, the Miami Herald suggested this morning that the Miami Marlins believe Albert Pujols may have lied about his age:

@SI_JonHeyman: Dan lebatard writes in miami herald, marlins believe pujols is older than 31. me: wonder if they asked him that question (doubt it)

A free agent this offseason, Pujols has long been one of the league’s most durable and effective first baseman. He has played over 140 games in every season starting in 2001, collecting an impressive 445 home runs to go with a .328/.420/.617 slash.

Albert Pujols has played each of his 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but several teams, including the Cards and Marlins, have been courting Pujols. According to the league records, Pujols was 21 when he entered the league in 2001, making him 32 at the beginning of next year.

Reports of the Marlins’ suspicion have yet to be confirmed.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

The MLB Hot Stove is heating up and the St. Louis Cardinals have some big questions facing them. Not only do the Cardinals need a new manager, they need to deal with their All-Star first baseman, Albert Pujols, who is a free agent for the first time in his career and is poised to become the highest-paid player in the sport.

In his “Rumblings & Grumblings” column, Jayson Stark of ESPN polled 28 separate MLB executives, and all but one agreed:

…[Pujols] won’t even have to bother forwarding his mail — because he’s not going anywhere (except back to St. Louis).

According to Stark’s research, the overwhelming majority of baseball executives polled expect the Cardinals to retain the face of their franchise, though the price promises to shatter the Cardinal’s modest piggy bank:

The Pujols [contract] prognostications were fascinating. They ranged from 10 years, $300 million to one (mostly tongue-in-cheek) prediction of three years, $90 million. But otherwise, nobody forecast a deal shorter than seven years. And the average contract worked out to 8.5 years, at just over $28 million a year.

A few weeks ago, former Cardinals infielder David Eckstein suggested Pujols would re-sign with the Cardinals if they promoted third-base coach Jose Oquendo to the manager’s position, but the Cards have yet to conclude their managerial interviews.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

By Bradley Woodrum

– Newsdesk contributor

Follow , and

Like SB Nation St. Louis on Facebook.

Nov 10, 2011 – The MLB Hot Stove is heating up and the St. Louis Cardinals have some big questions facing them. Not only do the Cardinals need a new manager, they need to deal with their All-Star first baseman, Albert Pujols, who is a free agent for the first time in his career and is poised to become the highest-paid player in the sport.

In his “Rumblings & Grumblings” column, Jayson Stark of ESPN polled 28 separate MLB executives, and all but one agreed:

…[Pujols] won’t even have to bother forwarding his mail — because he’s not going anywhere (except back to St. Louis).

According to Stark’s research, the overwhelming majority of baseball executives polled expect the Cardinals to retain the face of their franchise, though the price promises to shatter the Cardinal’s modest piggy bank:

The Pujols [contract] prognostications were fascinating. They ranged from 10 years, $300 million to one (mostly tongue-in-cheek) prediction of three years, $90 million. But otherwise, nobody forecast a deal shorter than seven years. And the average contract worked out to 8.5 years, at just over $28 million a year.

A few weeks ago, former Cardinals infielder David Eckstein suggested Pujols would re-sign with the Cardinals if they promoted third-base coach Jose Oquendo to the manager’s position, but the Cards have yet to conclude their managerial interviews.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

Read More: David Eckstein (2B – SDP), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), Jose Oquendo (PH – STL), St. Louis Cardinals

Follow , and

Like SB Nation St. Louis on Facebook.

Do you like this story?

Read More: St. Louis Cardinals

On Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals interviewed former catcher Mike Matheny to possibly replace the recently retired Tony La Russa as the manager of the club. Matheny has the least managerial experience of any known candidates for the position, something he referred to as “the elephant that walked in with me” to the interview, but it turns out it might not be that big of a deal to the Cards’ front office:

“That was defused right away. They made it clear that this is a leadership position and that what they were looking for to fill the role is a leader,” Matheny said, according to the Post-Dispatch. “Yes, there are the baseball things and the knowledge of baseball, but we talked a lot about the characteristics that are necessary to be a leader at this level and a leader of that clubhouse.”    

Matheny was known as a good clubhouse leader as a player with the Cardinals from 2000-2004, when he won three gold gloves and participated in four playoff runs. In fact, he was so respected by La Russa himself that the managerial legend once described Matheny as the only player he would let marry one of his daughters.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

The St. Louis Cardinals are now just three wins away from a World Series championship after beating the Texas Rangers 3-2 Wednesday night in Game One of the Fall Classic at Busch Stadium.

Chris Carpenter pitched six solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five. Then, the bullpen took over and slammed the door on the Rangers’ dangerous offense.

Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes and Jason Motte combined to allow only one hit in the final three innings. Motte retired the Rangers in order in the 9th inning to earn his first World Series save.

C.J. Wilson gave up all three of the Cardinals’ runs in his 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing four hits and striking out four.

St. Louis jumped in front 2-0 in the bottom of the 4th. Albert Pujols was hit by a pitch, then Matt Holliday hit a double down the right field line, sending Pujols to third. Both runners scored on Lance Berkman’s single.

The lead didn’t last long because Mike Napoli hit a two run homer over the right field wall in the top of the 5th to tie the game 2-2.

But pinch hitter Allen Craig came up big for St. Louis in the bottom of the 6th, scoring David Freese on a base hit to right field, putting the Cardinals back in front 3-2. They’d never look back.

Craig says he appreciates the confidence Manager Tony LaRussa has in him. “Having Tony having confidence in me as a player and wanting me in that big spot definately means a lot,” Craig said. “I’ve worked hard over the past year and a half, two years to kind of earn that trust and for him to believe in me.  It’s just a cool experience to have that trust and have him want me up there in that situation.”

LaRussa says what Craig did in Game One is pretty impressive. “Cold weather game, sitting on the bench. World Series, (Rangers reliever) Ogando. It’s not a very good situation, but he’s got a history in our system. That’s why we like him so much. He’s got a good history of taking great at-bats, especially with runners in scoring position, so he should have a really great career.”

Pujols says with a Rangers team that can score runs in bunches, it’s important for the Cards’ offense to get to the opposing pitcher. “Obviously, you look at the lineup and it’s pretty dangerous up and down,” Pujols said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same way with them. They look at the lineup (for St. Louis) and there’s not really an easy out. Even our pitchers can hit.”

More than 46,000 fans, each given a rally towel on their way into the ballpark, made a lot of noise to inspire the home team.

The Cardinals will try to keep it going Thursday night in Game Two at 7:05 as Jaime Garcia takes the mound for the Redbirds. He’ll be opposed by the Rangers’ Colby Lewis.

We’ll have complete coverage from Busch Stadium on 94.7, Today’s KTTS and online at KTTS.com.

World Series Notes: 

The winner of the first game of the World Series has gone on to win the Fall Classic 65 times out of the previous 106 series. Since 1993, every home team to win Game One has gone on to win the World Series.

The eighth career postseason win by Carpenter sets a new Cardinals all-time postseason mark, surpassing the seven career wins by Bob Gibson.

Jason Motte (center) and the Cards bullpen came up huge in the NLCS.
(Jonathan Daniel – Getty Images)
St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan has a knack for getting the most out of his starting pitchers. From journeymen like Jeff Suppan and Jason Marquis to Joel Pineiro and Mark Mulder to an aging John Smoltz, Duncan has been working magic with Cardinals pitching staffs for the last 15 seasons.

But in a back and forth National League Championship Series that saw the team’s starters falter, the St. Louis bullpen was the difference.

In Sunday’s decisive Game 6, five Cardinals relievers combined for seven innings of two-run, three-hit ball to help carry St. Louis to a 12-6 victory in Milwaukee and another trip to the World Series.

The St. Louis bullpen was tremendous throughout the series — and it needed to be. Cardinals starters lasted an average of fewer than 4 1/3 innings, forcing the tinker-happy Tony La Russa to go to his relievers early and often. In 24 2/3 innings of work over the six-game series, St. Louis relievers allowed only four runs — good for a 1.46 ERA.

Closer Jason Motte nailed down the final three outs on Sunday, continuing a perfect postseason in which he has yet to allow a run over eight innings while striking out seven and walking none.

Said Motte of La Russa’s numerous calls to the bullpen during the series: “He’s a genius, isn’t he?”

David Freese earned series MVP honors after tallying 12 hits, three home runs and nine RBI in the series, but was quick to credit the bullpen for bailing the Cardinals out night after night.

“I wish we could make eight or nine of these and give them to our bullpen,” Freese said. “They’re the reason why we won this series.”

There’s no question the Cards will need more from their starters against a Texas Rangers lineup that may be the best in baseball. There’s also no question that La Russa won’t hesitate yank a pitcher early, knowing how big his bullpen has been in the playoffs.

“Happy Flight!” It’s become the catch phrase for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when they win a big game before hitting the road. That chant reverberated through the Cards clubhouse at Busch Stadium Sunday afternoon following a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. 

It’s a victory that moved the club within one game of Atlanta in the National League Wildcard race as the Redbirds get set to catch a flight to Houston for the final three games of the regular season.

Former Missouri State Bears pitcher Ross Detwiler pitched six shutout innings to lead the Washington Nationals to a 3-0 win over Atlanta, giving St. Louis an opportunity to get the race down to a single game, and the home team responded.

After Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th on Geovany Soto’s sacrifice fly, Cardinals starting pitcher Edwin Jackson helped himself by hitting a sacrfice fly with the based loaded in the bottom of the 5th, tying the game 1-1.

The Cubs got to Jackson in the 7th as Marlon Byrd led off with a double. After Jackson struck out Soto and pitcher Randy Wells, shortstop Starlin Castro singled home the go ahead run, making it 2-1 Chicago.

But the Cardinals had an answer, and it came from a catcher who St. Louis Manager Tony LaRussa said should be considered for an MVP award: Yadier Molina. The veteran backstsop put a charge into the crowd of 41,469 by launching a home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the 7th, tying the game 2-2. It turned out to be the first of two curtain calls for the Cardinals.

The game winning blow came in the bottom of the 8th. Leadoff man Rafael Furcal took an 0-1 pitch from Wells and put it over the right field wall, putting St. Louis up 3-2 and giving the crowd another reason to call for the curtain.

Octavio Dotel (3-2), retired the final two batters in the 8th to get the win in relief of Jackson, who gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings. Chicago’s starter, Wells, dropped to 7-6. He went eight innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Jason Motte worked a one-two-three top of the 9th to earn his ninth save of the season.

The Cardinals will send Jaime Garcia (13-7) to the mound Monday night in Houston. He’ll be opposed by Wandy Rodriguez (11-11). Game time is 7:05.

The St. Louis Cardinals kept their playoff hopes alive Saturday, scoring two runs in a wild bottom of the 9th to beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at Busch Stadium.

Carrying a 1-0 lead into the final inning, Cubs closer Carlos Marmol walked three straight hitters, the last one forcing in the tying run, then uncorked a wild pitch as pinch runner Adron Chambers crossed the plate and was mobbed by his teammates. 

The win, coupled with Atlanta’s 4-1 defeat at Washington, put the Cardinals back within two games of the Braves in the National League Wildcard race. St. Louis has one game remaining at home on Sunday, then travels to Houston for the final three games of the season beginning Monday.

“We’re in it,” St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said. ”It’s part of the excitement, we’re in it. The boys are excited.”

The Cubs jumped on Cards’ starter Kyle Lohse for a run in the top of the 1st on back to back hits by Darwin Barney and Bryan LaHair, followed by Alfonso Soriano’s run scoring single that made it 1-0. St. Louis would hold Chicago scoreless the remainder of the game.

Lohse allowed one run on six hits in seven innings, then gave way to Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Motte, who kept the Cubs off the scoreboard.

LaRussa says Lohse’s performance was outstanding. “Just one ball a little bit up to Soriano. He could have popped it up. He was outstanding. Very good.” 

Chicago’s starter, Rodrigo Lopez, was also solid, scattering four hits in six innings of work.

With the crowd on its feet through much of the inning, the bottom of the 9th started with Lance Berkman lining out to center off Marmol (2-6). Matt Holliday, out of the lineup for the past two weeks with an injury to his right middle finger, got his first hit since September 11th, singling to right center. After David Freese struck out, Marmol walked Molina, Skip Schumaker and pinch hitter Ryan Theriot to force in a run and tie the game 1-1. Then, with Rafael Furcal batting, Marmol threw one to the backstop and Chambers dashed home with the winning run.

Jason Motte, who got the last two outs in the top of the 9th, picks up the win. He’s 5-2 on the season.

The Cardinals will play their 81st and final home game of 2011 Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 at Busch Stadium. Edwin Jackson (12-9) will take the mound for St. Louis. He’ll be opposed by Randy Wells (7-5).

Game Notes:

The game-ending win by wild pitch was the first for the Cardinals since April 9th, 2001 when Colorado’s Jose Jimenez uncorked a wild pitch on opening day, scoring Ray Lankford with the winning run.

Albert Pujols, who could potentially be playing his final game in St. Louis as a Cardinal on Sunday, has reached base by a hit or a walk in 40 consecutive games. That’s the longest streak in major league baseball this season. Pujols was 0-3 at the plate with a walk and his batting average stands at .303.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ improbable run toward the National League Wildcard took another big step backward Friday night as the Chicago Cubs scored four runs in the final two innings to win 5-1 at Busch Stadium.

The Cards’ loss, coupled with Atlanta’s 7-4 win over Washington, pushed the Cardinals three games behind Atlanta in the wildcard race with five to play.  It also means Milwaukee, with its 4-1 win over Florida, has clinched its first National League Central Division crown and its first division championship since 1982 (when the Brewers played in the American League).

The Redbirds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd when starting pitcher Chris Carpenter laid down a bunt on a suicide squeeze play, scoring Skip Schumaker from third. It was the first time St. Louis squeezed home a runner at Busch Stadium since the final weekend of the 2010 season.

The Cubs tied the game 1-1 in the top of the 6th on Carlos Pena’s RBI double. It was the only run Carpenter gave up. The Cards’ starter also allowed five hits in seven innings, striking out five while allowing two walks.

In the 8th, Chicago’s Darwin Barney started the inning with a triple off reliever Kyle McClellan (12-7). After Bryan LaHair grounded out to Albert Pujols, Carlos Pena was walked intentionally, setting the stage for the shot that silenced the crowd of just over 40,000. Alfonso Soriano belted a three run homer over the left field wall, giving his team a 4-1 lead.

The Cubs added another run in the 9th off reliever Mitchell Boggs. Starlin Castro singled in Tony Campana, making the score 5-1.

Jeff Samardzija (8-4) pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Cubs’ starter Ryan Dempster to earn the win.

The Cardinals continue their final home series of 2011 Saturday afternoon, with first pitch at 12:10 against the Cubs. Kyle Lohse (14-8) will pitch for St. Louis against Chicago’s Rodrigo Lopez (6-6).

Game Notes:

The Cardinals grounded into three double plays Friday night, giving them 165 for the year. The next twin killing the Cards hit into will tie the National League record of 166, set by the 1958 Cardinals.

Friday’s announced attendance of 40,335 put the Cardinals over three million fans for the eighth consecutive season and the 15th time in club history.

The St. Louis Cardinals are quietly sneaking back into contention in both the National League Central and wildcard races, beating Atlanta 4-3 Saturday night at Busch Stadium.

Jaime Garcia (12-7) allowed three runs in six innings and the bullpen handled the rest, with Marc Rzepczynski, Fernando Salas and Jason Motte pitching one scoreless inning apiece to preserve the win and move St. Louis to within 5 1/2 games of the Braves in the wildcard hunt. The Cards pulled within six games of first place Milwaukee when the Brewers lost in extra innings to Philadelphia.

The Cardinals got to Atlanta starter Derek Lowe (9-14) early, jumping out to a 4-0 lead with two runs in the 1st inning and two more in the 3rd.

Albert Pujols drove in the first run of the night with a base hit in the bottom of the 1st, momentarily upping his batting average to .299 on the season. He finished the game at .297. The RBI was number 88 on the season for the Cardinals slugger, who has hit over .300, clubbed more than 30 home runs, and drove in more than 100 runs in his first ten seasons as a major leaguer.

David Freese got in on the 1st inning fun with a run scoring double that made it 2-0.

Back to back doubles by Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman in the 3rd increased the lead to 3-0, then Cards catcher Yadier Molina drove in another run with a base hit for a 4-0 lead.

The Braves chipped away against Garcia, scoring two in the top of the 4th on Freddie Freeman’s 19th home run of the year. That cut the lead in half, 4-2. Brian McCann drove in a run with a base hit in the 5th to cut the Cards advantage to a single run.

Atlanta made it interesting in the 9th. After Martin Prado flied out to center, Motte walked Jason Heyward. Pinch hitter Chipper Jones then flied out to left. With Michael Bourn batting, Heyward darted for second. Molina’s throw went into centerfield, allowing the tying run to advance to third. But Bourn flied out to end the game, and Motte picked up his fourth save of the season.

Cards manager Tony LaRussa is careful not to use the term “pennant race” yet when describing the situation with his team. When asked what tomorrow’s game against Atlanta represents, LaRussa said “What it represents is what it should represent for the last, how many games have we got, 17 now? Every time you take the field you do the very best you can to win, and if we run off some wins, we’re going to keep this thing alive. Tomorrow is just the next chance to play as good as we can and as hard as we can.” 

The Cardinals will go for the sweep against Atlanta Sunday afternoon. Jake Westbrook (11-8) takes the mound for St. Louis. He’ll be opposed by the Braves’ Tim Hudson (14-9). A ceremony marking the 10 year anniversary of 9-11 will take place before the game.