Dave VW
July 5, 2023
Tony LaRussa wins his first game as Cardinals manager as the Mets can't repeat their Opening Day comeback heroics. A 2-run homer and RBI sac fly by Ron Gant staked St. Louis to a 3-0 lead until the 6th inning, when Bernard Gilkey walloped his second home run in as many games, this time a 3-run shot to knot the score (and invoking many memories of Gilkey rounding the bases while Snap's "I've Got the Power" blared over the speakers). But the bullpen and some shoddy defense gave the lead right back to the Cards in the 7th. Robert Person, on in relief of Jason Isringhausen, retired the first two batters, but then pitcher Todd Stottlemyre dunked a single into LF, and Willie McGee followed by reaching on an error by Jose Vizcaino, now playing 2B with Rey Ordonez taking over SS. Royce Clayton then roped a single to RF to score Stottlemyre before Bob MacDonald came on in relief to strike out Ray Lankford and retire the side.

After Jerry DiPoto gave up another run in the 8th, the Mets tried staging a rally, putting two on with 2 out in both the 8th and 9th innings, but couldn't come through. And I questioned Dallas Green's moves quite a bit in those two innings. In the 8th, LaRussa summoned Dennis Eckersley to face Butch Huskey with runners on 1st and 2nd. Eck was pummeled by left-hand hitters the previous year (.344), so I thought it would have been academic to pinch-hit for Huskey with the switch-hitting Carl Everett -- who, by the way, hit .286 from the left side in 1995. Instead, Dallas used Everett as a pinch-runner at 1st for Rico Brogna, and stuck with Huskey. In all fairness, Huskey drilled what might have been a home run, but the ball was caught by a leaping Lankford at the wall for the final out of the inning. Still, if playing by the numbers, I'm not quite sure what Dallas' thinking was here.

Then, in the 9th, Eck got the first 2 hitters out before Vizcaino and new Met Kevin Roberson followed with singles, getting the winning run to the plate. Edgardo Alfonzo was due up, and at the time was a ripe candidate to be pinch-hit for by uber pinch-hitter Chris Jones. But again, Dallas stuck with his youngster, and Fonzie went down swinging and that was the ball game. Some better late-game management really could have been the difference in this one.

The loss broke a streak of 8 straight games the Mets won when Isringhausen started. The Mets also learned Bill Pulsipher was likely done for the season the day prior due to a torn elbow ligament -- one that led to eventual Tommy John surgery and would prevent Pulsipher from pitching for the Mets again until 1998.

This was also the game Ralph Kiner had his infamous "This will go down in history as the game where the pitchers have the most initials" comment. Not only a classic Kinerism, but also factually incorrect; that distinction, as noted later on in the telecast, went to a game between the Phillies and Pirates in 1944 when Ken Raffensberger faced Fritz Ostermueller. Try saying that three times fast.