87 (soon 88) games down; the break is here, ev'ybody take a breath. herewith, one fan's top 10 cardinal games of 2005's first half:
#10: the squeeze, july 6
whiteyball lives! carpenter outduels javy vazquez; eck'n drops textbook bunt to score taguchi from 3d.
final score: stl 2, ari 1
#9: la russa v cox, april 29
1st matchup of 2,000-game-winning managers in more than 50 years overshadowed by showdown betw erstwhile oak aces mulder & hudson. the latter combine for 13 innings, 10 er. we may see these guys in october. . . .
final score: stl 6, atl 5
#8: walk don't run, april 8
cards take home opener with 3-run 8th-inn "rally" clinched by sacks-jammed walks to walker and pujols. bullpen throws three sho innings.
final score: stl 6, pha 5
#7: the mulligan, jun 6
st louis finally beats boston as morris throws complete-game 4-hitter.
final score: stl 7, boxos 1
#6: arm and hammer, may 24
yadi picks off three baserunners, then knocks in game winner in 12th inning; 5 relief pitchers combine for 7 sho innings as cards filch one from pgh.
final score: stl 2, pgh 1
#5: norse gods, jun 14
carp celebrates return to toronto by eviscerating blue jays on one hit; larry hits his last 2 hr on canadian soil.
final score: stl 7, tor 0
#4: the shutout, apr 23
mulder throws 10 shutout innings, yields five hits and no walks on only 101 pitches; walker knocks in game-winner.
final score: stl 1, hou 0
#3: dk's night, may 27
with kile family in attendance to tear #57 down from outfield wall, dk's closest teammates do him proud: morris throws 7 inn of 5-hit ball, edmonds homers and hits two 2bs, knocks in 4 runs
final score: stl 5, wash 3
#2: the comeback, may 2
pujols' force makes it 9-4; sanders' single, 9-5; edmonds' hr, 9-8. then grud'k reaches on error and mabry caps historic comeback with two-run blast.
final score: stl 10, cin 9
#1: for the love of the game, jun 12
la russa likes to call these cardinals 'relentless'; scott seabol hasn't relented for nearly 10 years. his game-turning homer v the yankees was the 1st half's most dramatic moment.
final score: stl 5, nyy 3
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