The Phillies beat the Cardinals Tuesday night in St. Louis, 7-4 in 14 innings.
St. Louis used 28 players tying the NL record for an extra inning game. That was last done by the Dodgers against the Padres on September 13, 1982. The AL record is 30 in a game by Oakland against the White Sox on September 19, 1972.
The Cardinals used 11 pitchers, which was a new NL record, and done once before in the AL. That was back on September 25, 1992 by Seattle against Texas.
Aaron Miles did not start, but played 13 of the 14 innings after Tony La Russa pulled starter Brendan Ryan after he swung at a 3-0 pitch. "This is the big leagues, you don’t swing at 3-0," La Russa said. "Send a message right now that that’s unacceptable," La Russa said in Derrick Goold's game story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Albert Pujols could not start because of a sore calf. Miguel Cairo batted third in his place. When Pujols pinch hit in the 13th, he was not planning to run if he hit the ball. He walked. Pitcher Joel Pineiro pinch ran for him.
The nine players on the field for the Cardinals at the end of the game were (in batting order): Russell Branyan 1B, Aaron Miles 2B, Miguel Cairo 3B, Kelvin Jimenez P, Rick Ankiel CF, Kelly Stinnett C, Skip Schumaker LF, Ryan Ludwick RF, Brian Barden SS. All but Miles had spent time in the minors this season.
Mike Maroth took the loss for St. Louis. Since joining the Cardinals, he's 0-5 with an 11.25 ERA. Since coming to St. Louis, hitters are batting .402 against him.
The Cardinals have lost 12 of 13 games. However, if they had beaten Arizona on September 7, they would have been in first place. They are now eight games behind first place Milwaukee.
Word among Cardinal fans is that Ryan is a bit of a hyperactive punk who grates on La Russa's nerves quite a bit. I don't know if Ryan ignored a take sign or if TLR was just peeved that Ryan should have known to take a pitch in that spot. Good times.
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