The Cardinals had suffered six walk-off losses in the early part of the 2011 season. They got their first walk-off win on May 17 versus the Phillies, on a game-winning hit by Lance Berkman with the bases loaded. The first weekend in June against the Cubs the walk-off win/loss count started to even out a bit more.
In the game on June 4, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on a home run by Albert Pujols. The Cubs scored four runs in the sixth inning off of Kyle Lohse to take a 4-2 lead. Carlos Pena had the big blow with a two-run home run. The Cards bounced back immediately, tying it at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth on hits by Pujols and Berkman. It would stay 4-4 all the way until the 12th inning. The Cubs had run out of relief pitchers, so they brought in starter Jeff Samardzija to pitch the 12th. Pujols hit a 2-1 pitch for a home run to win the game.
The game on June 5 was another wild one. Chris Carpenter threw nine innings, striking out six and only allowing two runs. Carlos Zambrano also pitched well for the Cubs, going seven innings and only allowing one run. Sean Marshall pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Cubs and Carlos Marmol came on for the save in the ninth. Molina led off the inning with a single, and Tony Cruz pinch ran for him. Marmol then struck out Daniel Descalso and Colby Rasmus. He got to a 2-2 count on Ryan Theriot before Theriot hit a double to tie the game. Fernando Salas came in and threw a scoreless top of the 10th inning. In the bottom of the 10th, the Cubs brought in Rodrigo Lopez, and Pujols led off. He hit another 2-1 pitch for a walk-off home run. This extended the Cubs’ losing streak to six games. The heroics put the Cardinals at 36-25 and kept them two games in front of the Brewers.
ESPN/AP – Albert Pujols’ HR lifts Cards past Cubs in extras for 2nd straight day
Albert Pujols held the followthrough on his swing for a couple extra seconds, the bat extended like a lightning rod, then high-stepped it to home plate.
The St. Louis Cardinals may be accustomed to his winning hits, but the All-Star slugger still gets pretty excited.
“It’s a big game and a big win,” Pujols said after hitting a game-ending homer in extra innings for the second straight day, beating the Chicago Cubs with a leadoff shot in the 10th inning of a 3-2 victory Sunday. “It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you don’t embarrass yourself out there.”
Pujols hammered a 2-1 belt-high fastball from Rodrigo Lopez (0-1) an estimated 446 feet to left for his 10th career game-ending homer. His fifth during a seven-game homestand and No. 13 for the season gave the Cardinals a three-game sweep over the scuffling Cubs, who have lost nine of 11.
Video highlights:
Albert’s 2-run HR in the 4th inning on June 4
Theriot’s double off Marmol in the 9th on June 5
Albert’s walk-off on June 5:
River Bandits Win 5-3, Lose 9-1
The River Bandits continued their road trip with two games in South Bend. They won the game on June 4 by a score of 5-3. Starlin Rodriguez had three hits including a home run in this game. The Bandits got trounced 9-1 in the game on June 5 though. Anthony Ferrera allowed five runs over six innings, and then Angel De Jesus allowed four runs out of the bullpen. The Bandits were 31-26 at this point.
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