Following the Cardinals’ impressive Opening Day trouncing of Nolan Ryan in Houston, they dropped a pair of low-scoring affairs to the Astros before returning home to face the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 10. The Redbirds’ home opener was a forgettable tilt in which the defense committed four errors and the pitchers issued nine walks. The result was an 11-7 dud. 

Bob Forsch looked to get the Cards back on track in his second start of the young season on Easter Sunday. Ross Baumgarten got the nod for the Bucs. 

The Cards jumped on the Pittsburgh southpaw early, plating three runs in the bottom of the first on four singles and a pair of walks. Three more safeties, including an RBI-single by Keith Hernandez, resulted in a fourth run an inning later. A pair of double plays turned by the Pirates defense in the first two frames kept the game from getting out of hand. They were not enough to keep Baumgarten from the showers, however. 

Sutter Falters

Forsch cruised through seven innings before showing signs of fatigue in the eighth. After a leadoff walk came around to score on a one-out single by Omar Moreno, Whitey Herzog brought in Bruce Sutter to attempt a five-out save. The Cards’ fireman walked Mike Easler, then ceded two-out base hits to Jason Thompson and Bill Madlock, tying the game, 5-5.  

St. Louis loaded the bases thanks to a trio of free passes from Enrique Romo in the bottom half of the eighth but failed to score. 

Jim Kaat relieved Sutter in the ninth and gave up back-to-back two-out doubles to Willie Stargell and Moreno, giving the Bucs their first lead of the day. After watching a sloppy opener, the restless crowd unleashed a chorus of boos.

Late-Inning Heroics

Romo returned to the mound in the home half of the ninth looking seal a Pirates triumph and quickly retired the first two batters in succession. The Cards were down to their last out and in danger of falling to 1-4 on the young season. Their win expectancy at that moment was 4% (according to Baseball Reference). Backup catcher Orlando Sánchez, a lefty swinger, was called upon to pinch-hit for David Green against the righty Romo. Sanchez, who made the Opening Day roster because of Gene Tenace’s fractured thumb, watched four straight balls to extend the game. The next man up, Julio González, who had entered the game in the seventh, delivered a triple to the left-center field gap that scored pinch-runner Gene Roof from first to tie the game.

After Ozzie Smith also walked on four pitches, Dane Iorg came to the plate for a tough lefty-lefty matchup against Romo, who threw mostly screwballs. Iorg went up with a mindset to go the other way and did just that, punching a single between the third baseman and shortstop for the game-winning hit.  

Kaat, the Cards’ 43-year-old lefty, was credited with the 279th win of his career.

Though the season was still in its infancy, the thrilling come-from-behind victory proved to be an early turning point. It was the first of 12 consecutive wins for the Cards, their longest streak in 39 years.