This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 18, 2012 - A Game 4 celebration: With just a sprinkle of Giants orange and black, here and there, it was a solid sea of red layered into Busch Stadium Wednesday night for the National League Championship playoffs. The pre-game party included Clydesdales and an appearance by Stan "The Man” Musial. Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith threw out the first pitch.
No doubt about it, Cardinal Nation BELIEVES.
There was no running for the exits after the bottom of the eighth.
Nope.
The snuggly packed 46,700 stood their ground -- an after-game traffic jam in the making -- even though the score was lop-sided with the Redbirds ahead by 7 after a stellar pitching performance by Adam Wainwright.
Despite the sneering wind and pending raindrops, they watched that last out in the top of the ninth -- a foul pop-out by the Giants’ Hunter Pence to first baseman Matt Carpenter -- and cheered the 8-3 victory, waving their rally towels like crazy and mentally counting down to a hoped for/expected return to the World Series.
Their chants spilled out onto the streets afterward: 12 in '12! 12 in '12! 12 in '12!
One win now stands between the World Champs, up 3-1 in the NLCS, and the opportunity to defend their title against the Detroit Tigers who clinched the American League pennant Wednesday.
Game 5 is tonight at 7 p.m., with the Cards Lance Lynn vs. the Giants Barry Zito.
Interesting baseball trivia: Until Thursday, the Cardinals were 0-3 in postseason games played on Oct. 18. (1987: lost 8-4 to Minnesota in Game 2 of the World Series. 2004: lost 3-0 to Houston in Game 5 of the NLCS. 2006: Lost 4-2 to New York in Game 6 of the NLCS.)
In a Word
Before Game 4, we asked Cardinals fans to describe the 2012 season in a word:
“Unbelievable!”: Bonita Stamper of Springfield, Mo. in the picture at left, who added that the season has been even sweeter in light of the departure of Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.
“Cardinals!”: That was the matter-of-fact response of Tonya Musskopf of Columbia, Ill., accompanied by her husband Chris. His word: “Spectacular.”
“Clutch!”: Will Oliver, 12, left of Chesterfield, summed up his feelings about the 2012 Wild Cards. Will was celebrating his birthday one day early with his sister Maddy, 10, and Joey, 8. Maddy said the season was “scary,” and Joey called it “great.”
“Awesome!”: Gary Hart of Cordova, Tenn., right, uttered the most frequent response of the day, but he said it first. For his wife Debbie, it is "Exciting.”
“Fantastic!”: We unofficially awarded Vanita Rae Smith, right, the prize for traveling the farthest to attend Game 4 with family members. She’s from Kailua, Hawaii. She was with Jason Everett of Seymour, Mo., and his children Grace, 7, and Daniel, 3.
At the game
The St. Louis Cardinals scored two runs in the first inning of the National League Championship Series' Game 4 and never looked back. They have the chance to take the series Friday night at Busch.
NLCS: Cards vs. Giants
Game 1: 7 p.m., Sunday at San Francisco -- Cards win, 6-4
Game 2: 7 p.m. Monday at San Francisco -- Giants win, 7-1
Game 3: 3 p.m. Wednesday in St. Louis -- Cards win, 3-1 after a 3-hour 28-minute rain delay
Game 4: 7 p.m., Thursday in St. Louis -- Cards win, 8-3
Game 5: 7 p.m. Friday at Busch Stadium
Games 6 (if needed): 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at San Francisco
Game 7 (if needed): 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 22, at San Francisco
All games televised on Fox.
