On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals finally gave fans a glimpse of what the promise of speed in the 2014 lineup could mean in a tight game. Several Redbirds made key plays with their legs to key the 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
None were more prominent than Kolten Wong and Peter Bourjos. The second baseman and center fielder each had a pair of bunt singles, three of them fueling Cardinals rallies.
Wong set up the tying run by beating out a bunt to lead off the fourth. He scored all the way from second on a pop up to shallow right. Wong squared around for another hit in the sixth and stealing second, drew a wild throw from Braves catcher Evan Gattis. That enabled him to come home with the go-ahead run.
Bourjos was picked off after beating out a bunt leading off the third, but squeezed home an insurance run in the seventh. Earlier, I wrote about his past bunting success, wondering why he has not tried it more frequently.
The Cardinals’ four bunt hits in a game set a new team record. The prior high of three had been accomplished six times since 1938. Thanks to researcher Tom Orf, they follow.
Most bunt hits in a game, St. Louis Cardinals, team history
Date | Bunter | Team | Opp Pitcher | Score | Inn |
1961-07-30 (2) | Bob Gibson | @MLN | Warren Spahn | down 1-0 | t5 |
1961-07-30 (2) | Bob Lillis | @MLN | Warren Spahn | tied 2-2 | t7 |
1961-07-30 (2) | Julian Javier | @MLN | Warren Spahn | tied 2-2 | t9 |
5 13 86 | Tom Herr | LAD | Jerry Reuss | ahead 0-2 | b4 |
5 13 86 | Vince Coleman | LAD | Jerry Reuss | ahead 0-2 | b5 |
5 13 86 | Vince Coleman | LAD | Ken Howell | tied 2-2 | b8 |
7 15 89 | Milt Thompson | @LAD | Fernando Valenzuela | tied 0-0 | t5 |
7 15 89 | Vince Coleman | @LAD | Fernando Valenzuela | tied 0-0 | t8 |
7 15 89 | Jose Oquendo | @LAD | Fernando Valenzuela | tied 0-0 | t8 |
1944-06-04 (1) | Johnny Hopp | @PHI | Charley Schanz | tied 0-0 | t1 |
1944-06-04 (1) | Johnny Hopp | @PHI | Charley Schanz | ahead 0-4 | t4 |
1944-06-04 (1) | George Fallon | @PHI | Ken Raffensberger | ahead 2-4 | t8 |
8 15 49 | Harry Brecheen | @CHC | Bob Chipman | tied 0-0 | t3 |
8 15 49 | Tommy Glaviano | @CHC | Bob Chipman | ahead 0-2 | t4 |
8 15 49 | Harry Brecheen | @CHC | Bob Chipman | ahead 0-2 | t4 |
6 08 54 | Wally Moon | BRO | Carl Erskine | tied 1-1 | b3 |
6 08 54 | Alex Grammas | BRO | Erv Palica | ahead 3-8 | b7 |
6 08 54 | Stu Miller | BRO | Erv Palica | ahead 3-8 | b7 |
This was just the 15th time overall that even one Cardinal had two bunt hits in a game. It was last accomplished almost exactly a decade ago, by Abraham Nunez on May 31, 2005.
Mark Tomasik from Retrosimba added that the pair are the first National League players to get two bunt hits each in a game in 23 years. The most recent to do it prior to Saturday were Craig Biggio and Steve Finley of the 1991 Houston Astros.
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