A safe bunt by Matty Alou and singles by Joe Torre and Ted Simmons gave the Cardinals a run in the ninth inning for a 2-1 victory over the Mets. The Cards counted their first run in the opening frame on a walk to Lou Brock, his 52nd theft of the season, an infield hit by Alou and single by Torre. The Mets pulled even in the eighth when Cleon Jones walked and Bob Aspromonte and Jerry Grote hit singles. [The Sporting News]



St. Louis Cardinals 2, New York Mets 1
Game Played on Tuesday, August    31, 1971 (Night game) at Busch Stadium II
Mets         0  0  0    0  0  0    0  1  0  -   1  9  0
Cardinals    1  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  1  -   2  7  0


Mets                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Cardinals            AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Martinez ss,3b        4   0   1   0     0   2   .275      Brock lf              3   1   0   0     1   3   .321
Boswell 2b            5   0   0   0     0   2   .276      Sizemore 2b           4   0   1   0     0   1   .267
Jones lf              3   1   1   0     2   0   .329      Alou 1b               4   1   2   0     0   1   .315
Clendenon 1b          5   0   0   0     0   3   .239      Torre 3b              4   0   2   1     0   1   .363
Agee rf               2   0   1   0     2   0   .282      Simmons c             4   0   1   1     0   1   .295
Aspromonte 3b         4   0   1   0     0   0   .232      Hague rf              3   0   0   0     0   1   .234
  Harrelson pr,ss     0   0   0   0     0   0   .257      Cruz cf               2   0   0   0     1   2   .243
Grote c               3   0   2   1     1   0   .267      Maxvill ss            3   0   1   0     0   1   .219
Hahn cf               3   0   2   0     0   1   .231      Reuss p               3   0   0   0     0   3   .103
Ryan p                2   0   0   0     0   1   .116
  Singleton ph        1   0   0   0     0   1   .245
  Frisella p          1   0   1   0     0   0   .300
  McGraw p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .143

Totals               33   1   9   1     5  10             Totals               30   2   7   2     2  14

Time of Game: 2:32   Attendance: 15,854
Left on Base: Mets 12, Cardinals 6
DP: Mets 0, Cardinals 1
Stolen Bases: Brock (52), Alou (17)
Caught Stealing: Cruz (3)
Sacrifice Hits: Hahn (1), Martinez (1)


Mets                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Ryan                    6     4   1   1   1  12   0  23   3.29
Frisella L(6-4)         2     2   1   1   1   2   0   8   2.22
McGraw                  0     1   0   0   0   0   0   1   1.80
Totals                  8     7   2   2   2  14   0  32

Cardinals              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Reuss W(13-12)          9     9   1   1   5  10   0  40   4.55
Totals                  9     9   1   1   5  10   0  40

Wild Pitches: Reuss (5)

Umpires: HP - Tom Gorman, 1B - Chris Pelekoudas, 2B - Harry Wendelstedt, 3B - Andy Olsen


METS 1ST: Martinez was called out on strikes; Boswell was called
out on strikes; Jones singled to right; Clendenon struck out; 0
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 1ST: Brock walked; Brock stole second; Sizemore struck
out; On a bunt Alou singled to first [Brock to third]; Torre
singled to right [Alou to third, Brock scored]; Simmons was
called out on strikes; Hague struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

METS 2ND: Agee walked; Aspromonte lined into a double play
(second to first) [Agee out at first]; Grote walked; Hahn
singled to center [Grote to second]; Ryan struck out; 0 R, 1 H,
0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 2ND: Cruz struck out; Maxvill singled to center; Reuss
was called out on strikes; Brock struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

METS 3RD: Martinez was called out on strikes; Boswell grounded
out (first unassisted); Jones grounded out (shortstop to first);
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 3RD: Sizemore singled to left; Alou forced Sizemore
(second to shortstop); Alou stole second; Torre struck out;
Simmons flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0,
Cardinals 1.

METS 4TH: Clendenon grounded out (third to first); Agee walked;
Aspromonte popped to catcher in foul territory; Grote grounded
out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals
1.

CARDINALS 4TH: Hague grounded out (first to pitcher); Cruz
struck out; Maxvill was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

METS 5TH: Hahn singled to left; Ryan forced Hahn (first to
shortstop); Martinez forced Ryan (shortstop to second); Reuss
threw a wild pitch [Martinez to second]; Boswell struck out; 0
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 5TH: Reuss struck out; Brock struck out; Sizemore
flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

METS 6TH: Jones flied out to right; Clendenon struck out; Agee
singled to center; Aspromonte grounded out (second to first); 0
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 6TH: Alou struck out; Torre grounded out (second to
first); Simmons grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

METS 7TH: Grote singled to left; Hahn out on a sacrifice bunt
(pitcher to first) [Grote to second]; SINGLETON BATTED FOR RYAN;
Singleton was called out on strikes; On a bunt Martinez singled
to first [Grote to third]; Boswell grounded out (pitcher to
first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 7TH: FRISELLA REPLACED SINGLETON (PITCHING); Hague
flied out to center; Cruz walked; Cruz was caught stealing
second (catcher to second); Maxvill grounded out (shortstop to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 1.

METS 8TH: Jones walked; Clendenon struck out; Agee flied out to
center; Aspromonte singled to left [Jones to second]; HARRELSON
RAN FOR ASPROMONTE; Grote singled to right [Harrelson to third,
Jones scored]; Hahn struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 1,
Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 8TH: HARRELSON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING SS); MARTINEZ
CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING 3B); Reuss struck out; Brock struck
out; Sizemore grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Mets 1, Cardinals 1.

METS 9TH: Frisella singled to right; Martinez out on a sacrifice
bunt (first to second) [Frisella to second]; Boswell flied out
to left; Jones was walked intentionally; Clendenon grounded out
(third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 1, Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 9TH: On a bunt Alou singled to third; Torre singled to
center [Alou to second]; MCGRAW REPLACED FRISELLA (PITCHING);
Simmons singled to left [Alou scored, Torre to second]; 1 R, 3
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 1, Cardinals 2.