A balk by reliever Jesse Orosco produced the go-ahead run as the Cardinals posted a 4-2 victory over the Mets for a sweep of the three-game series. With the game tied, 2-2, and runners on first and third with nobody out in the sixth, Orosco entered the game for New York and was called for a balk that permitted Tito Landrum to score from third and break the deadlock.

The Redbirds picked up an insurance marker in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Tommy Herr. Bruce Sutter took over the St. Louis pitching chores in the ninth and recorded his 21st save. [The Sporting News]



St. Louis Cardinals 4, New York Mets 2
Game Played on Sunday, September 13, 1981 (Day game) at Busch Stadium II
Mets         0  0  0    0  2  0    0  0  0  -   2  9  4
Cardinals    2  0  0    0  0  1    0  1  x  -   4  6  1


Mets                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Cardinals            AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Wilson cf             4   1   1   0     0   1   .282      Herr 2b               4   1   1   1     1   1   .279
Howard rf             4   0   1   2     0   0   .333      Roof lf               2   1   1   1     2   0   .333
Brooks 3b             4   0   1   0     0   0   .296      Hernandez 1b          4   0   1   0     0   1   .305
Kingman 1b            4   0   1   0     0   0   .206      Hendrick cf           3   0   0   0     1   0   .286
Mazzilli lf           4   0   1   0     0   0   .236      Iorg rf               2   0   0   0     1   0   .323
Trevino c             2   0   1   0     1   0   .266        Landrum pr,rf       1   1   0   0     0   1   .245
  Jorgensen ph        1   0   0   0     0   0   .225      Oberkfell 3b          4   0   2   0     0   1   .289
  Hodges c            0   0   0   0     0   0   .294      Sanchez c             2   0   0   0     0   0   .317
Flynn 2b              3   0   0   0     0   1   .205        Tenace ph,c         1   0   0   0     1   0   .215
  Orosco p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Ramsey ss             2   1   1   0     1   0   .261
  Taveras ph          1   0   0   0     0   0   .230      Andujar p             2   0   0   0     0   0   .000
Gardenhire ss         4   0   1   0     0   1   .182        Lezcano ph          0   0   0   0     1   0   .259
Lynch p               1   0   0   0     0   0   .167        Bair p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .333
  Cubbage ph          1   1   1   0     0   0   .250        Gonzalez ph         1   0   0   0     0   0   .267
  Leach p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Sutter p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Bailor 2b           2   0   1   0     0   0   .258

Totals               35   2   9   2     1   3             Totals               28   4   6   2     8   4

Time of Game: 2:50   Attendance: 14,689
Left on Base: Mets 7, Cardinals 9
DP: Mets 0, Cardinals 0
Errors: Howard, Kingman, Trevino 2, Tenace
Doubles: Wilson (6), Roof (1)
Triples: Oberkfell (4)
Stolen Bases: Bailor (2), Roof 2 (3)
Caught Stealing: Oberkfell (5)
Sacrifice Hits: Ramsey (1)


Mets                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Lynch                   4     2   2   1   4   1   0  17   2.57
Leach L(1-1)            1     2   1   1   2   1   0   7   1.80
Orosco                  3     2   1   0   2   2   0  13   0.00
Totals                  8     6   4   2   8   4   0  37

Cardinals              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Andujar W(5-4)          6     7   2   2   1   2   0  25   4.58
Bair                    2     2   0   0   0   1   0   8   5.36
Sutter SV(21)           1     0   0   0   0   0   0   3   2.29
Totals                  9     9   2   2   1   3   0  36

Passed Balls: Sanchez (1)
Wild Pitches: Andujar (2)
Balks: Orosco (1)

Umpires: HP - Bruce Froemming, 1B - Joe West, 2B - Dick Stello, 3B - John Kibler


METS 1ST: Wilson grounded out (first unassisted); Howard
grounded out (second to first); Brooks singled; Kingman forced
Brooks (shortstop to second); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0,
Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 1ST: Herr walked; Roof doubled [Herr scored];
Hernandez struck out; Roof stole third [Roof scored (error by
Trevino) (unearned)]; Hendrick popped to first in foul
territory; Iorg grounded out (third to first); 2 R (1 ER), 1 H,
1 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

METS 2ND: Mazzilli grounded out (first unassisted); Trevino
singled; Flynn flied out to left; Gardenhire singled to center
[Trevino to third]; Lynch grounded out (shortstop to first); 0
R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 2ND: Oberkfell grounded out (third to first); Sanchez
grounded out (second to first); Ramsey walked; Andujar forced
Ramsey (third to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0,
Cardinals 2.

METS 3RD: Wilson grounded out (pitcher to first); Howard
grounded out (second to first); Brooks grounded out (shortstop
to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 3RD: Herr grounded out (second to first); Roof walked;
Roof stole second [Roof to third (error by Trevino)]; Hernandez
flied out to center; Hendrick walked; Iorg lined to left; 0 R, 0
H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

METS 4TH: Kingman flied out to left; Mazzilli singled to right;
Mazzilli was picked off first (pitcher to first); Trevino
walked; Sanchez allowed a passed ball [Trevino to second]; Flynn
struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 4TH: Oberkfell tripled to right; Oberkfell was caught
stealing home (catcher unassisted); Sanchez grounded out (second
to first); Ramsey grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Cardinals 2.

METS 5TH: Gardenhire struck out; CUBBAGE BATTED FOR LYNCH;
Cubbage singled to left; Wilson doubled to left [Cubbage to
third]; Howard singled to right [Cubbage scored, Wilson scored];
Brooks grounded out (third to first) [Howard to second]; Andujar
threw a wild pitch [Howard to third]; Kingman popped to catcher
in foul territory; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 2, Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 5TH: LEACH REPLACED CUBBAGE (PITCHING); Andujar
grounded out (third to first); Herr was called out on strikes;
Roof walked; Hernandez singled to right [Roof to third];
Hendrick grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Mets 2, Cardinals 2.

METS 6TH: Mazzilli flied out to left; Trevino grounded out
(third to first); Flynn flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
 Mets 2, Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 6TH: Iorg walked; LANDRUM RAN FOR IORG; Oberkfell
singled to center [Landrum to third]; OROSCO REPLACED FLYNN
(PITCHING); BAILOR REPLACED LEACH (PLAYING 2B); TENACE BATTED
FOR SANCHEZ; Orosco balked [Landrum scored, Oberkfell to
second]; Tenace walked; Ramsey out on a sacrifice bunt (catcher
to second) [Oberkfell to third, Tenace to second]; LEZCANO
BATTED FOR ANDUJAR; Lezcano was walked intentionally; Herr
popped to third; Roof flied out to left; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.
Mets 2, Cardinals 3.

METS 7TH: BAIR REPLACED LEZCANO (PITCHING); TENACE STAYED IN
GAME (PLAYING C ); LANDRUM STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING RF);
Gardenhire grounded out (second to first); Mets Manager Joe
Torre ejected by HP umpire Bruce Froemming arguing the balk
called in the previous half inning; Bailor singled to right;
Bailor stole second [Bailor to third (error by Tenace)]; Wilson
struck out; Howard grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 1
E, 1 LOB.  Mets 2, Cardinals 3.

CARDINALS 7TH: Hernandez reached on an error by Kingman (assist
by Bailor); Hendrick flied out to left; Landrum struck out;
Oberkfell struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 2, Cardinals 3.

METS 8TH: Brooks flied out to right; Kingman singled to right;
Mazzilli forced Kingman (shortstop to second); JORGENSEN BATTED
FOR TREVINO; Jorgensen forced Mazzilli (shortstop to second); 0
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 2, Cardinals 3.

CARDINALS 8TH: HODGES REPLACED JORGENSEN (PLAYING C ); Tenace
popped to catcher; Ramsey singled to right [Ramsey to second
(error by Howard)]; GONZALEZ BATTED FOR BAIR; Gonzalez lined to
left; Herr singled to left [Ramsey scored (unearned), Herr out
at second (left to third to second to first)]; 1 R (0 ER), 2 H,
1 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 2, Cardinals 4.

METS 9TH: SUTTER REPLACED GONZALEZ (PITCHING); TAVERAS BATTED
FOR OROSCO; Taveras flied out to center; Gardenhire flied out to
center; Bailor grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Mets 2, Cardinals 4.