1965 Round 1: Jints outlast Redbirds in 5

Game 1 - St. Louis 6 @ San Francisco 4 (Simmons vs. Marichal)
The Cardinals scored 2 runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Ken Boyer and a sac fly by Bill White.  San Francisco tied the game on an RBI double by Hal Lanier in the 2nd and a double by Willie Mays in the 3rd, however left fielder Lou Brock threw out 2 runners at the plate in the third as a sign of how things would go in the series.  St.Louis broke the game open with 4 runs in the 6th on 6 straight base hits.

Game 2 - St. Louis 5 @ San Francisco 1 (Gibson vs. Shaw)
Bob Gibson was the star of this game as he staked the Cards to a 2-0 lead in the series.  Gibson allowed just 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 5 and walking none.  Bill White and Tim McCarver provided the batting punch, knocking in 2 runs each.  On defense, Curt Flood nailed Willie McCovey at the plate for the Cards 3 outfield assist and McCarver threw out his 2nd runner attempting to steal a base.

Game 3 - San Francisco 5 @ St. Louis 1 (Bolin vs. Stallard)
The Cardinals were looking to wrap the series up, but the Giants stunned them with 3 runs in the top of the 1st.  The big blow was a 3 run shot by Willie McCovey.  Tracy Stallard only allowed 4 hits in 7 innings of work, but the Cards committed 3 errors behind him.  Bobby Bolin was the MVP of the game, holding St.Louis to just 1 run on 3 hits in 7 innings before giving way to Frank Linzy who closed out the game.

Game 4 - San Francisco 5 @ St. Louis 3 (Herbel vs. Sadecki)
After 5 innings, this pivotal game was tied at 3-3 and the tension was starting to build.  In the top of the 6th, unlikely hitting star Hal Lanier singled home his 2nd run of the game to give the Giants a 4-3 lead.  In the 9th, it was Lanier again lighting a spark with a leadoff single which eventually led to an RBI grounder by Mays.  San Francisco's shaky pitching got a big boost from Sanford, Murakami, and Linzy who combined for 4-2/3 scoreless innings to close out the game.

Game 5 - St. Louis 5 @ San Francisco 7 (Washburn vs. Marichal)
The visiting team had won every game so far and things looked good for St.Louis when Lou Brock led off the game with a homerun to right.  Jim Ray Hart matched that with a leadoff homerun in the 2nd to tie the game at 1-1.  The Giants scored 1 in the 5th and another in the 6th to take a 3-1 lead into the 8th inning.  Marichal had only surrendered 2 hits since the 1st inning so it was looking good for the home team, but then things went haywire.  The Cards touched up the Giant's ace for 4 runs on 5 hits in the 8th to take a 5-3 lead, but SF came right back and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th off of the Cards normally reliable bullpen to take the series.  Matty Alou (3 for 4, 2RBI's) and Hal Lanier (3 for 4, 1 run) were the surprise hitting stars of game 5.

--submitted by Brandon Hayes--