Phillies Run the Bases Like Merkle, but Cardinals Fail to Catch Mistake
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PHILADELPHIA — Mike Schmidt has warned them about it countless times, but his teammates’ base-running almost cost the Philadelphia Phillies a win.
“I’ve told these guys 100 times they’ve got to touch the bases,” Schmidt said Monday night after his bases-loaded single over a drawn-in outfield gave the Phillies a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 11 innings, ending a five-game losing streak.
“It’s not too tough to touch the next base, but guys forget to do it.”
In a scene reminiscent of Fred Merkle’s famous “boner” in 1908 that cost the New York Giants a pennant, Von Hayes forgot to advance to third and rookie Greg Jelks didn’t bother to touch second with one out, so the Cardinals could have had a double play if they were alert.
The umpires stood around, giving the Cardinals a chance to tag the errant runners and nullify the game-winning run, but St. Louis never made a move. Finally, Hayes and Jelks went back and touched the respective bases.
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