Before Fernando Tatis made history with two grand slams in the same inning in 1999, the St. Louis Cardinals had only hit two grand slams in the same game once in their illustrious history.
The feat came on July 6, 1929, at a time when the St. Louis Cardinals needed relief from the heat and from a season-long losing streak.
Excluding a July 1 tie with the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals had dropped 10 consecutive games heading into their doubleheader against the Phillies. The streak would grow worse before it finally ended. In the opener, St. Louis fell 10-6 despite two home runs from first baseman Jim Bottomley.
Bottomley drove in four runs, shortstop Charlie Gelbert added three hits and two RBIs, and third baseman Andy High collected four hits. But Cardinals starter Bill Sherdel could not hold down Philadelphia’s lineup. The Phillies pounded out 13 hits, including seven for extra bases, with third baseman Pinky Whitney and right fielder Chuck Klein each homering.
The loss extended the Cardinals’ skid to 11 games, their longest of the season.
Then came one of the most explosive offensive performances in major league history.
If the first game had been lively, the second game turned into a rout almost immediately. Phillies starter Claude Willoughby opened the game by walking Taylor Douthit and Carey Selph, then gave up three consecutive RBI singles to High, Bottomley, and Chick Hafey. When Willoughby walked Wattie Holm to load the bases, Phillies manager Burt Shotton had seen enough.
He called on Elmer Miller.
Miller fared no better.
He walked Jimmie Wilson to force in a run, then walked Gelbert to make it 5-0. Shotton, showing an even quicker hook this time, replaced Miller with Luther Roy.
The Cardinals were just getting started.
Pitcher Fred Frankhouse, batting ninth, greeted Roy with a two-run single to left. Douthit followed with an RBI single, stretching the lead to 8-0. Selph then laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving the runners to second and third, and High hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out.
Roy was one out from escaping the inning.
Bottomley made sure he did not.
With two outs, the Cardinals’ slugging first baseman singled to center, scoring Frankhouse and High and giving St. Louis a 10-0 lead before the Phillies had even come to bat.
For Frankhouse, the double-digit cushion was especially welcome. He was pitching with a sore thumb that limited his curveball, and with the Cardinals already far ahead, he adjusted accordingly. The Post-Dispatch reported that Frankhouse “merely lobbed the ball over the plate.”
Philadelphia took advantage in the bottom of the first. After a single by Denny Sothern and two walks, Fresco Thompson delivered a two-run single to make it 10-2.
But this was not going to be a day when the Cardinals worried much about allowing runs.
St. Louis added another in the second when Whitney’s throwing error at third allowed Holm to reach third base and Wilson singled him home. Sothern homered in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the lead to 11-3, but the Cardinals’ offense was nowhere near finished.
Douthit drove in a run with a single in the fourth, and Selph followed with a triple to bring him home. In the fifth, Holm added a sacrifice fly, Wilson delivered his second RBI single of the game, and Frankhouse continued his big day at the plate with a run-scoring single off new Phillies pitcher June Greene.
Douthit singled and Eddie Delker walked to load the bases. Greene then hit High with a pitch, forcing in another run and pushing the Cardinals’ lead to 18-4.
That brought Bottomley to the plate with the bases loaded.
He cleared them.
Bottomley launched a grand slam to right field, his 19th home run of the season, and suddenly the Cardinals led 22-4. For a team that had spent nearly two weeks searching for a win, the breakthrough had turned into an avalanche.
The bats quieted for a few innings, but only temporarily. In the eighth, High drove in another run with a single, Bottomley walked to load the bases, and Hafey delivered the Cardinals’ second grand slam of the game.
It was Hafey’s 21st home run of the season and the final blow in a 28-6 St. Louis victory.
The Cardinals’ 28 runs set a modern major league record, surpassing the 27 scored by the Cleveland Indians against Boston on July 7, 1923. The performance also stood for decades as the only game in Cardinals history in which the team hit two grand slams, until Tatis famously hit two in the same inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999.
The numbers from the second game were staggering. St. Louis finished with 28 hits and nine walks. Hafey collected five hits, including two doubles and his grand slam, and drove in five runs. Douthit also had five hits and reached base seven times, adding two walks. Bottomley finished with four hits, two walks, and seven RBIs.
Even Frankhouse, whose sore thumb made for an uneven day on the mound, was part of the offensive barrage. He allowed six earned runs on 17 hits and three walks, but as the Cardinals’ No. 9 hitter, he went 4-for-6 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
It was a strange way to end a losing streak: ugly on the mound, brilliant at the plate, uncomfortable in the weather, and painful on the injury report.
The Cardinals did not escape the day unscathed. Walter Roettger injured his ankle and left the first game early. Clarence Jonnard was spiked in the leg. Earl Smith pulled a leg muscle. Selph sprained an ankle sliding into third base. Frankie Frisch, already favoring one leg because of a charley horse, pulled a muscle in the other.
Still, after 11 straight losses, the Cardinals had finally won.
On a miserable Philadelphia afternoon filled with heat, injuries, and frustration, the Cardinals produced one of the wildest offensive explosions baseball had ever seen.
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