May 30, 1964 - Ernie Broglio ended a month-long victory drought and Ken Boyer continued his hottest start since 1956 as the St. Louis Cardinals walloped the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1, today at Busch Stadium.
The victory before 11,051 Memorial Day fans lifted the Redbirds within 1½ games of the Philadelphia Phillies, the National League leaders.
Broglio had not won since he beat the Mets, 8-0, on April 28. This time, he checked the Reds on seven hits, walked two, and struck out six.
Boyer gave Broglio all the scoring support he needed when he connected for his eighth home run with Dick Groat aboard in the first. Boyer, now batting .348, hit a run-scoring triple in the sixth for his third RBI of the day and his 37th of the season.
“It was like a do-or-die game for me,” Broglio said afterward. “I was getting discouraged because the club was in the first division, and I wasn’t helping the way I wanted to.”
Broglio, who had been bothered by elbow stiffness, said he put aside the slider and leaned more on his good curve and fastball.
“I feel the slider’s harder on a pitcher’s arm than the curve,” St. Louis manager Johnny Keane remarked.
Boyer, now in his 10th season, drew this comment from an approving Stan Musial: “The important thing about Ken is that he’s not trying to slug with these pitchers. He’s just meeting the ball and hitting to all fields. He’s hit this way before, but mostly in the past he’s done it in spurts.”
The revived Cardinal bats have put the club just about where it was after last Memorial Day. A year ago, the Redbirds were in third place, three games from the top, with a 28-21 record. Their record now is 24-19, and they trail only Philadelphia and San Francisco in the standings.
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