Redbirds take 2 of 3 from Jints

In a series featuring two clubs that are having some troubles getting untracked, the St. Louis Cardinals managed to take the final two games at Busch Stadium after the Giants rocked starter Bob Forsch to win the opening game.
 
Forsch surrendered 10 hits and 5 runs, all earned, as Allen Ripley and the Giants rolled to an 6-1 victory. Former Cardinal Larry Herndon's 3 hits, including a second inning 2 run homer, lead the way for San Francisco. Milt May and Jack Clark also had 3 hits each, prompting Cardinal executive Bike Mike to comment "we've got some catchers, but that Clark guy would look good in our uniform". The Giants totaled 14 hits in all, with Ripley going 7 innings for his first victory of the season.
 
The Redbirds rebounded in game 2 earning a 4-2 victory in a contest featuring lefthanders Vida Blue for San Francisco and John Martin for St. Louis on the hill. Martin was stellar, going 7 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits and 2 runs, earning the win and moving to 3-0 on the season giving him 3 of the Cardinals 5 wins so far. Meanwhile the veteran Blue could not find the strike zone, walking six while not recording a single strikeout.
 
The Cardinals got all the runs they would need in the first inning when Garry Templeton started the game with a single, and an out later Keith Hernandez signled. George Hendrick then drove a ball into the left field corner to score Templeton with the first run of the game. Blue's wildness then reared up as he walked Sixto Lezcano, then got former teammate Gene Tenace to hit a ball back to the box where Blue was able to force Hernandez at the plate. But then he walked in two runs, losing both Tito Landrum and Ken Oberkfell on walks.
 
Enos Cabell got one back in the second on a solo homer, and Jeff Leonard hit one out in the sixth, but that was all the Giants could muster. Bruce Sutter came on with 2 out and 2 on in the eighth and pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to earn his first save of the season.
 
Game 3 featured righthanders Doyle Alexander and Silvio Martinez on the mound, and each club's offense came through with 10 hits. The Cardinals managed to get more out of their hits though, winning by a 5-3 score. The middle of the Cardinal order, Keith Hernandez, George Hendrick and Dane Iorg accounted for two hits apiece, while Darrell Evans had 3 safeties and Milt May 2 for the Giants. Hendrick's first inning home run after Hernandez' double got the Cardinals offense untracked. Martinez earned his first win of the year while Alexander dropped to 0-3. Sutter pitched the ninth for his second save in as many days.
--submitted by BikeMike--