The Cardinals’ 2011 title defense stayed alive in one of the strangest finishes in postseason history, and it all hinged on a popup that should have been routine.
On this day 14 years ago, St. Louis beat the Atlanta Braves in the NL wild card game, a victory that Cardinals fans still file away as one of those unforgettable October moments.
The game was sitting at 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth when Andrelton Simmons lifted a ball to shortstop Pete Kozma. Kozma believed he heard Matt Holliday call him off, so he peeled away and let Holliday take charge.
The ball dropped in the space between them.
Then came the call that changed everything. The ball landed on the outfield grass, but umpire Sam Hollbrook ruled it an infield fly, and the game instantly spun out of control.
The infield fly rule was in play because there were at least two runners on and fewer than two outs. But the spot where the ball fell made the decision a mess. Had the call been correct, the bases would have been loaded with one out.
Braves manager Freddi Gonzalez came out to argue, and the scene quickly turned ugly as Braves fans began throwing debris onto the field. The game was placed under protest, and there was a delay while the grounds crew cleaned up the mess.
When play resumed, the Cardinals held together and got the final four outs to move on to the NLDS. The chaos wasn’t over, though.
After the last out, more trouble broke out among Braves fans, and St. Louis had to skip the on-field celebration and head straight to the clubhouse.
It became one of those moments that never really leaves either fan base. Cardinals fans remember it as a break that helped keep their run going, while Braves fans look at it the way St. Louis fans still look at Don Denkinger’s incorrect safe call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series.
The Cardinals carried that win into the NLCS, where they fell in seven games to the San Francisco Giants.
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