May 31, 1963 - Curt Flood raced home with the winning run on an infield popup by Stan Musial (pictured) in the ninth inning today and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the National League leaders, the San Francisco Giants, 6-5. The victory moved the Cards into second place, two games behind the Giants. Flood scored on a strange play that found three Giants chasing Musial’s pop fly. Willie Mays, racing in from his shallow center-field position, almost made the catch. Musial, however, was declared out in the bases-filled situation under the infield fly rule. An infield fly comes about when there are runners on first and second (or the bases loaded) and less than two out. It is designed to prevent double plays on pop flies, but the runners can advance at their own risk. Flood was thinking, and he stole the run from the napping Giants. Mays, who smacked three hits in the game, kicked his glove half way across the infield, he was so sick with frustration at Flood’s achievement. Musial’s pop-up came off Billy Pierce, the third Giant pitcher in the inning, but Don Larsen was the loser. Larsen is now 0-3, and all 3 losses have been heartbreakers. The Colts beat him in the 13th inning, the Dodgers in the 10th, and now the Cardinals on an infield fly. The victory was the fourth straight and eighth in the last nine games for the Cards. The crowd was 21,564 — second largest of the season in St. Louis. Bill White hit a two-run homer in tonight’s contest.
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