Game 5 was as exciting a game as Game 4 in the 1964 World Series between the New York Yankees verses the St Louis Cardinals….as the game was scoreless in the top of the fifth inning when trouble came when Cards P Bob Gibson led off the inning with a single….which was followed by Yanks 2B Bobby Richardson fumbling a possible double-play ground ball struck by Curt Flood with one on and one out….which meant that now there were two on with one out….instead of the inning being over…. and that is when 0 for his last 14 in the series Lou Brock came to bat….and promptly singled in one run….then another came in on a ground ball hit by Bill White after Phil Linz made another misplay by throwing a ball into the dirt at first on what should have been the back end of a double play.
The Yankees were still down 2–0 when they rallied in the ninth inning….as The Mick reached base on an error by Dick Groat….and with one out and one on….Yanks 1B Joe Pepitone smashed a bouncer off Bob Gibson’s leg….with the ball ricocheting towards the third-base line….to which Gibson recovered quickly and threw to first….and the Cardinals were one out away….but with two out, Tom Tresh crushed a long drive into the right center field bleachers and the game was tied.
The Cardinals who seized the initiative as the game went into extra innings…when with two on and one out and lefty hitter Tim McCarver up….Yanks Mgr Yogi Berra stuck with right-hander Pete Mikkelsen rather than using lefty specialist Steve Hamilton…..and McCarver delivered a three run home run in the tenth inning to send the Cardinals back to St. Louis with a 3–2 lead in the series….in a series where 22 years old catcher Tim McCarver would go 11-for-23 (.478) in the series…..from a man who for his entire career hit .271.
This was the last postseason game at Yankee Stadium before its renovation following the 1973 season.
