Ryan Ludwick's Home Run, Walk-Offs Aplenty: St. Louis Takes Series against Rays

Saturday, it was Ryan Ludwick's blast just over the outstretched arms of centerfielder B.J. Upton that made the Cardinals 9-8 winners. 

On Sunday, Stan Musial Day at Busch Stadium, Skip Schumaker hit a roper that barely made it over Carl Crawford to secure the 5-4 victory. 

That was the story of the series for the Cardinals. They lost the Friday night showdown under the lights by a score of 3-1 before coming back to win the subsequent two contests. 

Saturday's win was perhaps the more memorable of the two, as the Cardinals opened up an 8-4 lead on an Albert Pujols home run, only to find themselves knotted up at eight going into the bottom of the tenth.  Ryan Ludwick hit what looked like a flyout, but the wind carried it just over the wall to send the Cardinals to a much-needed victory.

Such a dramatic win, followed by Schumaker's heroics just a day later, should give Cardinals fans optimism as the Redbirds head out west to face the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Fortunately for the Cardinals, Padres ace Jake Peavy will miss his start Monday due to soreness in his right elbow.  There is, however, no rest for the weary, as future Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux takes the hill on Tuesday, followed by the consistent Chris Young rounding out the three-game set.

As I mentioned the other day, the Cardinals badly needed a win on Saturday to restore confident in the organization, and Ludwick helped their cause tremendously.

The heroics of this weekend, especially of the latter game, are a perfect way to cap Stan "The Man" Musial Day. 

After a historic day for Cardinal Nation, the club is looking in quality shape to make a nice road trip out West.