Don’t tell their mascot Fredbird, but it looks like the St. Louis Cardinals may have a new good luck charm on their hands.
On Wednesday, the team was in the midst of a heated game against cross-state rivals the Kansas City Royals — trailing on their home turf 5-4 in the sixth inning.
It was a tense situation for both teams — but especially the Cardinals, who, with four straight wins up until that point, were still two and a half games behind the Chicago Cubs in the competitive NL Central.
Bases loaded and two outs on the board, catcher Yadier Molina was up at bat — stepping up to the plate against Royals reliever Peter Moylan.
The first pitch? Ball.
The second? Cat!
That’s right — seconds before Moylan had a chance to throw his second pitch, a stray cat burst into Busch Stadium, sprinting across the outfield.
The adorable feline was greeted with cheers from the crowd as it wandered to the warning track.
Stopping to saying hello to center fielder Lorenzo Cain, it was eventually captured towards the back of the field by a member of the grounds crew — who learned the hard way that cats don’t always love being scooped up.
Catching a few scratches and bites, the crew member carried the cat away from the action.
After Rally Cat’s appearance, Molina went on to hit a go-ahead grand slam that gave St. Louis an 8-5 win — their fifth straight victory. They’re now a game and a half behind the Cubs, passing over the Brewers into second place in the NL Central.
Later in the game, Rally Cat was spotted by a fan being taken away from the ballpark in a crate.
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“I’m not a cat person, but I sure like that one,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny joked after the game, MLB.com reported.
This isn’t the first time an animal has helped the Cardinals to victory. In the 2011, a Rally Squirrel interrupted Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Phillies — running across the pitchers mound, MLB.com reported.
Once the squirrel was gone, the Cardinals sailed ahead to victory in Game 4, Game 5, the National League Championship Series and eventually the World Series.
Rally Squirrel returned in 2015 to help the visiting Cardinals in a game against the Phillies. The St. Louis team would go on to win that game 11-0.
