ST. LOUIS _ Seated 408 feet from Aledmys Diaz's heart, a lifelong Cardinal fan said out loud: "Hit it for Jose!"
And then, he did, right to her.
"It fell at my feet," Tami Glock said, "and my husband grabbed it."
It may turn out to be the hit of the year for the Cardinals. As they scrap for a wild-card spot, Diaz's fourth-inning grand slam gave the Cards a 5-2 lead Tuesday over the Reds. They would go on to defeat the Reds, 12-5.
Diaz didn't play in Monday's game. He flew to Florida to be with family and friends, mourning the death of Jose Fernandez.
It was Diaz's dad, back in Cuba, who had first inspired Fernandez to play baseball.
Both boys ultimately defected.
Both were All-Stars this summer.
Before Tuesday's game at Busch Stadium, Diaz taped a Cardinals jersey to the dugout wall. FERNANDEZ 16.
Then in the fourth, Diaz uncoiled his bat, corking a grand slam to Section 193.
"It's that moment when everybody's jaw drops, and you can feel the swell of emotion," said Steve Bivens, the section's usher. "And then, it's euphoria."
Tami Glock was raised a Cardinals fan, but her husband wasn't.
"If you're part of my family, if you marry (in), you have to be a Cardinal fan," Tami said. "Our daughter is dating someone from New Jersey, and I said, 'Well, he knows he has to become a Cardinals fan.' "
The Glocks now live in Oakville, Mo., and were draped in Cardinals gear on Tuesday. Manning the bleachers near center field, Tami fittingly wore a Jim Edmonds jersey.
The Cardinals built this season around their offense, but lately, the lack of offense has plagued the club. Yes, the Cards won on Saturday by the score of 10-4. But in the two games prior, and the two games after, the Cards combined for four total runs (yes, combined).
The Cards entered the fourth down 2-1 and with only one hit, a Matt Carpenter homer.
Then, some spark.
Bases loaded for Diaz.
Cincinnati's Robert Stephenson hurled a 94-mile-per-hour fastball ... Tami spoke ... and then, "Next thing I know, it was coming right at us," Robert Glock said. "That's never happened to me before, and this was a grand slam. ...
"He was thinking of his buddy tonight."
