The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105-57 during the season, the most wins of any Cardinals team since 1944, and the first Cardinal team to win 100 or more games since 1985, and won the National League Central division by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros. In the playoffs the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the NLDS and the Astros 4 games to 3 in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1987. In the World Series the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and were swept 4 games to 0. It was the final World Series played at Busch Memorial Stadium. Because the American League had home-field advantage as a result of winning the All-Star Game, Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Curse of the Bambino died. Catcher Mike Matheny, third baseman Scott Rolen, and outfielder Jim Edmonds won Gold Gloves this year. The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals were the first team to lose the World Series to a "Moneyball" style team roster on the side of the Red Sox. Offseason December 2, 2003: Signed free agent pitcher Chris Carpenter. December 13, 2003: Traded outfielder J. D. Drew and catcher Eli Marrero to the Atlanta Braves for pitchers Jason Marquis, Ray King, and Adam Wainwright. January 10, 2004: Signed free agent pitcher Alan Benes. February 12, 2004: Signed free agent John Mabry. Regular season Opening Day lineup Summary Acquired via trade from the Colorado Rockies on August 6, 2004, Larry Walker, customarily the Rockies' number three hitter, became the Cardinals' number two hitter. The Cardinals already had Edmonds, Pujols and Rolen in the 3 through 5 spots. Walker made his Cardinals debut on August 7, playing the New York Mets, and appeared as a pinch-hitter and struck out in the seventh inning. He drew a walk from Mike Stanton in the ninth inning and scored the game-winning run on a Yadier Molina single. Season standings National League Central Record vs. opponents Transactions August 6: Traded Jason Burch (minors) and players to be named later to the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Larry Walker. The Cardinals sent pitchers Luís Martínez and Chris Narveson on August 11 to the Rockies to complete the trade. Game log |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 1 ||