 As was the case in Boston , Lee Smith 's first game with St. Louis went poorly as he gave up two runs in his only inning of pitching . He recovered quickly , registered a 0 @.@ 00 ERA for the entire month of July , and finished his partial season with St. Louis with a 2 @.@ 10 ERA and 27 saves . The Cardinals , however , were at a low point in 1990 , finishing in last place for the only time since 1918 . In 1991 , St. Louis righted their ship , and Smith accumulated saves at a record pace . With his salary roughly doubled to nearly $ 2 @.@ 8 million , Smith reached 40 saves for the first time in his career . On September 28 , he picked up save number 45 to tie Bruce Sutter 's National League record from 1984 ( Coincidentally , when Sutter and Smith reached 45 saves in their respective seasons , both were ex @-@ Cubs pitching for St. Louis against the Cubs ) . Smith claimed the league record for himself three days later and finished the season with a career @-@ high 47 saves . One difference for him in 1991 was walks as he surrendered only 1 @.@ 60 walks per nine innings , by far the best in his career to that point . Smith won his first Rolaids Relief Award , received the most significant consideration for league MVP in his career , and finished second in Cy Young Award voting behind only Tom Glavine , who had a breakout 20 @-@ win season in 1991 . 
