Today in Cubs history: Alex Gonzalez walks it off... again

Just last week, I told you the story of Alex Gonzalez’ walkoff home run against the Rockies May 4, 2003 at Wrigley Field.

It took A-Gon just five more games to do it again. (Shades of Jim Hickman, who also hit two walkoff homers in a five-day, six-game span in June 1969, which you can read about here.)

This time, it was against the arch-rival Cardinals, the second of what was to be a three-game series. The Cubs had dropped the opener to St. Louis 6-3 on a warm Friday afternoon, and Kerry Wood took the mound against Woody Williams on a cool, cloudy Saturday.

Wood threw a solid seven innings, allowing four hits and one run. Moises Alou’s homer in the sixth and an RBI single by Mark Grudzielanek in the seventh had given the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Antonio Alfonseca threw a 1-2-3 eighth and “Lunch Bucket” Joe Borowski entered for the save opportunity in the ninth.

Unfortunately, Borowski blew the save by allowing an RBI single to J.D. Drew. The Cubs had the winning run on second with two out in the ninth, but Ramon Martinez flied out to send the game to extras.

Mike Remlinger retired the Cardinals 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th. By this time the skies had cleared and the sun was out.

With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Gonzalez came to bat, ran the count full, and then this happened [VIDEO].

That made five walkoff home runs for Gonzalez in a span of 89 home games in just a bit more than a calendar year, May 6, 2002 through May 10, 2003, an impressive feat. Interestingly, in a 13-year playing career, those were his only walkoff home runs.

The Cubs won the game 3-2 and it happened 20 years ago today, Saturday, May 10, 2003. I mentioned above that this “was” to be a three-game series. The story of what happened in what was to have been the third game of that series, dubbed by Cubs fans as the “Typhoon Game,” is here.