Here's how this is going to work. At the top, you'll see the record for the particular series that the Cardinals are playing; how they have faired in each series this season; and their total record for the season. If the Cards win a majority of their individual two, three or four game series, they should have a pretty good season.
Cardinals' record: 2-2 (Series, 0-0-1); 2-2 (season)
Pirates 6, Cardinals 4
Not a good way to start the season. One strike away from a 4-2 victory, and a Motte fastball gets turned around for a bases clearing double. Ludwick had a big homer to break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 8th, and Pujols was 3-4 on the day. Wainwright didn't help himself by issuing 5 free passes; hopefully, he's sharper the next time out.
Cardinals 9, Pirates 3
And the first win is under their belt. Duncan, Pujols and Molina all homered for the Cards, who look like they have 7 people that could legitimately hit 20 homers this season, assuming health and playing time (4 of those are sharing time in the outfield). Molina triples and homers in his first two AB's. Five guys have two-hit days: Rasmus, Pujols, Greene, Molina and Thurston. I know it's only two games into the season, but Pujols' is currently hitting .714. That's his batting average, not slugging percentage. He's 5-7 on the season with 3 walks after two games. I'm calling it now: Pujols is the 2009 MVP. Let's also not forget to give Lohse his due as well - 7IP, 3 R (only 2 were earned), 5 H, and 4 K's. If the starters can pull that out of their hat three days out of four, this will be a great season.
Pirates 7, Cardinals 4
I think the phrase that best summarizes this game: play with fire and you're going to get burned. I didn't catch the early part of the game, but from the looks of things Wellemeyer got burned... a lot. His line: 5 IP, 12 H, 5 R (all earned). That's rough. That's leaving a lot of pitches in places where people could just pound them. Thompson also gave up a 2-run HR, but all in all, the bullpen seemed to be pretty solid. The bottom of the ninth was marred with the cliches that baseball is about not making mistakes and it is a game of inches. Freese doubled; Thurston doubled and was thrown out trying to stretch it; Duncan walked; Rasmus crushed a couple of balls foul before getting robbed of an extra base hit by McLouth; and Greene hit a liner that was snagged by Vazquez at third. Thurston doesn't make that mental error, and he scores on Rasmus' fly out and Pujols is batting in a 7-5 game with a runner on 1st. Rough game filled with a lot of "what ifs".
Cardinals 2, Pirates 1
One of the most anticipated starts of this early season definitely took place in this game. After missing the majority of the past two seasons with injuries, Cardinal fans were eager to see what Chris Carpenter would do today, and they weren't disappointed. Carp held the Pirates hitless until the 7th inning when former Indianapolis Indian Nyger Morgan got a base hit - the only hit of the game for the Pirates. They did manage to get a run in without getting a hit, which is always an interesting feat. A walk, fielder's choice/error, and another fielder's choice is what brought the run around for the Pirates. Carp's final line: 7IP, 1 H, 1 R (unearned), 7 K's and 2 BB's. Solid.
The Cards managed just 8 hits, but they pulled together 4 of those in the 7th inning, which proved to be the difference when 2 runs came home that inning. It had the potential to a huge inning, when the Cards had bases loaded with no outs and the top of the order coming up. Freese lined out to left, and Molina was thrown out at home on Rasmus' flyout to end the inning. Reyes came in and shut the Pirates down, but not before Craig Monroe gave the fans a major scare by hitting one deep to center field.
Overall
The Cards had a tough series against a decent Pirates team. The two losses had some glaring issues that could have easily turned them around to W's, but we can't dwell on them too much. Motte had a case of the rookie jitters and cost the first game; Wellemeyer couldn't do anything right in the third game, but they still had an outside chance in the 9th. However, Lohse and Carpenter put together gems, and all in all, the bullpen pitched fairly well (I believe they only allowed 6 runs total, and 4 of those came at Motte's expense in the first game). I certainly would have liked to see them take 3 out of 4, but a split is better than losing the series altogether.
Next up: The always dangerous Houston Astros come to town for a three game set Friday through Sunday.
0 comments:
Post a Comment