Jenifer Langosch said it before the game: Adam Wainwright against the Astros just doesn’t seem fair.
Of course, many would have argued that Astros starter Bud Norris against the Cardinals was, for some inexplicable reason, also not fair. The pitcher that had earned a questionable frustrating reputation of success against the former division foe didn’t stand a chance yesterday, thanks to, well, almost everyone in the Cardinals lineup.
Norris’s day started off with a two-run shot from Matt Holliday (have we talked about how insanely strong Matt is?! He was even a little under it, and still muscled it over the wall!) and ended with 7 runs on 11 hits, including two each from Matt Carpenter, David Freese, and Daniel Descalso. Allen Craig also had a three-hit night, two coming later in the game. (Factoid! According to Drew Silva, Craig is on pace for 131 RBI this season, which would tie Stan Musial’s total from MVP season #3 in 1948.)
After a couple of down weeks offensively, it was nice to see that kind of run production. It was even better to see guys up and down the lineup contributing, Bud Norris or no Bud Norris!
The patience and commitment to the game plan seemed to pay off.
“It was just impressive to watch everybody go up there and take a real competitive at-bat,” Carpenter said. “Rarely do you see a game where everybody is up there laying off tough pitches, working counts. Even our outs were hard. It was a real complete offense day, and that speaks volumes to what kind of offense we think we have in this clubhouse.”
“Complete offense days” are my favorite, Matt. Let’s have more of those, shall we? (Another factoid! From Mark Tomasik, Carlos Beltran’s double last night was #427 — that ties the one and only Red Schoendienst on the career list.)
Although, with Wainwright on the mound, the offense had it relatively easy.
As good as Norris has been against the Cardinals in the past, Waino has been even better against the ‘Stros. He was 12-1 against them going in, and he proved dominant yet again. Utilizing the league-famous curve ball in combination with former pitching coach Dave Duncan’s ground ball philosophy, Wainwright struck out 9 and induced 11 more groundouts, giving up just one run on five hits. He threw 97 pitches through seven innings, and that was enough for Mike Matheny. No controversy this time, though. Since rearranging the rotation schedule to give Waino one more start before the All-Star break, the leash was bound to be a bit shorter than normal, just to save a little something for Sunday’s start against the Cubs.
It makes sense. Pulling him last night made sense in light of Sunday’s start. Starting him Sunday makes sense in light of the team’s chances to lead the NL Central at the break. And although it calls into question Wainwright’s participation in the All-Star game itself, his biggest priority has to be (and is) his team and being ready for the second half.
Sure, it’d be fun to see our ace pitch in New York. But, I’d rather see him pitch well in his following start, so if those are my choices, it makes sense to take it easy and just enjoy the festivities, sans-pitching appearance.
But, I digress.
Adam wasn’t the only Cardinals pitcher to impress, though. Rookie Kevin Siegrist struck out two in his scoreless eighth inning and making a place for his name in the Cardinals history books. His 12 consecutive scoreless appearances to start his career are the most in Cardinals franchise history. Maybe Siegrist vs. the Astros isn’t fair either!
The ninth inning got a little messy. Randy Choate gave up a single to start the inning, then Michael Blazek came in and, well, he couldn’t find the plate. Three walks and two hits later, the 9-1 blowout was suddenly a 4-run save opportunity.
That, of course, meant Mujica.
Good thing he’s back to being a great closer again after that one, fateful day in Anaheim!
So, the Cards win their fourth in a row. Wainwright gets win No. 12, Mujica gets save No. 24. The Pirates lost again. The Reds lost again. First place in the NLC is back in the Cardinals’ hands by 1.5 games. All’s well that ends well, right?
Oh, and there was this other stuff …
Rob Johnson was called up, which moved a bunch of minor league catchers around, too.
Looks like John Mozeliak is cleaning house a bit. It’s always sad to see good guys not work out in St. Louis. But, we wish them well as they and the Cardinals move on to bigger and better things!
Tonight, though, it’s all Shelby Miller, as the Cardinals try to sweep the two-game set before heading to Chicago. Game time is 7:15 p.m..
Tara is a St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball and a contributor to Around the Horn. Follow her on Twitter @tarawellman.
