Last night’s 8-2 loss to Houston was ugly.  It started with the very first batter, and by the time the first three outs were recorded, Braden Looper had allowed  four runs to score.  It was definitely a bad night for the Cardinals’ starter.  He lasted only 4.1 innings, throwing just 55 of his 101 pitches for strikes.  Seven of his eight runs allowed were earned.
“I didn’t get the job done, didn’t give us a chance from the beginning,” Looper said.
Most of the Cardinals’ offense was provided by Albert Pujols.  His solo homer in the fourth got the Cards on the [...]

We’re back in action.  I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend.  The Cardinals did, taking the series in Los Angeles two games to one, and finishing their road trip 4-2.  The Birds are currently 30-22, and just a half game behind the Cubs.
Weather permitting, tonight begins a three games series against the Astros. Surprisingly, they sit only a game behind the Cards.  The scheduled starters for tonight are Braden Looper and Shawn Chacon.  Tomorrow it’s Adam Wainwright and Wandy Rodriguez, and Kyle Lohse and Roy Oswalt will face off on Thursday. Unfortunately, we miss Brandon Backe.  I was really looking [...]

The Cardinals seem to be back to their winning ways, and hope to get a jump start on their third straight series win tonight in LA.  They’re currently seven games over .500, and just one game behind the division leading Chicago Cubs.  They are 11-11 on the road this season.  A victory in this series would ensure the Cards a winning road record when they return to St. Louis on Monday.
The pitching match-ups will feature Derek Lowe against Adam Wainwright in game one, followed by Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse tomorrow night, and Chad Billingsley facing Todd Wellemeyer in the [...]

Baseball is a great game.  It’s strange sometimes, but always great.  One day, a team can put up eight runs, the next, only two.  That’s understandable when you think about how much different two opposing pitchers can be.  Other times though, the bats just go quiet.
After stomping the Padres in game one of the series 8-2, the Cardinals couldn’t get it done in game two.  They scored early, but couldn’t tack anything on through the final seven innings.  Even with a mediocre outing from Greg Maddux, the Cards couldn’t get the offense going.  Four Cardinal batters scattered seven hits in the 3-2 [...]

On the road again…  After a 3-3 home stand, the Cardinals head out to Southern California for a three game series against San Diego, followed by three against the Dodgers.  During the last road trip, the Cards went 3-5 after winning the first two in Colorado. Hopefully this trip ends with better results.
Game one is tonight, where the Birds may have dodged a bullet, not having to face San Diego’s ace Jake Peavy.  He’s sidelined with a sore right elbow.  In his place, Wilfredo Ledezma.  He’s made several appearances in relief, but tonight will be only his second start. [...]

One thing that stood out in the Cardinals’ extra innings win yesterday was the performance of starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.  He clearly didn’t have his best stuff, and lasted only 5.2 innings, his shortest outing of the season. Recall, in his previous start on May 12th in Milwaukee, he made it through 6.  Both of those starts weren’t typical for the Cardinals’ ace.
This got me thinking about the bullpen.  Any time the starters can’t go deep into games, it puts additional stress on the pen, forcing them to get nine or more outs, night after night. We all know how things turn [...]

Today is Stan Musial Day. The team has some dedications and tributes planned for today down at the ballpark for the greatest Cardinal of all time. Derrick Goold has the scoop.
In his career, Stan “The Man” hit .331, with 475 home runs and 3630 hits.  He’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game.  View all of his stats here.
I found a couple of videos about Musial.  He’s featured in the first half of this clip from Ken Burns’ Baseball.  Enjoy!
Jack Buck shares a few words about “The Man” in this one.

In the first interleague game of the season, Rays’ starter Andy Sonnanstine kept the Cardinal offense in check, keeping St. Louis off the scoreboard through seven. Tampa held their lead, and won it 3-1.  Here’s the box score.
It wasn’t a pretty performance from Braden Looper, but he kept his team in the game. He couldn’t keep the ball down and was getting hit hard. He labored through six innings on 117 pitches, but allowed just 3 runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks, earning him another quality start.
Chris Perez made his Major League debut, pitching a scoreless seventh. [...]

The Cardinals made another roster move today, placing struggling closer Jason Isringhausen on the 15 day disabled list, and calling up Memphis closer Chris Perez.  Here’s the full press release.
The move is no surprise.  Isringhausen had already been pulled from his ninth inning duties to try to build confidence in easier spots.  Last night’s poor outing was his sixth blown save and fifth loss of the year.  Something had to be done. Hopefully he’ll be able to come back fresh after the DL stint.
Meanwhile, Perez joins fellow youngsters Kyle McClellan and Mike Parisi in the Cardinals’ bullpen.  In 18 games [...]

There’s not a whole lot to say here.  The Cardinals’ bullpen gave up a lead to a mediocre Pittsburgh Pirates team, and lost in embarrassing fashion 11-5.
Just when we thought last night’s win could propel this team back to its early season ways, the struggling pen let us down again.  The late innings combination of Jason Isringhausen and Ron Villone allowed seven runs in two innings to blow the lead and lose the game.  Here’s the recap and box score.
Losing a series to the Pirates can be demoralizing.  The Cards are now 3-7  in their last 10, and 2 games out of first [...]