Jaime’s Outing

In case you missed it, Jaime Garcia’s outing last night (Saturday) was not exactly one worth remembering. Tony La Russa’s hands were tied, as he was forced to sit back and watch as Jaime tried to produce for him as many innings as possible.

What happened:

Jaime Garcia pitched the worst game of his young MLB career. He didn’t have his good stuff, nothing was working for him, he was having trouble throwing strikes, and his strikes were being hit. Also, Garcia just plain seemed to have a lot of bad luck, with a wacky first inning getting him off to a bad start.

By the Numbers:

• 3 1/3 – the total number of innings pitched by Garcia Saturday night
• 106 – the amount of pitches that Jaime threw in those 3 1/3 innings
• 11 – the amount of hits conceded by Garcia, a career high for the lefty
• 12 – the number of runs allowed by Jaime (11 of them were earned)
• 4 – the number of walks given up by Garcia
• 1.35 – the numerical raise in Garcia’s ERA because of the game. Jaime’s ERA rose dramatically from a 1.93 to a 3.28 as a result of this hectic blowout.
• 1 – loss for Garcia this season
• 1 – game

What Next?

In the end, those last two bullets there are the only ones worth truly focusing on. This forgettable outing brings Jaime’s win-loss record to an impressive 5-1. Despite the fact that these guys are professionals, it is expected that they encounter a bump in the road every once in a while. Jaime’s production thus far in the 2011 campaign has been enough to show us what he is truly capable of.

Saturday’s game really was bad all around for the Cards, as the offense had a tough time getting to Rockies starter Juan Nicasio. But all in all, it was only one game in the Cardinals 2011 season, and after Saturday the Cards still had a 2.5 game division lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. Games like this are going to happen, and that is why the MLB season consists of 162 games.