Rants Daily: Adam Wainwright continues to struggle in loss to Braves

The Cardinals took on the Braves in game two of their three game set last night and the results were not good for Adam Wainwright. Wainwright has struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery. Could the Cardinals overcome his troublesome start?

The game started out poorly for the Cardinals hurler as he allowed five base runners before recording his first out. Wainwright struggled with control early, as he walked three straight batters which resulted in two runs. The Cardinals couldn’t answer in their half of the first inning as Rafael Furcal, Carlos Beltran, and Matt Holliday were retired in order.

Wainwright had a marginally more successful second frame, as he retired the side in order. The Cardinals got a base runner aboard in the bottom of the second as David Freese took a walk. The opportunity was squandered, though, as Yadier Molina and Jon Jay failed to score the runner.

Wainwright’s struggles continued in the third inning. He forced Freddie Freeman to ground out, but gave up a double to Dan Uggla. Uggla scored on a Brian McCann single, making the score 3-0. Wainwright gave up another single to Chipper Jones and walked rookie shortstop Tyler Pastornicky, but escaped the inning without allowing any more runs to score. Rafael Furcal was walked in the bottom of the third, but the Cardinals bats were quieted again and another opportunity was wasted.

Wainwright had a solid fourth inning as he retired the side, but the Cardinals offensive woes continued. Allen Craig hit a single, but was erased on a fielder’s choice by David Freese. Yadier Molina struck out to end the inning without putting a run on the board.

Wainwright’s struggles returned in the fifth inning. He allowed the first three batters to reach base on two singles and a walk. After striking out Jason Heyward, Wainwright gave up singles to Pastornicky and starting pitcher Brandon Beachy which scored two runs. This ended Wainwright’s evening, as he was relieved by Fernando Salas. Salas retired the following two batters to end the inning unscathed. Beachy continued to dominate the Cardinals hitters as struck out two and induced a Tyler Greene pop fly for another scoreless frame.

Salas walked Freddie Freeman to open the sixth inning, but retired the next three batters to end the inning without allowing any runners in. The Cardinals finally put up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning. Furcal hit a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Carlos Beltran reached base on a walk, and was followed by Matt Holliday who was also given a free pass. Allen Craig hit a sacrifice fly to score a run, but the inning ended with a David Freese double play ball.

Salas continued to pitch well, as he retired the side in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, Kris Medlen quieted the Cardinals bats in the bottom of the inning, so the score remained at 5-1.

A struggling J.C. Romero came in to relieve Fernando Salas and proceeded to give up a home run to Michael Bourn, who now has as many home runs as Albert Pujols on the year. Romero retired two hitters, put on Dan Uggla with a walk, and induced a Brian McCann ground ball to end the inning. Romero continues to pitch poorly and is at risk of losing his role. He is the low man on the bullpen totem pole and the Cardinals have relievers at AAA that could potentially out perform him.

Daniel Descalso hoped to turn around the Cardinals offensive woes as he hit a triple to start the bottom of the eighth inning and was then batted in by a red hot Rafael Furcal, who hit a single to record his second hit of the night. Furcal was erased by a Carlos Beltran ground ball that resulted in a double play. Matt Holliday then grounded out to end the inning with the Cardinals down 6-2.

J.C. Romero came back out to finish out the game in the ninth. He started out strong by inducing a popout from Chipper Jones and striking out Jason Heyward. He began to struggle again, though, allowing back to back singles to Pastornicky and a pinch-hitting Matt Diaz. He then gave up a double to Bourn which allowed another run to score. Romero finally ended the inning with a groundout. With the game on the line, Allen Craig started off the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately, he struck out. David Freese followed that up with another strikeout, but Yadier Molina hit a single to bring Jon Jay up to bat.  Jay finished the game with a groundout to the second baseman.

Final Result

News From the Day

• There were reports that Chris Carpenter could return by June, but it now looks like that was an optimistic estimate. John Mozeliak suggested a timetable that could see Carpenter beginning a throwing program in early June and looking for a post-All Star break return
• The Lance Berkman saga could be coming to an end, as Berkman is slated to return from the disabled list for Sunday’s game. Matt Carpenter and Shane Robinson are looked at as the biggest risks to be bumped down to AAA.
• Major League Baseball is considering banning the fake throw to third with runners on the corners. If approved, the move would result in a balk. This is an effort by the MLB to speed up the game.

Sunday Preview

After unfortunately securing a series loss, the Cardinals look to stop their two game skid in a 1:15 game with the Braves. Red hot Lance Lynn puts his 6-0 record on the line against 3-3 Tommy Hanson. Hanson has a 2.57 career ERA against the Cardinals in one career start against them. As stated, this game could see the return of Lance Berkman from injury and is also David Freese bobblehead day. As always, Redbird Rants will have the recap of the game.

You can ‘Like’ Redbird Rants by clicking here. You can follow Redbird Rants on Twitter at@FSRedbirdRants and you can follow Justin McClary on Twitter at @jmcclary22.