Daily Rants: Adam Wainwright can’t turn things around against Giants

Adam Wainwright had another poor start as he continues to be slow in his return from Tommy John surgery. Did the Cardinals bats pull him out of his rut?

The Cardinals came out of the chute with singles by Skip Schumaker and Matt Carpenter. Matt Holliday hit a sacrifice fly to score Schumaker. Lance Berkman hit a double to move Carpenter to third. David Freese hit a sacrifice fly to score Carpenter and Yadier Molina hit a pop up to end the frame. Wainwright started his outing by inducing a Gregor Blanco fly out. He then gave up a double to Brandon Crawford who advanced to third on a fielding error by Carpenter. Melky Cabrera grouned out, but Buster Posey hit a single to score Crawford. Angel Pagan walked, but Brandon Belt hit a grounder to end the inning with the Cardinals up 2-1.

Daniel Descalso started the second inning off with a single. He stole second after Shane Robinson flew out to right. Wainwright struck out and Schumaker flew out to eliminate the threat. For the Giants, Emmanel Burriss hit a weak grounder but reached base on a fielding error by Berkman. Charlie Culberson and Matt Cain both grounded out, but the grounders advanced Burriss to third. Gregor Blanco walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Brandon Crawford then hit a single that scored both Burriss and Blanco. Cabrera grounded out to end the inning with the Giants up 3-2.

Matt Carpenter led off the third with a single and scored on a Matt Holliday two-run home run. Berkman hit a double, but was followed by a David Freese fly out. Yadier Molina reached first after being hit by a Matt Cain pitch. Descalso grounded out, advancing Berkman and Yadi. Shane Robinson was intentionally walked to load the bases, but Wainwright struck out to end the inning. Wainwright induced a ground ball to Posey, but walked Pagan and Belt. Burriss ended the threat with a double play ball.

The pitchers settled in for the next few frames, as the sides were retired in the fourth, fifth, and top of the sixth inning. Unfortunately, that’s when things fell apart for Wainwright. He gave up a single to Pagan and a double to Belt. Burriss hit a sacrifice fly to score Pagan. Culberson grounded out to record the first out. Victor Marte came in for Adam Wainwright to face a pinch-hitting Aubrey Huff. Huff reached base on a Freese throwing error which score Belt. Gregor Blanco walked and Brandon Crawford popped out to end the inning with the Giants back in the lead 5-4.

Jeremy Affeldt came in for Matt Cain in the seventh. He induced ground balls out of Carpenter, Holliday, and Berkman to retire the side. In the seventh, Kyle McClellan came in to relieve Victor Marte. He induced a pop fly out of Melky C abrera, but gave up a single to Posey. He walked Pagan to put runners on first and second. Brandon Belt hit a double to score Posey and knock McClellan out of the game. Mitchell Boggs walked Burriss to start his outing. He gave up a grounder to Culberson that scored Pagan. Nate Schierholtz walked in a pinch hit appearance. Boggs then struck out Blanco to end the inning with Giants up 7-4.

Sergio Romo came in to the game in the eighth for the Giants. Romo struck out Freese to start things off. He gave up a deep blast to Yadier Molina to bring the Cardinals within two. Descalso grounded out to record the second out and a pinch-hitting Furcal grounded out to end the frame. Eduardo Sanchez relieved Boggs in the eighth. He popped up Crawford and grounded out Cabrera. Posey worked his way into a walk, but Pagan grounded out to erase the runner.

Down two runs, the Cardinals entered the ninth to face Santiago Casilla. Carlos Beltran pinch hit for Eduardo Sanchez and popped up. Schumaker grounded out and Carpenter struck out to end the game with a final score of 7-5.

Box Score

Notes from the Game

• Kyle McClellan is experiencing some soreness in his throwing elbow. While it wouldn’t be a huge loss for the bullpen, McClellan is the Cardinals most versatile pitcher.
• Allen Craig sat out the game with a sore hamstring that might land him back on the disabled list. Craig has the ability to be an everyday player, but not the health.
• Carlos Beltran missed his fourth straight start with a sore knee. He pinch hit in the game, but the knee has to be a concern for Mike Matheny and the Cardinals.

Tonight’s Game

The Cardinals start a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight. They are the only team not in interleague play. The Dodgers have had an equally great start to the season anchored by strong play from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier and solid pitching by Clayton Kershaw, Ted Lilly, and Chris Capuano. The Cardinals will send out Lance Lynn, who is coming off his first loss of the season, against 5-0 Ted Lilly. Game time is set for a 9:10 start time in the central market. Redbird Rants will have the recap tomorrow.