Daily Rant: Cardinals end skid with late inning homer

After a grueling week last week in which the Cardinals lost five of seven, the Redbirds needed a turn around this week. They hopefully started it last night with a victory over the Padres. In a revamped recap, find out our thoughts on the game after the jump.

Instead of giving a full game recap like we had been, we’re going to change things up a little bit. If you are reading this publication, you’re obviously a Cardinals fan and therefore I’m willing to bet that you either saw the game or at least checked the box score. You don’t need us at the Rants to tell you who popped out in the third inning. We exist to provide you the reader with many things, such as information, entertainment, and occasionally nostalgia. Mostly, though, this publication exists to give you opinion. It’s the reason sports talk radio is so important. People like to know what other people think of the things they mutually like. With that in mind, let’s try out the new format of the Daily Rant.

Box Score

The Positives

• Rafael Furcal continued his hot season, batting one for four with an RBI. Fans have obviously been talking about the benefit of signing Carlos Beltran with the money freed up by Albert Pujols, but let’s not forget that losing out on Pujols made it even easier to sign Furcal. With Ryan Jackson performing well at AAA, Furcal may not be needed beyond this season, but he’s been a fantastic stop gap at the position.
• Matt Carpenter has developed into a tremendous role player. He’s done a good job filling in for Lance Berkman and allows Mike Matheny to sit David Freese occasionally. If everyone returns healthy by the deadline, Carpenter could be a valuable trade piece.
• Matt Holliday continues to slowly come back from his cold start to the season. He still doesn’t quite look like the MVP that I predicted, but he’s hitting in good spots for the Cardinals
• Yadi had a two hit game and threw out a baserunner. The talk after he signed his extension was that the Cardinals overpaid, but it’s not looking like it so far.
• Tyler Greene was the star of the show for the offense. With three hits, including the game-winning home run, he led the Cardinals to victory. If he can continue to hit after an ice cold start, he could finally lock down the second base position, which would allow Descalso and Skip to solidify their more valuable positions as utility guys.
• It was a home game, so Jaime pitched exceptionally well. He only allowed eight baserunners through seven innings and struck out seven. He still needs to work on being more comfortable on the road, but games like this one help to build confidence.
• Jason Motte allowed an inherited runner to score in the eighth, but still pitched a scoreless ninth to lock down the win for the Cardinals. He’s been the Cardinals best relief pitcher, which is what you want out of your closer.

Justin’s Jeers

• Carlos Beltran had an Ofer, but we’ll have to give him a pass as he is playing through some serious knee pain. With all the injuries to the roster, the Cardinals obviously can’t afford for Beltran to lose time also, but they also can’t really afford to not have his bat in the lineup. Until Craig, Jay, and Berkman return, it will be interesting how Matheny gets Beltran rest days.
• After a solid first game, Matt Adams was held hitless in his second. It’s nothing to have huge concern over as these type of games will happen, but the two strikeouts are definitely a cause for concern. One of Adams biggest flaws in the minors was a lack of patience, so he’ll need to work on that in order to be successful at this level.
• Shane Robinson was also hitless. He’s been admirable in his fill-in role in the outfield, but since he has cooled off, it might be time to throw Adron Chambers a couple spot starts.
• After a primary MRI, the word on Lance Berkman is he suffered a torn meniscus, which would only put him out for around six to eight weeks. Lance is seeking a second opinion, though, to be sure, so the Cardinals aren’t out of the woods on this one yet. We here at the Rants wish Lance the best and hope that the prognosis is minor.

Three Stars

A victory seems like the best place to unveil our three stars section.

3) Yadier Molina – With two hits, a run, and a runner thrown out, Yadi was the tying run in the game and may have saved a run by getting the sure-footed Chase Headley off the bases

2) Jaime Garcia – Jaime didn’t dominate the Padres, but he kept them at bay just enough for the offense to net the Cardinals a win.

1) Tyler Greene – Greene had three hits including the game-winning home run. He also scored two and drove in two. The Cardinals don’t win this game without Tyler Greene.

Standings

Today’s Game

Today, the Cardinals host the Padres for the second game in their three game set. The Cardinals send out 2-5 Adam Wainwright against 2-3 Edinson Volquez. This light-hitting lineup is the perfect foil for Wainwright to turn his season around. He currently sports a 5.77 ERA and has struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery. Volquez has a 3.04 ERA, but has historically pitched poorly in Busch Stadium, as he holds a 7.50 ERA in three starts. Redbird Rants will have the recap after the game.

What did you think of the new format? Let us know iin the comment section.