Daily Rant: Cardinals shut out for second game in a row

The Cardinals were stymied by Mets pitching again yesterday, as R.A. Dickey shut them out through nine innings. The Cardinals have now neglected to score in nineteen consecutive innings. Did anybody step up for the offense? Find out after the jump.

Box Score

	Final		1		2		3		4		5		6	7	8	9	R	H	E

	St. Louis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	2

	NY Mets	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	X	5	9	0


WP: R.A. Dickey (8-1) LP: L. Lynn (8-2)

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	K	SB	LOB	Season Avg
R. Furcal ss	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.327
D. Descalso 2b-1b	4	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	.245
M. Holliday lf	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	.272
C. Beltran rf	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.287
D. Freese 3b	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.257
Y. Molina c	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.330
M. Adams 1b	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	.289
V. Marte p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
E. Sanchez p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
A. Chambers ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.200
M. Boggs p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
S. Robinson cf	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	.256
L. Lynn p	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	.115
T. Greene 2b	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	.217
Totals	31	0	7	0	0	0	9	0	11

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	WHIP	Season ERA
L. Lynn (L, 8-2)	4.2	5	3	2	4	3	0	1.13	2.63
V. Marte	1.1	3	1	1	0	1	0	1.18	4.01
E. Sanchez	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.91	2.35
M. Boggs	1.0	1	1	1	0	2	1	1.14	2.28

The Positives

Rafael Furcal, Carlos Beltran, and Yadier Molina each picked up a hit a piece, while Daniel Descalso and Shane Robinson picked up two hits. They still got shut out, but they at least registered hits.
Descalso continued to show his versatility by playing first base. He has now played every infield position. Might he conquer the outfield next and be the new Secret Weapon?
Eduardo Sanchez continues to pitch well out of the pen since being called up from AAA.

Justin’s Jeers

Offense. Offense. Offense. Eleven baserunners were left on base. No one took a walk. It only took Dickey 100 pitches to complete the game. The performance was completely unacceptable.
Matt Holliday, David Freese, Matt Adams, and Tyler Greene were completely shut down by Dickey.
Lance Lynn‘s stat line looked ok, but his control continues to deteriorate. He allowed nine base runners through four and two thirds. The fact that only three crossed the plate was more luck than anything. Lynn is noticeably regressing. How will the Cardinals react?
Victor Marte may have reached the end of his line with the Cardinals. He is sporting a 4.01 ERA and as other pitchers get sent down, he starts to become the worst pitcher out of the pen statistically.

Three Stars

3) Eduardo Sanchez – Sanchez was the only pitcher to not allow an earned run. He looks ready to be a late inning reliever in tense situations.

2) Daniel Descalso – Descalso recorded two hits and showed versatility by playing two positions in this game.

1) Shane Robinson – Robinson records his first star with a two hit performance.

Standings

Cent		W	L	GB	SRS
CIN	F	30	22	—	0.2
STL	F	27	26	3.5	0.5
PIT	F	26	26	4.0	-0.7
MIL	F	24	29	6.5	-0.8
HOU	F	22	31	8.5	-0.5
CHC	F	18	34	12.0	-1.1

Today’s Game

The Cardinals take on the Mets in game three of this four game set tonight at 7:10. The Cardinals will send out 4-4 Jake Westbrook to take on 3-2 Jon Niese. Westbrook has a 3.84 ERA but has looked shaky in his last few outings. Niese has a 4.55 ERA and is making his first career start at Busch Stadium.

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