Daily Rant: Cardinals drop first game in I-70 Series

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The Cardinals hosted the Kansas City Royals last night in the first game in a three game set. The Royals jumped out to an early lead and didn’t let up. The Cardinals had a late push to win the game, but fell short as the Royals won 3-2. Who performed well for the Birds? Find out after the jump.

Box Score

Final123456789RHE
Kansas City0110001003111
St. Louis0000002002110
WP: V. Mazzaro (3-1) S: J. Broxton (16)
LP: K. Lohse (6-2)
ABRHRBIHRBBKSBLOBSeason Avg
D. Descalso 2b300001103.227
A. Craig rf401000002.350
    A. Chambers pr-cf000000000.188
M. Holliday lf400000001.267
C. Beltran cf-rf402000110.301
D. Freese 3b411000103.275
Y. Molina c400000102.318
M. Adams 1b412100100.268
T. Greene ss403000111.231
K. Lohse p201000001.115
    S. Robinson ph101100000.269
    F. Salas p000000000.000
    S. Freeman p000000000.000
    R. Furcal ph000000000.292
 Totals342112016213
IPHRERBBKHRWHIPSeason ERA
K. Lohse (L, 6-2)7.010332401.142.98
F. Salas1.00000101.735.03
S. Freeman1.01000001.123.38

The Positives

  • Allen Craig, David Freese, and Shane Robinson picked up singles. Freese scored one of the team’s two runs.
  • Carlos Beltran had a two-hit night and recorded his seventh stolen base of the season.
  • Matt Adams also had a two-hit night. He hit an RBI double to drive in one of the Cardinals two runs and scored the other one himself.
  • Tyler Greene had a three hit night and stole his eighth base of the season.
  • Fernando Salas and Sam Freeman combined for two innings of scoreless baseball to end the game. Freeman allowed one hit, but otherwise the duo was perfect.

Justin’s Jeers

  • Tyler Greene started at short to give Rafael Furcal a much-needed night off. This wasn’t a jeer, but obviously Rafi leaves a huge hole at the top of the lineup. Daniel Descalso got the start at second and led off for the Cardinals, but was held hitless.
  • Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina were also kept off base.
  • While Beltran notched his seventh stolen base, he was also caught stealing once. Mike Matheny has put emphasis on the running game, but I’m not totally comfortable with Beltran burning it on the basepaths with the state of his knees.
  • As a unit, the Cardinals stranded thirteen base runners. Descalso and Freese led the way with three a piece.
  • Kyle Lohse technically picked up a quality start, but it was more luck than anything. He pitched seven innings and only gave up three earned runs, but he also allowed ten hits and two base runners. Against a better offensive unit, Lohse would have gotten rocked.

Three Stars

3) Carlos Beltran – Beltran picked up two hits and added to his stolen base total.

2) Tyler Greene – Greene had a three hit night, but it was largely wasted as he never scored.

1) Matt Adams – Adams was responsible for both runs scored by the Cardinals as he drove in one and scored the other.

Standings

CentWLGBSRS
CINF36270.4
PITF32314.0-0.5
STLF33324.00.5
MILF29357.5-0.7
HOUF27379.5-0.7
CHCF224214.5-1.0

Today’s Game

The Cardinals look to even the series today at 1:15 as they send out Joe Kelly against Bruce Chen. Chen is 5-6 and currently has a 4.44 ERA. Kelly made his first start last week and had a pretty solid outing. He hopes to repeat his results today but add a notch in the win column.