Daily Rant: Cardinals demolished in series opener against Pirates

The Cardinals kicked off a three game home set with the Pirates in poor fashion on Thursday night as they were defeated 14-5. Adam Wainwright had another very poor showing and the offense was held to two hits through the last six innings. Find out more after the jump.

Box Score

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	2	0	0	0	3	4	0	2	3	14	19	0
St Louis	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	7	0
WP	K. Correia (4-6)
LP	A. Wainwright (6-8)

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	K	SB	LOB	Season Avg
R. Furcal ss	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.280
J. Jay cf	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.323
M. Holliday lf	4	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	.303
S. Robinson rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.246
C. Beltran rf	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	.311
M. Rzepczynski p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
A. Craig 1b	4	2	2	3	1	0	1	0	1	.314
Y. Molina c	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.311
D. Freese 3b	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.284
D. Descalso 2b	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	.230
A. Wainwright p	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	.062
E. Sanchez p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
S. Schumaker ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.297
F. Salas p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
S. Freeman p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Carpenter lf	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.293
Totals	34	5	7	5	1	2	8	0	7

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	WHIP	Season ERA
A. Wainwright (L, 6-8)	5.0	11	7	7	1	7	2	1.34	4.75
E. Sanchez	1.0	3	2	2	0	0	1	1.60	6.60
F. Salas	1.0	1	2	2	2	0	0	1.86	6.04
S. Freeman	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.42	6.00
M. Rzepczynski	1.0	3	3	3	1	0	1	1.56	6.00

The Positives

Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran, and David Freese picked up singles. Jay scored a run, while Beltran and Freese each drove in one a piece.
Matt Holliday had a two hit night. He hit two singles to raise his average to .303.
Allen Craig also had a two hit night as he hit his eleventh home run of the season. He ended the night with three RBI.
Sam Freeman pitched a scoreless inning.

Justin’s Jeers

Rafael Furcal, Yadier Molina, and Daniel Descalso were held hitless. Furcal and Descalso did reach base on walks, though.
The Cardinals stranded seven runners. Matt Holliday led the way with two.
Adam Wainwright had an awful outing, as he gave up seven earned runs and twelve base runners through five innings. He struck out seven, but allowed two home runs.
Eduardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas each gave up two earned runs in their innings of work. Sanchez gave up a third home run for the Cardinals pitching.
Marc Rzepczynski pitched the ninth inning and gave up three earned runs including the fourth Pirates home run of the game.

Three Stars

3) Matt Holliday – A two hit night, but he didn’t push any runs across the plate.

2) Carlos Beltran – Beltran picked up another RBI to pad his All Star argument.

1) Allen Craig – Craig proved why he is vital to this team with another home run.

Standings

Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Cincinnati Reds	42	34	.553	—	23-16	19-18	326	293	+33	Won 1	4-6
Pittsburgh Pirates	41	35	.539	1.0	23-13	18-22	286	283	+3	Won 3	6-4
St. Louis Cardinals	40	37	.519	2.5	17-17	23-20	387	327	+60	Lost 2	6-4
Milwaukee Brewers	34	42	.447	8.0	18-19	16-23	332	352	–20	Lost 1	4-6
Houston Astros	32	45	.416	10.5	23-19	9-26	319	368	–49	Lost 2	4-6
Chicago Cubs	27	49	.355	15.0	17-20	10-29	280	355	–75	Won 1	5-5

Today’s Game

Jeff Karstens takes the mound for the Pirates. He is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. Meanwhile, 10-3 Lance Lynn leads the way for the Cardinals. He is looking to rebound from one of his worst starts of the season. Currently he has a 3.23 ERA. Game time is set for 1:15

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