Daily Rant: Cardinals drop third straight

The Cardinals took on the Pirates in the second game of their three game series last night. The results weren’t as bad as the first game, but the Cardinals still came out on the losing end. In a 7-3 loss, there were a few bright spots for the Redbirds. Find out more after the jump.

Box Score

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

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	K	SB	LOB	Season Avg
S. Schumaker 2b	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.291
T. Greene ph-2b	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.227
J. Jay cf	4	2	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	.321
M. Holliday lf	3	0	2	1	0	1	1	0	1	.307
C. Beltran rf	4	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	3	.310
A. Craig 1b	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	.312
D. Freese 3b	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	.280
D. Descalso ss	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	.225
T. Cruz c	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.196
L. Lynn p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.100
S. Robinson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.244
B. Browning p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Carpenter ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.290
M. Cleto p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
V. Marte p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	3	6	3	0	2	8	2	11

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	WHIP	Season ERA
L. Lynn (L, 10-4)	5.0	7	6	6	4	6	1	1.25	3.62
B. Browning	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	0.00
M. Cleto	1.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1.67	4.50
V. Marte	1.0	1	1	1	0	1	0	1.42	3.82

The Positives

Jon Jay hit his third double of the season, scored two runs, drove in his tenth run of the season, and stole two bases.
Matt Holliday had a two hit night and drove in his 48th run of the season.
Carlos Beltran his his tenth double on the year and drove in his 61st run.
Allen Craig had a single, which raised his average to .312.
Tony Cruz got the start behind the plate and hit his third double of the season. He also scored a run.
Barrett Browning made his debut for the Cardinals and hurled two perfect innings in relief. He also struck out one batter.
Mikael Cleto made his first appearance after getting called up and also pitched a perfect inning. He stuck out the side in the eighth.
I like the way Matheny is handling recent call-ups. Often times, relievers would get called up and it would be a few games before Tony put them in and even then they might get an inning of work before being sent back down. I like that Matheny uses his guys right away to see what he has.

Justin’s Jeers

A couple of Cardinals were held hitless. Skip Schumaker and Daniel Descalso couldn’t put the ball in play, although Schumaker did reach base on a walk.
The Cardinals could have used runs off of any of the eleven base runners that were stranded. Beltran led the way with three runners left on.
Lance Lynn got hit early and never really bounced back. He lasted five innings, but gave up six earned runs on eleven base runners. He struck out six, but walked four.

Three Stars

3) Carlos Beltran – Beltran drove in a run with a double.

2) Matt Holliday – Holliday’s two hits and one RBI weren’t enough to sway the game for the Redbirds.

1) Jon Jay – With two runs, an RBI, and two stolen bases, Jay did it all in this game.

Standings

Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Cincinnati Reds	43	34	.558	—	23-16	20-18	328	294	+34	Won 2	5-5
Pittsburgh Pirates	42	35	.545	1.0	23-13	19-22	293	286	+7	Won 4	7-3
St. Louis Cardinals	40	38	.513	3.5	17-18	23-20	390	334	+56	Lost 3	6-4
Milwaukee Brewers	35	42	.455	8.0	19-19	16-23	342	354	–12	Won 1	4-6
Houston Astros	32	46	.410	11.5	23-19	9-27	321	371	–50	Lost 3	4-6
Chicago Cubs	28	49	.364	15.0	18-20	10-29	283	357	–74	Won 2	5-5

Today’s Game

The Cardinals look to avoid the sweep today as Jake Westbrook takes the mound against Erik Bedard. Westbrook has a 6-6 record and a 3.77 ERA. In six starts against Pittsburgh, he is winless and carries a 5.06 ERA. He also hasn’t been very good at home this year. Bedard has a 4-8 record to go with his 4.27 ERA. He only has two starts against the Cardinals, but has been awful on the road this season as six of his losses have come away from PNC Park. He carries a 6.23 record on the road. Game time is set for 1:15.

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