Daily Rant: Cardinals take first game in series against Rockies

The Cardinals took on the Rockies in game one of a four game set in St Louis on Monday night. The Cardinals offense struck early and often to knock down the woeful Rockies 9-3 despite being outhit 11-10. Find out more details after the jump.

Box Score

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Colorado	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	11	1
St Louis	1	0	1	0	3	1	2	1	X	9	10	0
WP	K. Lohse (8-2)
LP	T. Chatwood (1-1)

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	K	SB	LOB	Season Avg
R. Furcal ss	4	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	3	.276
J. Jay cf	3	2	1	0	0	2	1	1	1	.321
M. Holliday lf	3	1	2	2	1	1	1	0	0	.311
C. Beltran rf	2	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	1	.308
A. Craig 1b	4	2	2	3	2	1	1	0	3	.322
Y. Molina c	5	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	.309
D. Freese 3b	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.286
D. Descalso 2b	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	.223
K. Lohse p	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	.121
M. Boggs p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Cleto p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	9	10	8	3	8	6	1	14

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	WHIP	Season ERA
K. Lohse (W, 8-2)	7.1	9	2	2	2	5	1	1.12	2.80
M. Boggs	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.07	2.02
M. Cleto	1.0	2	1	1	0	2	1	1.71	5.14

The Positives

Jon Jay hit his second double of the season and scored two runs to go with his seventh stolen base.
Matt Holliday hit his thirteenth home run of the season which drove in two runs. He also had a single to raise his average to .311
Carlos Beltran had two RBIs without even getting a hit. Not a bad night.
Allen Craig blasted his twelfth and thirteenth home runs of the season. He drove in three runs and now leads the team with a .322 average
Yadier Molina picked up a single and scored a run for the Cardinals.
David Freese had a three hit night and scored a run.
Kyle Lohse lasted seven and a third innings and only gave up two earned runs. He allowed eleven base runners and struck out five.
Mitchell Boggs hurled two thirds of a perfect inning

Justin’s Jeers

Rafael Furcal and Daniel Descalso were held hitless. Furcal reached base on a walk, though, and scored a run.
The Cardinals stranded fourteen runners. Daniel Descalso led the way with four men left on.
Mikael Cleto pitched the ninth inning for the Cardinals and gave up home run.

Three Stars

3) Carlos Beltran – Even without recording a hit, Beltran drove in two runs.

2) Matt Holliday – Holliday blasted a home run and drove in two runs.

1) Allen Craig – Craig’s two home runs put the game out of reach.

Standings

Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Cincinnati Reds	44	35	.557	—	23-16	21-19	339	300	+39	Won 1	6-4
Pittsburgh Pirates	43	36	.544	1.0	24-13	19-23	308	293	+15	Won 1	6-4
St. Louis Cardinals	42	38	.525	2.5	19-18	23-20	404	341	+63	Won 2	7-3
Milwaukee Brewers	37	42	.468	7.0	21-19	16-23	350	360	–10	Won 3	5-5
Houston Astros	32	48	.400	12.5	23-19	9-29	323	385	–62	Lost 5	4-6
Chicago Cubs	30	49	.380	14.0	19-20	11-29	290	358	–68	Won 4	6-4

Today’s Game

The Cardinals host the Rockies for game two tonight at 7:15. Jeff Francis makes the start for the Rockies against the rookie Joe Kelly. Francis is 1-1 with a 5.47 ERA since returning to the Rockies. The Cardinals actually showed a lot of interest in Francis when he was let go by the Reds, but neglected to make the move due to not knowing the severity of Jaime Garcia‘s injury. So far, it has looked like a blessing in disguise. Francis does have five wins against the Cardinals in nine starts in his career, though, with a 3.05 ERA. Joe Kelly, of course, is a wild card due to the Rockies not knowing a lot about him. He’s 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in four starts this season. He really hasn’t been hit around too much in any of his starts. His last two starts were quality starts, while his first two were shortened before he could reach the six inning limit.

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