Daily Rant: Cardinals even up series with 3-2 win

The Cardinals hosted the Marlins for the second game of a three game home set. Kyle Lohse put up another solid performance and the offense put up just enough runs to get him a victory.

Box Score

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Miami	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	1
St Louis	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	X	3	8	1
WP	K. Lohse (9-2)
LP	C. Zambrano (4-7)
SV	J. Motte (20)

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	K	SB	LOB	Season Avg
R. Furcal ss	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	.273
J. Jay cf	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.322
M. Holliday lf	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	.317
C. Beltran rf	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	.300
A. Craig 1b	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.308
D. Freese 3b	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	.294
S. Schumaker 2b	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	.301
D. Descalso 2b	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.223
T. Cruz c	4	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	5	.190
K. Lohse p	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	.111
M. Boggs p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
S. Robinson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.250
J. Motte p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	3	8	3	0	2	8	0	19

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	WHIP	Season ERA
K. Lohse (W, 9-2)	7.0	3	2	2	1	4	1	1.08	2.79
M. Boggs (H, 13)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1.10	1.93
J. Motte (S, 20)	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1.02	3.05

The Positives

Jon Jay, Matt Holliday, David Freese, Skip Schumaker, and Tony Cruz all belted singles. Holliday coupled that with a walk, Freese with a walk and a run, Schumaker with a run and an RBI, and Tony Cruz with two of the Cardinals three runs batted in.
Allen Craig had a three hit night including two doubles. He also had a fielding error at first, but thankfully it didn’t hurt the Cardinals.
Kyle Lohse hurled a quality start, giving up two earned runs through seven innings of work. He only allowed four base runners and struck out four.
Mitchell Boggs pitched a scoreless eighth to get the ball into the closer’s hands.
Jason Motte did his job, pitching a scoreless ninth inning to earn his twentieth save of the season.

Justin’s Jeers

Rafael Furcal and Carlos Beltran were held hitless.
The Cardinals nineteen stranded runners could have potentially cost them a victory if the Marlins could push runs across the plate. Tony Cruz led the way with five men left on.

Three Stars

3) Tony Cruz – Cruz hit a single that scored two of the Cardinals three runs, including what ended up being the game winner.

2) Allen Craig – Craig had a three hit night and scored a run. He would have had the first star if not for the error.

1) Kyle Lohse – Lohse pitched a great game and made the Cardinals three run lead last.

Standings

Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Pittsburgh Pirates	47	37	.560	—	28-14	19-23	332	311	+21	Won 1	8-2
Cincinnati Reds	46	38	.548	1.0	23-16	23-22	354	314	+40	Won 2	5-5
St. Louis Cardinals	45	40	.529	2.5	22-20	23-20	421	352	+69	Won 1	5-5
Milwaukee Brewers	39	45	.464	8.0	22-21	17-24	379	390	-11	Lost 1	6-4
Houston Astros	33	52	.388	14.5	24-20	9-32	341	411	-70	Won 1	1-9
Chicago Cubs	32	52	.381	15.0	19-20	13-32	310	386	-76	Lost 1	6-4

Today’s Game

With the series tied at a game a piece, the Cardinals host the Marlins at 1:15 today in the deciding third game. Anibal Sanchez will pitch for the Marlins while Joe Kelly goes for the Cardinals. Sanchez is 4-6 for the Marlins with a 4.19 ERA. He has two wins in five career starts against St Louis and carries a 3.31 ERA. Joe Kelly is making his sixth start on the season. He has a streak of three quality starts going and hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any of his starts so far. The Cardinals will be without catcher Yadier Molina and may rest some of their All Stars such as Holliday, Beltran, Freese, and Furcal. The Marlins will be without right fielder Giancarlo Stanton who found out yesterday that he will have to undergo knee surgery. The Cardinals also host special guests for the game as myself and Redbird Rants staff writer David Jenkins will be in attendance. Look for us in the left field bleachers.

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