Daily Rant: Lohse Helps His Cause & Holliday Goes Deep

A rain delay is the only thing that prevented Kyle Lohse from having yet another quality start last night.  He did however go 5 strong innings, and hit a game-tying single for an RBI in the 5th.  Matt Holliday added to his NL RBI lead, and hit his 24th homerun of the season.

Box Score:

Behind the Box Score:  Kyle Lohse won his 8th straight decision, and has not lost since June 15th.  He has allowed more than 3 earned runs only twice all season, and has been absolutely fantastic.  His RBI single in the 6th tied the game, and the St. Louis Cardinals needed every run they earned Monday night.

The Redbirds didn’t allow an early 2 run deficit deter them from their winning ways, as Skip Schumaker, Kyle Lohse, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina each had an RBI.

Matt Holliday hit his first homerun in 11 games, and has 9 RBI in his last 5 games, pushing his season total to 90.  He now sits at a .311 batting average, 24 homers, 90 RBI, 83 runs, and 4 steals.

Aside from an unearned run and 4 hits, the bullpen was again sparkling.  Lance Lynn pitched 1 1/3 innings, coming out of the bullpen for the first time in quite some time.

Fernando Salas pushed his scoreless streak to 10 innings over his last 11 appearances.  He has allowed just 4 hits over that span, and has 11 Ks in that time.

Mitchell Boggs has been scoreless over his last 9 outings after his 2/3 of an inning last night, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 10.

Marc Rzepczynski threw just one pitch on the night, which went for a Pedro Alvarez single.

Jason Motte immediately followed, and earned the 4 out save, finishing the game with his lone strikeout of the night.

Quick Look At The Standings:  With a 6th inning homer from an unlikely source for the Cincinnati Reds, Bronson Arroyo, the Reds kept the standings the same last night.  Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman each pitched an inning of relief to secure the win.

St. Louis Cardinals fans have to be more than happy with how the incredibly difficult road trip has gone thus far.  Let’s hope the winning continues tonight, as Jake Westbrook faces off against James McDonald.  These two faced off the last time the two teams met, the Cardinals taking a 2-1 defeat, while mustering only 4 hits.  Let’s hope there’s another “That’s a winner” on the lips of Mike Shannon tonight in an ode to the late Jack Buck.