Daily Rant: Déjà Vu – Another Cardinals Shutout

Wednesday night was another bad night for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Again, they mustered only 5 hits, and couldn’t score a run.  Trevor Rosenthal was fabulous in relief, but all the damage was done before Joe Kelly left the mound.

Box Score:

Behind the Box Score:  After a Jon Jay leadoff walk in the 1st, the Cardinals were sat down in order.  The Pirates got 2 doubles in the bottom of the frame, the last scoring Travis Snider, making it 1-0.

The Redbirds went in order in the 2nd, and the Buccos had nothing doing on their end either.

A walk and a single in the 3rd looked like the start of a possible rally, but Matt Holliday flew out to Travis Snider to end the Cardinals half of the frame.  In The Pittsburgh Pirates half of the frame, Travis Snider and Garrett Jones walked in front of Pedro Alvarez.  He deposited a Joe Kelly fastball in the right field seats for his 26th homerun of the season, making it 4-0.

After Pedro Alvarez’s 21st double of the season, Josh Harrison singled him home in the 5th to round out the scoring.

The positives on the night were the 2-4 games had by David Freese and Matt Holliday.  Add to that the 3 scoreless innings pitched by Trevor Rosenthal, allowing just one hit, walking none, and striking out 3.  That’s about it though.

Quick Look At The Standings:  After an embarrassing showing in prime time last night, the St. Louis Cardinals take on the 78-51 Washington Nationals in a continuation of their season-long road trip.

With just one game now separating the Redbirds from the Pittsburgh Pirates, they need a strong showing from Jaime Garcia tonight (3-5, 4.15) against Edwin Jackson (7-9, 3.72).  The Cincinnati Reds have an off day, and so do the Pirates.  It’s a chance for the Cardinals to make up a half-game if they win, while their division foes rest up for weekend series against the Astros and Brewers respectively.

The Redbirds now need at least a 3-1 weekend against the Nationals if they hope to demonstrate that they are serious contenders for the final Wild Card spot.  The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers are hot on their heels, with just over 30 games to play for each of the 3 teams.