St. Louis Cardinals fall 3-2 to Los Angeles Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals fell 3-2 in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers as former hitting coach Mark McGwire and super-utilityman Skip Schumaker made their return to Busch Stadium.

Aug 5, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter (13) slides safely past Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis (17) during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The first question to Mark McGwire, prior to the game, was not about his return to the city of St. Louis. Rather, the questions were about the suspensions handed down by Major League Baseball on Monday.

“You’re going to have to ask the players,” McGwire said about the Biogenesis penalties. “You’ve heard players wanted more (penalties) and that’s something they’re going to have to look at. I wish I never was a part of it … Just get rid of it. If it’s better to have bigger suspensions, then they’ll have to change it.”

McGwire stressed that he wished he was never a part of it.

Adam Wainwright started the game for the Cardinals. Wainwright pitched 7 innings and picked up the loss. He allowed 7 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and struck out 5 batters. In his last three starts, Wainwright has either picked up a loss or no-decision. Both starts came during the Cardinals road trip against the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The highlight of the top half of the first inning was seeing Wainwright get Yasiel Puig looking on a called third strike to end the inning. There were shades of the 2006 NLCS Game 7 series-clinching at-bat at that time.

The Cardinals got on the board in the first inning when Matt Carpenter led off the game with a double but advanced to third base as a result of Puig’s throwing error. Carpenter ended up scoring when Carlos Beltran reached on a fielder’s choice.

The Cardinals had a chance to score in the 5th inning but Allen Craig was thrown out on the throw from Yasiel Puig and Nick Punto. They would score again in the 7th inning when Craig grounded out and drove in pinch-hitter Adron Chambers. This followed a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Beltran.