Mariners at Cardinals, Game 149 Thread

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Well, I hoped that last night’s game wouldn’t be nearly as ugly as Friday’s, but it was. The only real difference is that the Cardinals lost last night. It was a pretty underwhelming performance, especially from the offense, which put up a grand total of three hits.

So what black hole swallowed up the Cardinals’ potent offense? Who knows. I certainly don’t. What I can say is that two players need to really come alive for the finale against the Mariners: Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina.

Now it is true that Matt Carpenter single-handedly willed the Cardinals out of a shut out last night (by stretching a routine single into a what-on-earth-are-you-thinking-Matt? double and then scoring on a wild pitch). It is also true that he’s two for six with three walks, meaning that he’s been doing his job. But he hasn’t been getting on early in the game, and St. Louis needs to find their offense quickly here tonight. So my hope for Matt Carpenter is that he can rip a double in his first at bat today and get the Cards fired up early.

Molina, on the other hand, has been struggling like crazy. He may be hurt, and may need more rest, but the fact of the matter is that our beloved MVP candidate has reached base once since September 7, eight days ago. He has not recorded a hit during those four games, and his batting average has dipped from .323 to .312. If the Cardinals want a chance at winning, he needs to start putting up some numbers offensively.

He’ll have a chance to do so today against Seattle right-hander Erasmo Ramirez. Although he’s 5-1 in his 10 starts this season, he still sports an unimpressive 4.57 ERA. One would hope that the streaky Cardinals’ offense would decide to get hot against him and really kick start the team before heading to Denver.

On the mound for the Redbirds is Shelby Miller. He rebounded in his last start and looked phenomenal. If that Miller shows up, then the Mariners shouldn’t have an opportunity to score more than 1 or 2 runs. At least, let’s hope not.

Now for the Sad Fact of the Day: The Cardinals have hit only 8 home runs in the month of September. Four of those have come off the bat of Matt Adams. I cannot tell you how tired I am of seeing those balls die on the warning track.

Now, it’s time to watch the game! Let’s go St. Louis!!!

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