St. Louis Cardinals look all wet in loss
By Steve Ungrey
Not even Michael Wacha can save Cards from loss
It looked like the St. Louis Cardinals were still in rain-delay mode when Saturday’s game started against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After scoring one run in the first inning, the Cardinals went into hibernation. That cost Michael Wacha a chance at his eighth victory of the year.
A four-run sixth inning was the culprit as the Dodgers cruised to a 5-1 victory at Busch Stadium, and Wacha fell to 7-1 overall.
Wacha allowed four earned runs on three hits and struck out seven batters as his ERA rose to 2.27.
An RBI groundout by Jhonny Peralta scored Kolten Wong with what turned out to be the Cardinals’ only run of the game. From there the Dodgers took over.
Yasmani Grandal, who just returned from a seven-day stint on the concussion disabled list, crushed a three-run homer off of Wacha and effectively put the game out of reach for the Cardinals.
Early in the game, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday reached base and extended his string of consecutive games with at least one on-base appearance to 44. Holliday was pulled from the game after four innings due to illness. He had exhibited flu-like symptoms earlier in the week.
The Cardinals dropped to 32-17 overall but got a little bit of luck. Saturday’s scheduled game between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs was rained out, leaving the Cardinals six games up on both the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Up next
The Cardinals close out this series with a 2:15 p.m. game on Sunday. The Dodgers will send Brett Anderson (2-2, 3.47) to the hill while St. Louis counters with Carlos Martinez (4-2, 3.54).