Pedro Martinez is not coming back but Cole Hamels did his best impersonation Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hamels struck out the first five batters he faced, an impressive feat that had shades of Pedro’s electrifying All-Star Game performance in 1999.
The lefty’s day on the mound only got better. He pitched eight innings and allowed only one hit in a masterful performance.
The Phillies needed him to be near perfect to get a much-needed win. Hamels set the tone for the bullpen to keep the Cardinals off the board into extra innings until Placido Polanco came through with a solo [...]

Adam Wainwright won 19 games last year and finished at the top of voting for the Cy Young. It was a special year for the young pitcher. He finally came into his own and at the same time joined the elite hurlers of the generation.
The best young arms have only improved and grown in numbers since then. The stellar pitching on the mound that has resulted in pristine ERAs, plenty of strikeouts, fewer home runs, and a couple of no hitters, is making 2010 one for the history books. In the revamped version of the Year of the Pitcher, Wainwright [...]

Adam Wainwright is already dominating opposing hitters this season. He is 13-5 with a 2.11 ERA. The guy has it all. He throws a hard fastball, a big hook, and a cutter-slider hybrid that can break any bat. Throw in command of every pitch and a desire to win and it’s almost not fair. The past two years, he has been among the top pitchers in baseball and this season he has the chance to top 20 games and take home the Cy Young. You would think all he needs to do is stay focused and healthy for the rest [...]

The National League trailed the American League 1-0 heading into the seventh inning Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The Senior Circuit was running out of chances to win its first All-Star Game since 1996. Derek Jeter looked cool and confident on the bench and it seemed destined to end 1-0 in a year dominated by pitching.
And then, the division cursed by mediocrity since 2007 took center stage. The NL Central sparked the comeback to give the league a big 3-1 win.
The NL Central. Home to the Pirates, Reds and Brewers. Home to the Cubs who won the division in 2007 [...]

Adam Wainwright grew up rooting for the Atlanta Braves. The kid from Brunswick, Ga., cheered on the boys in Fulton County Stadium before Atlanta became a power in the National League. Then, he watched Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz dominate on the mound – mesmerized and inspired to do the same.
When the Braves drafted him in 2000, it felt like a dream. He went to Spring Training with Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz and watched from up close, taking notes and working hard so one day he could live up to the legacy of pitching greatness.
He learned that pitching [...]

The St. Louis Cardinals have been frustrating in an up-and-down first half of the 2010 season and at times embarrassing according to one St. Louis baseball expert.
The All-Star Game selections were a surprising highlight for this struggling Cardinals team. St. Louis tied the Atlanta Braves with five selections for the most in the National League. Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina were voted in by the fans as starters. Pujols led the league in voting for the second straight year despite a ho-hum first half. It will be his ninth consecutive All-Star appearance. Molina, hitting .231, benefited from fan voting and his [...]

It’s been a while since I last did a photo gallery to retrace the steps of the game and I would like to get back into that routine of daily coverage on the Cards actual games. Tonight, Albert Pujols was the man driving an easy for St. Louis. Pujols hit a pair of two-run home runs and drove in another run on a gapper to left for a total of five RBI. The king at the plate came up big for the Cards king on the hill who threw 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Adam Wainwright struck out seven [...]

A day after wasting Chris Carpenter’s gem, the Cardinals are looking to score some more runs for their other ace. Adam Wainwright takes the mound for the Cards in a showdown with Clayton Kershaw. Wainwright will play the role of stopper for St. Louis, trying to avoid the sweep. Wainwright is 8-3 with a 2.05 ERA. Along with Carpenter and rookie Jaime Garcia, the Cards deck is full. All three could be All-Stars in a month. The offense has been holding the club back from taking off. St. Louis is tied for first place in the division with a 33-26 [...]

Matt Holliday roped a double to left to drive in the winning run in the second inning Thursday against the Florida Marlins. Holliday’s double was the big hit in the Cards three-run second that gave them a 4-2 lead. St. Louis would win the game by that score and take over first place in the division.
It was his first extra-base hit with men in scoring position since April 7, according to MLB.com. If he can turn it on, the Cards may be ready to take off. Albert Pujols said earlier this month that the Cards hadn’t scratched the surface of [...]

The Reds came into the month of May riding a five-game win streak. The Cardinals ended that run and won the second series between the division rivals. Now, the Cards are faced with the same task as the Reds welcome them to Cincinnati on another five-game win streak. Cincy is looking for their first series win against the Redbirds this year. Tonight, the Reds have their sights set on first place in the NL Central. With a win, they would jump St. Louis by a half-game in the standings to become top dog for a day. A week ago, first [...]