Cards @ Giants – 4/11

Last night, it looked as if the Cardinals didn’t show up to play, falling to San Francisco 5-1.  Some were speculating the reason for the lackluster showing was jet lag.  The Cards didn’t arrive at their hotel until 3:30 in the morning.  Others are simply stating that the bats were silenced by the opposing pitcher, Kevin Correia.  I think it was a little of both.  I thought Correia was outstanding, but I also noticed the lack of fire from the usually energetic young Birds.  I thought that Adam Wainwright would dominate, giving the Cardinals their best start to a season since 1981.  He pitched a pretty good game until the seventh when the wheels came off.  Joe Strauss has a nice recap of last nights action.

The two teams are back at it again tonight, with Kyle Lohse starting for St. Louis.  For San Francisco, Barry Zito gets the ball.  The former ace is 0-2, with a 6.30 ERA.  According to Strauss, Brian Barton is in the lineup against the lefty tonight.  Be sure to check out Derrick Goold’s Bird Land.  He’s done some research, and examines Barton and company’s role in the team’s scoring thus far.

Obviously, I’d like to see the Cardinals take the remaining three games of this series, but I think it’s easier said than done.  After Zito tonight, the Giants throw Matt Cain tomorrow, and Tim Lincecum on Sunday. The Cardinals aren’t scoring many runs on lesser pitchers, and have ended up atop the division almost solely on the performances from their starters.  I don’t think it’s realistic to expect them to continue at their current pace.  If the Redbirds are to take the series, they’re certainly going to need to plate a lot more runs. Perhaps Barton could get them started.