Looper Pounded in Loss

Last night’s 8-2 loss to Houston was ugly.  It started with the very first batter, and by the time the first three outs were recorded, Braden Looper had allowed  four runs to score.  It was definitely a bad night for the Cardinals’ starter.  He lasted only 4.1 innings, throwing just 55 of his 101 pitches for strikes.  Seven of his eight runs allowed were earned.

“I didn’t get the job done, didn’t give us a chance from the beginning,” Looper said.

Most of the Cardinals’ offense was provided by Albert Pujols.  His solo homer in the fourth got the Cards on the board, and he finished 4 for 4 on the night. Rick Ankiel missed a home run on the very next at-bat by a few inches, and Brian Barton’s first career home run was somewhat lost in the beating that his team endured.  Here’s the full recap and box score.

The loss put the two teams in a tie for second place at seven games above .500, and 1.5 behind the Cubs.  Tonight, Adam Wainwright hopes to get the Cards back on track.  He’s coming off a strong outing last Friday against the Dodgers.  Wandy Rodriguez takes the mound for Houston.  Although he beat the Cardinals back on April 7, tonight’s game is his first since going on the disabled list on April 20.  I’d guess he’ll be less than sharp, and Wainwright has as good a chance to quiet the Astros lineup as anyone.

In other news, St. Louis placed starting pitcher Joel Pineiro on the DL today.  Mike Parisi is now scheduled to make the start on Saturday, and Kelvin Jimenez was called up to fill the void in the bullpen.  Rick Hummel has the full story.