Mulder Removed After Just 16 Pitches

I’m back!  My trip to St. Louis over the holiday weekend was awesome.  I got to watch some Cards/Cubs baseball, drink lots of beer, and hang out with some family and friends.  I’ll talk more about the trip later.

For now, after a very impressive start from Joel Pineiro in last night’s win over the Phillies, the Cardinals dropped game two of the series 4-2.  The buzz about tonight’s game, however, isn’t really about the loss.  Instead, as the title reads, Mark Mulder, getting his first start since September of 2007, lasted just a third of an inning before experiencing some discomfort in his twice repaired left shoulder.  After striking out Jimmy Rollins to lead off the game, Mulder walked the next two, and was hitting the showers after only 16 pitches.  He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow.  Is this the end for Mark?  I guess we’ll find out soon.

Tony La Russa opted for Brad Thompson out the pen to fill in with two on and one out in the first.  Thompson got Phillies’ slugger Ryan Howard to ground into an inning ending double play, and continued his effective pitching into the fourth.  The Phillies hit two solo home runs in the eight to take the lead, one off of each of Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez.  Brad Lidge continued his dominance with the save for Philadelphia in the ninth.

The Cardinals’ offense had their chances throughout the night, but couldn’t come through.  They scored two in the fifth, courtesy of an Albert Pujols sac fly and an RBI single from Troy Glaus.  The Cardinals left 12 men on base.  Here’s the complete box score.

There’s plenty more news floating around Cardinal Nation, including the recent trades made by the other two NL Central contenders.  The Brewers acquired the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia, and the Cubs traded for Rich Harden.  Each of the moves makes the teams much stronger, while making the Cards look inferior, especially after the situation with Mulder tonight.  La Russa is hopeful that John Mozeliak and the front office won’t sit back and let Cardinals fall from the race without help.  Matthew Leach has the full story.

By now you’ve heard that a pair of Cardinals are headed to New York later this month for the All Star game.  Ryan Ludwick will be making his first appearance, while this is the seventh time for Albert Pujols.

That’s it for tonight.  I’ll discuss more tomorrow.  Game three from Philly features Jamie Moyer and Braden Looper.  The Cards need a win, as they now trail Chicago by 4.5, and lead Milwaukee by only a half-game.