Offensive Outburst Earns Cards a Split

Just a quick post today, as the team has the day off.  I’m working on a rather lengthy post for the weekend when the team hosts the Braves.

Last night the Cardinals were able to trounce the Pirates 11-2.  They tallied 13 hits, and scored in five of their eight innings at the plate.  Jason LaRue got the scoring started in the second inning with a sacrifice fly, and added a two-run homer in the seventh.  Rick Ankiel also went deep with a two run shot in the third, his 24th.

Todd Wellemeyer earned his eleventh win of the season, pitching 5 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 5 hits.  He also struck out five.  Russ Springer, Jaime Garcia, Ryan Franklin, and Chris Perez threw a shutout for the remaining four frames.  Here’s the complete box score.

The Cardinals could have used some of those runs on Tuesday, when the offense was silent until the ninth inning.  The series split didn’t allow the team to gain any ground on Milwaukee in the Wild Card race.

A three game series against Atlanta starts tomorrow night, with Adam Wainwright scheduled to take the mound for the first time since his finger injury.  Charlie Morton will pitch for the Braves.  With the regular season winding down in hurry, hopefully the Cards feel a sense of urgency, and can string together a nice winning streak.  Who better to start the streak than Wainwright?