Daily Rant: Cardinals snap skid with close win over Pirates

The Cardinals hosted the Pirates for the third game in their series. They unfortunately already secured a series loss, so they were looking to avoid the sweep and stop a three game skid with this game. Jake Westbrook gave up runs early, but the offense backed him up to pick up the win. Details follow after the jump.
Box Score
Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Pittsburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
St Louis | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
WP | J. Westbrook (7-6) | |||||||||||
LP | E. Bedard (4-9) | |||||||||||
SV | J. Motte (17) |
AB | R | H | RBI | HR | BB | K | SB | LOB | Season Avg | ||
R. Furcal ss | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .280 | |
M. Carpenter 1b | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .291 | |
M. Rzepczynski p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
M. Boggs p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
J. Jay cf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .321 | |
M. Holliday lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .307 | |
A. Craig rf-1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .311 | |
D. Freese 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .279 | |
J. Motte p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
Y. Molina c | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .312 | |
S. Robinson cf-rf | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .252 | |
T. Greene 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .226 | |
D. Descalso ph-2b-3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .228 | |
J. Westbrook p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .160 | |
S. Schumaker ph-rf-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .286 | |
Totals | 31 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | WHIP | Season ERA | ||
J. Westbrook (W, 7-6) | 6.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1.34 | 3.91 | |
M. Rzepczynski (H, 10) | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.55 | 5.86 | |
M. Boggs (H, 12) | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.09 | 2.06 | |
J. Motte (S, 17) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.97 | 3.25 |
The Positives
- Rafael Furcal picked up a single to raise his average to .280.
- Matt Carpenter hit a single and scored two of the Cardinals five runs.
- Matt Holliday his his 19th double of the season and drove in his 49th RBI.
- Allen Craig his his eleventh home run of the season and his two RBIs were his 38th and 39th of the season
- David Freese picked up a single in his first audition for the MLB Final Vote.
- Yadier Molina hit his thirteenth home run of the season.
- Shane Robinson had two singles and an RBI.
- Marc Rzepczynski, Mitchell Boggs, and Jason Motte combined for three scoreless innings. Motte pitched one a third perfect innings with two strikeouts to pick up the save.
Justin’s Jeers
- Every starter had a hti except for Tyler Greene. The Cardinals had a good offensive day, but still left fourteen runners stranded.
- Jake Westbrook just missed out on the quality start due to a rocky fourth inning. If not for giving up a home run, his line would have looked much better.
Three Stars
3) Shane Robinson – Robinson picked up two hits and an RBI.
2) Yadier Molina – Yadi’s early blast scored the first run for the Cardinals in this game.
1) Allen Craig – Craig’s two-run shot helped the Cardinals keep pace with the Pirates.
Standings
Central | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | RS | RA | Diff | Streak | L10 |
Cincinnati Reds | 43 | 35 | .551 | — | 23-16 | 20-19 | 331 | 298 | +33 | Lost 1 | 5-5 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 42 | 36 | .538 | 1.0 | 23-13 | 19-23 | 297 | 291 | +6 | Lost 1 | 6-4 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 41 | 38 | .519 | 2.5 | 18-18 | 23-20 | 395 | 338 | +57 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 36 | 42 | .462 | 7.0 | 20-19 | 16-23 | 344 | 355 | –11 | Won 2 | 5-5 |
Houston Astros | 32 | 47 | .405 | 11.5 | 23-19 | 9-28 | 321 | 374 | –53 | Lost 4 | 4-6 |
Chicago Cubs | 29 | 49 | .372 | 14.0 | 19-20 | 10-29 | 286 | 357 | –71 | Won 3 | 5-5 |
Today’s Game
The Cardinals host the Colorado Rockies tonight at 7:15 in the first of a three game series. Kyle Lohse takes a 7-2 record and 2.82 ERA to the mound against Josh Outman. Outman is 0-3 this season with a 9.32 ERA.