Daily Rant: Cardinals drop game in late innings

The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning and squandered it last night. The Reds scored three runs in the bottom frame and the Cardinals couldn’t answer back. They ended up losing 5-3. Details follow after the jump.

Box Score

Final123456789RHE
St Louis011000010391
Cincinnati00001031X570
WPA. Simon (1-1)
LPA. Wainwright (7-9)
SVA. Chapman (12)
ABRHRBIHRBBKSBLOBSeason Avg
R. Furcal ss411001013.274
J. Jay cf401001200.312
M. Holliday lf501100203.315
C. Beltran rf401001202.296
A. Craig 1b510000105.304
Y. Molina c412000102.307
D. Freese 3b200002101.292
S. Schumaker 2b302100001.314
    S. Robinson ph101100000.256
    B. Browning p000000000.000
    F. Salas p000000000.000
A. Wainwright p200000202.057
    V. Marte p000000000.000
    T. Greene ph-2b000001000.226
 Totals343930611119
IPHRERBBKHRWHIPSeason ERA
A. Wainwright (L, 7-9)6.15442411.344.62
V. Marte0.20001101.464.30
B. Browning0.21110100.201.80
F. Salas0.11001001.675.10

The Positives

  • Rafael Furcal picked up a single and a stolen base. He also scored one of the Cardinals three runs.
  • Jon Jay and Carlos Beltran also hit singles and drew walks.
  • Matt Holliday drove in his 57th run of the season with an RBI single.
  • Yadier Molina had a two hit game including a run scored and his 16th double of the season. Welcome back, Yadi!
  • Skip Schumaker also had a two hit night and drove in his sixteenth run of the season.
  • Lance Berkman was activated from the disabled list after the game. He may even start in tonight’s game.

Justin’s Jeers

  • Allen Craig and David Freese were held hitless. Craig did score a run and Freese drew two walks.
  • The Cardinals stranded nineteen runners. Allen Craig led the way with five men left on.
  • Adam Wainwright actually had a solid outing going before coming out for the seventh inning. He ended with a line of four runs allowed in six and a third, but that number would have been one run in six innings if he had been pulled sooner.
  • Barrett Browning gave up his first earned run of the season.
  • The Cardinals found out before the game that Kyle McClellan was officially done for the season. Due to McClellan being arbitration-eligible, there is a good chance he doesn’t get tendered a contract. We may have seen K-Mac’s last outings as a Cardinal.

Three Stars

3) Shane Robinson – Robinson had a pinch-hit single that drove in a run in the eighth. The Cardinals couldn’t complete the rally, though.

2) Yadier Molina – Molina picked up two hits and a run in his first game back from the bereavement list.

1) Skip Schumaker – Schumaker hit two singles and drove in a run in this losing effort.

Standings

 CentralWLPctGBHomeRoadRSRADiffStreakL10
 Cincinnati Reds4838.55824-1624-22363319+44Won 46-4
 Pittsburgh Pirates4838.55829-1419-24352323+29Lost 17-3
 St. Louis Cardinals4641.5292.523-2023-21429361+68Lost 16-4
 Milwaukee Brewers4145.4777.023-2118-24394400-6Won 27-3
 Chicago Cubs3452.39514.020-2014-32325387-62Won 27-3
 Houston Astros3354.37915.524-219-33345421-76Lost 21-9

Today’s Game

The Cardinals now enter game two and hope to even the series with the Reeds. Kyle Lohse starts for the Cardinals against Mike Leake. Lohse is 9-2 this season with a 2.79 ERA. He has ten starts against his former team in his career and has picked up wins in three of those starts. He currently has a 3.38 ERA against Cincinnati and has been solid on the road this year. Leake is 3-6 with a 4.01 for the Reds this season. He has three starts against the Cardinals in his young career and has picked up a win against them. His career ERA against St Louis is 6.06. Game time is set for 3:05