Daily Rant: Cardinals complete sweep with 7-0 trouncing

The Cardinals successfully swept the rebuilding Chicago Cubs with a 7-0 victory yesterday. The sweep was necessary to keep pace with the Pirates and Reds who also swept their opponents. The Cardinals will now face a much stiffer challenge. Details after the jump.
Box Score
Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Chicago Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
St Louis Cardinals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 12 | 0 |
WP | L. Lynn (12-4) | |||||||||||
LP | T. Wood (4-5) |
AB | R | H | RBI | HR | BB | K | SB | LOB | Season Avg | ||
T. Greene 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .214 | |
A. Craig 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .304 | |
F. Salas p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
S. Schumaker ph-lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .321 | |
M. Holliday lf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .321 | |
M. Rzepczynski p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
C. Beltran rf | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .292 | |
D. Freese 3b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .305 | |
J. Jay cf | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .304 | |
T. Cruz c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .197 | |
D. Descalso ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .231 | |
L. Lynn p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .086 | |
M. Carpenter ph-1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .282 | |
Totals | 34 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | WHIP | Season ERA | ||
L. Lynn (W, 12-4) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1.21 | 3.10 | |
F. Salas | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.53 | 4.41 | |
M. Rzepczynski | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.47 | 5.06 |
The Positives
- Allen Craig hit a single and scored a run. His average is now back over .300
- Matt Holliday had another two hit night, as he his his 24th double and his sixteenth home run of the season. He scored twice and drove in a run.
- Carlos Beltran belted his 21st home run of the season. He leads the Cardinals with 69 RBIs
- David Freese hit a single and reached base twice on walks.
- Jon Jay had a perfect 4-4 day. He hit three singles, his eighth double, scored once, and drove in two runs.
- Tony Cruz hit his fifth double of the season and drove in two runs.
- Daniel Descalso hit two singles and scored a run.
- Lance Lynn had another fantastic outing. He pitched six shutout innings and only allowed four hits and three walks.
- Fernando Salas and Marc Rzepczynski pitched a combined three shutout innings to close the game out.
Justin’s Jeers
- Tyler Greene was held hitless. He and Descalso are the only Cardinals starters with averages under .300
Three Stars
3) Carlos Beltran – Beltran blasted another home run to put another run on the board for the Cardinals.
2) Matt Holliday – Holliday had yet another two hit night and belted a home run for good measure
1) Jon Jay – Jay went on a tear, belting four hits to lead the Cardinals to victory.
Standings
Central | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | RS | RA | Diff | Streak | L10 |
Cincinnati Reds | 55 | 40 | 0.579 | — | 31-18 | 24-22 | 396 | 345 | 51 | Won 4 | 8-2 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 54 | 40 | 0.574 | 0.5 | 32-14 | 22-26 | 390 | 348 | 42 | Won 5 | 7-3 |
St Louis Cardinals | 50 | 45 | 0.526 | 5 | 26-20 | 24-25 | 464 | 378 | 86 | Won 3 | 5-5 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 44 | 50 | 0.468 | 10.5 | 26-23 | 18-27 | 415 | 426 | -11 | Lost 3 | 5-5 |
Chicago Cubs | 38 | 56 | 0.404 | 16.5 | 24-21 | 14-35 | 347 | 424 | -77 | Lost 3 | 6-4 |
Houston Astros | 34 | 62 | 0.354 | 21.5 | 24-21 | 10-41 | 370 | 477 | -107 | Lost 6 | 1-9 |
Today’s Game
The Cardinals start a four game set with the Dodgers at 7:15 tonight. Rookie Joe Kelly takes the mound against Chad Billingsley. Kelly is 1-2 with a 2.75 ERA. He hasn’t made any starts against the Dodgers, but he is currently riding a five game quality start streak. Billingsley is 4-9 with a 4.30 ERA and is making his first start back from the disabled list for elbow inflammation. He has one win in eight starts against the Cardinals and a 4.63 ERA to go with his record. This could potentially be his last start before Tommy John surgery if his elbow isn’t as healed as the Dodgers are hoping