Redbirds Week in Review—7/23/12 to 7/29/12

This week began with a four game series with the Dodgers in which the Birds took 3 of 4.  Then the Cardinals traveled to Wrigley field to take on the Cubbies, but they did not fare so well.  After winning Game 1 in  true Cardinal fashion by blasting 5 HRs in the first 5 innings to beat the Cubs, the Cardinals proceeded to then drop the next two to lose the series to our Chicago rivals.  Mixed bag to say the least.  On to the recaps.

Monday July 23, 2012—Cardinals 3 Dodgers 5

Cardinals get on the board first in the 1st.  Jon Jay doubles to right field and Lance Berkman singles him home.  The Dodgers answer in the 2nd, putting up 3 on a 3 run homer against starter Joe Kelly.  The score remained 3-1 Dodgers until the 7th when the Dodgers put up two more against Redbird relievers Fernando Salas, Barrett Browning and Victor Marte.  The Cardinals score 2 in the 8th on a two run jack by Carlos Beltran, but it is not enough and the Redbirds go down to defeat 5-3.

Tuesday July 24, 2012—Cardinals 8 Dodgers 2

Adam Wainwright start for the Redbirds.  First 3 are scoreless, but in the 4th, the Dodgers score 2 on two singles and a ground rule double.  The Cards tied it up in the 5th when Daniel Descalso singles to center and then Wainwright hits an RBI double to left field.  Rafael Furcal follows with an RBI single to center.  The Birds then blow it open in the 6th scoring 6 runs.  Starts with a walk to Matt Holliday, followed by a double to left by Carlos Beltran. David Freese then hits a single to center, scoring Holliday.  David Freese then steals second base putting two runners in scoring position.  Then with two outs, the flood gates open.  Clayton Kershaw intentionally walks Daniel Descalso, then unintentionally walks Adam Wainwright to score another run.  With the base loaded, Rafael Furcal singles to score Freese and Descalso.  The Dodgers bring in reliever Josh Lindblom, who gives up a line drive double to center off the bat of Allen Craig, scoring the final two runs.  Wainwright gets the win.

Wednesday July 25, 2012—Cardinals 3 Dodgers 2

Extra innings result in a walk off win for the Cardinals.  Dodgers get on the board first in the 2nd on a Hanley Ramirez triple and a sac fly by James Loney.  Cards answer in the bottom of the 2nd with 1 run on a walk by Allen Craig, a single by Yadier Molina and a double play ground out by David Freese that scores Craig.  The Cardinals score the go ahead run in the 5th on a lead off double by David Freese, a ground out by Skip Schumaker and a sac fly by starting pitcher Kyle Lohse.  The Dodgers tie it up again in the 6th on a double and a single.  The score remains tied until the bottom of the 12th when pinch hitter Lance Berkman draws a walk and is replaced by pinch runner Joe Kelly.  After a strike out by Skip Schumaker, Matt Carpenter singles to center field, but runner Joe Kelly falls down rounding second base and is unable to progress to third.  Rafael Furcal hits a walk off RBI single to left scoring Joe Kelly without major structural damage or further injury to Joe Kelly’s ego. Fernando Salas gets the win.  Baby giraffe references follow.

Thursday July 26, 2012—Cardinals 7 Dodgers 4

Cardinals get on the board with 2 in the 4th.  Allen Craig hits a lead off double to right.  David Freese singles to center and Matt Carpenter singles to right, scoring Craig.  Tony Cruz then follows with a single to right, scoring Freese.  The Dodgers take the lead in the 5th, scoring 4 off of Jake Westbrook.  But the Birds battle back in the bottom of the 5th scoring 4.  Daniel Descalso singles to right.  Matt Holliday walks. Allen Craig singles to left, scoring Descalso.  David Freese singles to right, scoring both Holliday and Craig.  Matt Carpenter then singles to right and then Tony Cruz singles to right, scoring Freese.  Cardinals add one more in the 6th on a solo shot by Matt Holliday.  Final score is 7-4 Redbirds.  Jake Westbrook gets the win.

Friday July 27, 2012—Cardinals 9 Cubs 6

Day game at Wrigley Field, wind blowing in.  1st inning solo shot by Matt Holliday puts the Redbirds on the board. The Cubs answer in the bottom of the 1st with 3 runs off Lance Lynn, who didn’t have his best stuff.  In the 2nd, two run shot by Yadier Molina ties the game.  Matt Carpenter walks, and Daniel Descalso hits a triple to right, scoring Carpenter.  Lance Lynn plates Descalso on a sac fly.  Cardinals add to their lead in the 3rd on solo shot by Lance Berkman.  Cubbies answer with 3 more in the bottom of the 3rd to tie the game.  In the 4th, a solo shot by Matt Carpenter puts the Cardinals back in the lead.  In the 5th, another solo shot, this time by Allen Craig increases the lead to 8-6.  The Birds add one more in the 7th when Jon Jay is hit by a pitch, steals second and then advances to third on a throwing error by the catcher.  Matt Holliday then hits an RBI single to center.  Lance Lynn gets his 13th win and the Cardinal set a record by hitting 5 home runs in 5 consecutive innings for the first time in Cardinals history.

Saturday July 28, 2012—Cardinals 2 Cubs 3

Joe Kelly on the bump.  Cards score first in 1st on three consecutive walks to Skip Schumaker, Jon Jay and Matt Holliday, followed by a fielder’s choice ground out by Carlos Beltran to score Schumaker.  Cubs answer back with 2 in the bottom of the 1st on a single, a double and a triple.  Redbirds tie the game on a walk to Lance Berkman, a single by Yadier Molina, a walk to Matt Carpenter and a sac fly by Daniel Descalso.  Cubs take the lead in the 7th on a walk and two singles.  Redbirds are unable to make a comeback.  Joe Kelly takes the loss.

Sunday July 29, 2012—Cardinals 2, Cubs 4

Another extra inning game and another walk off—by the Cubs.  Cubs score 1 in the 1st against Adam Wainwright. The Cubs score another in the 2nd on a walk and a double plus some less than stellar defense by the Redbirds. Cardinals finally score in the 7th on a single by David Freese, a double to right by Matt Carpenter and a sac fly by Tyler Greene.  The Birds tie it up in the 8th when Carlos Beltran hits his 23rd home run of the season.  The game remained tied until the bottom of the 10th, when Anthony Rizzo wins the game for the Cubs by hitting a 2 run shot off of Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal.  The Cubs take the series and Rosenthal takes the loss.