Daily Rant: Cardinals overcome early Astros offense to pick up series win

The Cardinals hosted the Astros on Tuesday night and had the daunting task of facing Cardinal killer Bud Norris. He was not the titan he usually is against the Cardinals and really hasn’t fared well in his last few starts against St Louis. The title could be fading from the usually lowly Norris.

Box Score

Houston Astros	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	0
St Louis Cardinals	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	X	4	9	1
WP	K. Lohse (13-2)
LP	B. Norris (5-11)
SV	J. Motte (29)

	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	K	SB	LOB	Season Avg
J. Jay cf	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	.313
M. Carpenter 3b	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.302
M. Holliday lf	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.302
C. Beltran rf	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	.278
A. Craig 1b	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	.308
Y. Molina c	3	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	.321
D. Descalso 2b	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	4	.227
R. Furcal ss	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.267
K. Lohse p	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.082
S. Robinson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.259
M. Boggs p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
J. Motte p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	31	4	9	3	0	2	2	1	11

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	WHIP	Season ERA
K. Lohse (W, 13-2)	7.0	3	2	2	0	3	2	1.08	2.61
M. Boggs (H, 24)	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1.07	2.05
J. Motte (S, 29)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.93	2.68

The Positives

Jon Jay picked up two singles, a run, an RBI, and his 14th stolen base. Jay has really emerged as an elite center fielder this season.
Matt Holliday hit a single and his 29th double of the season. He scored one of the Cardinals four runs, but was caught stealing on an attempt.
Carlos Beltran hit his 23rd double.
Allen Craig hit a single and scored a run.
Yadier Molina hit a single and drove in his 59th run.
Daniel Descalso hit his eighth double and drove in his 17th RBI.
Rafael Furcal hit a single and scored a run.
Kyle Lohse hurled seven innings of three hit baseball. He gave up two solo home runs, including one to former top Cardinal prospect Brett Wallace.
Mitchell Boggs and Jason Motte each pitched scoreless innings. Motte picked up his 29th save.

Justin’s Jeers

Matt Carpenter got the start at third base and went hitless.

Three Stars

3) Matt Holliday – Holliday scored a run in a two hit performance.

2) Kyle Lohse – Lohse pitched a masterful game with only two mistakes keeping him from a shutout performance.

1) Jon Jay – Jay has been on a tear since returning from the DL.

Standings

Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	pW	pL	Magic#
Cincinnati Reds	76	49	0.608	0	41-22	35-27	545	470	72	53	30
St Louis Cardinals	67	56	0.545	8	39-26	28-30	597	482	74	49	31
Pittsburgh Pirates	67	57	0.540	8.5	37-23	30-34	515	500	64	60	30
Milwaukee Brewers	57	66	0.463	18	38-28	19-38	563	570	61	62	21
Chicago Cubs	47	76	0.382	28	30-28	17-48	457	559	49	74	11
Houston Astros	39	85	0.315	36.5	27-35	12-50	458	636	42	82	2

Wild Card	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	pW	pL	Magic#
Atlanta Braves	71	53	0.573	0	36-29	35-24	570	485	72	52	35
St Louis Cardinals	67	56	0.545	0	39-26	28-30	597	482	74	49	39
Pittsburgh Pirates	67	57	0.540	0.5	37-23	30-34	515	500	64	60	39
Los Angeles Dodgers	67	58	0.536	1	33-28	34-30	497	466	67	58	38
Arizona Diamondbacks	64	61	0.512	4	33-28	31-33	567	524	67	58	35

Schedule