Daily Rant: A Preview Of The Weekend Ahead

Though the St. Louis Cardinals are losers of 6 of their last 9, they did recently take 2 of 3 from the New York Mets.  With any luck, their recent success against the Milwaukee Brewers will continue, as they have beaten them in 8 of their last 12 contests.  The Redbirds have to be careful not to get overly confident though, as a 13-4 stretch over the Brewers last 17 games has them just 7 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the final Wild Card spot.

Mike Matheny is only concerned with what the St. Louis Cardinals do.  He knows he has the pressure of taking over for a World Series Champion, and that he has large shoes to fill after following Tony LaRussa, but he has handled himself and his team with the utmost class and confidence.

The Redbirds with the most success against the Milwaukee Brewers’ age Yovani Gallardo are Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, David Freese, and Yadier Molina.  Each have hit homeruns against him, and they are hitting 10-14.

All are expected to play tonight, and David Freese, who is hitting .362 against the Brew Crew this season, is excited to see the team come to town this weekend.

Kyle Lohse Looks To Continue Marvelous Season

Kyle Lohse (14-2, 2.81) is pretty excited himself, saying the other day in the media that his success against the Milwaukee Brewers comes as a product of studying Scouting Reports and hitters’ tendencies.  The hurler is unbeaten in his last 14 starts, and has a 2.25 ERA against the Brewers in 2 starts against them on the year.

The right-hander, who came into his last start with a 1.42 ERA over his previous five, is 8-0 with a 2.64 ERA since last losing to Kansas City on June 15.  It has been absolutely incredible watching him pitch this season, because without his dominance and consistency, there’s no telling where the Redbirds would be right now.

Perhaps the most telling measure of Lohse’s success this season is his lack of walks (more than 3 in a start just once).  Couple that with his low earned-run totals, and you have the pitcher that is leading the staff in both wins and ERA.  A look at his game-by-game totals reveals that he has allowed more than 3 earned runs in a start just 4 times this season.  It’s even arguable that Lohse could have 7 or so more wins, had he gotten the run support he should have.

Can you imagine if Kyle Lohse was actually 21-2?  Certainly, there would be much more fanfare around his remarkable season!  Instead, he is going under the radar, and he seems to like it that way.

When asked about being left out of the All-Star Game this season, and garnering little attention over the years, Lohse had this to offer, “I don’t strike a lot of guys out.  I know that I don’t throw 94 or 95 like I used to either.  I just go out there and pitch.  I’m kind of used to being under the radar.  It’s hard to believe, but this is already my 12th year, and I could care less what people think about me.  Besides my teammates and my manager, I don’t concern myself too much with it.”

It’s yet another case of a class act pitcher on a class act organization, and I am thoroughly looking forward the the weekend series with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Even if no one else is excited and enamored with Kyle Lohse’s remarkable season, I am.  I am looking forward to a great weekend, and hopefully at least another 2 out of 3.