2015 NLDS Redux: Get Well, Jaime Garcia

So, I went to bed feeling guilty about piling on Cardinals Game 2 starter Jaime Garcia in my gamer from last night. As most of you know, Garcia left in the third inning with a stomach virus. Most All of us would have called in sick and stayed in bed if we felt like throwing up. The lefthander went to work with millions of us watching.

Like office co-workers cringing at every cough and sneeze, Garcia’s teammates probably wished he would have

stayed home. According to the postgame notes from the Cardinals’ crackpot Department of Communications, Garcia is still winless in his postseason career (0-3), never getting past the third in each of his last three postseason starts. Last night, of course, he lasted just two and probably lost his lunch in the clubhouse.

But wait, there’s more.

Garcia also set a Cardinals postseason record by allowing 5 unearned runs.  Freshly retired Tim Hudson was the last pitcher to do that in a postseason game, back in 2002 when he still pitched for Oakland.

Rats. I feel like I just piled on again. After the game, Garcia met with the media and took responsibility for all five of those unearned runs. He sounded like a guy determined to make up for last night. Here’s wishing for a speedy recovery and a chance to do just that.

Other tidbits from last night’s notes:

Randal Grichuk hit his third postseason home run in the 5th inning. It was the second pinch-hit homer in two games for the Cards (Tommy Pham did it in the 8th inning of Game 1). But here’s a cool little wrinkle. Thanks to Grichuk not exceeding his rookie status until this season, he has hit jacks as a rookie in two different postseasons.

We also saw Adam Wainwright make his first appearance at Busch Stadium since returning from the injury he suffered way, way back in April. The wait was worthwhile. He fanned three in 1.2 innings of work, extending his postseason scoreless relief streak to 11.1 innings. He’s one of only five relievers in postseason history with 11.0 or more innings of scoreless ball. In soccer, they call that a clean sheet.

From the looks of that curveball, Wainwright will likely keep that streak going when the Cardinals face off against the Cubs at Wrigley tomorrow. Game time is still TBD, but it will be broadcast nationally on TBS. Characters welcome. Wait, that’s the old USA Network slogan. Whatever.