Taking on Justin Verlander is a tough assignment for anyone. For Lance Lynn, so was the Tigers’ lineup.

Last night, whether it was the pressure from the hype surrounding the pitching matchup, or simply an off night, our flame-throwing Wolf Pup looked unusually over-matched. It took 50 pitches to get through two innings, and things didn’t get much better from there — for Lynn, or the offense facing a mostly-sharp Verlander.

Here’s how Jenifer Langosch described it:

Photo Credit: @hawkelly

Lynn threw first-pitch strikes to just 14 of 25 batters he faced, largely the result of untamed fastball movement. The Tigers were aggressive early, when Lynn was too often over the plate. Detroit then found success in being patient late, driving Lynn’s pitch count up as he labored.

The Tigers scored more runs off Lynn on Tuesday than opponents had combined for in Lynn’s other three June starts.

[snip]

Verlander, on the other hand, was mostly what he usually is, though with a few more walks than is the norm. With a four-pitch mix, he limited the Cardinals to two hits through the first six innings. St. Louis finally scratched across one in the sixth, when Matt Holliday drove Daniel Descalso home with a groundout. Descalso and Carlos Beltran had knocked singles earlier in the inning.

The Cards had their chance in the seventh inning, where they scored two runs on an error by Detroit’s left fielder Quintin Berry. Then, with the bases loaded and the tying run at first base, Verlander got Craig to strike out swinging (albeit on a nasty slider that Verlander called his best ever), leaving the bases loaded yet again. For you keeping track, the Cardinals are now 10-for-52 on the year with the bases loaded.

Just a base hit would have kept the inning alive and the rally in tact. But alas …

So what’s the deal? There are only so many ways for Mike Shannon and John Rooney to tell KMOX listeners that the Cardinals are just not playing very good ball right now. (And there are only so many ways for us to write the same thing afterwards!)  » Continue reading “How Would You Stop The Slide?”

When I think about the Cardinals playing the Chicago White Sox, bad memories I’ve tried to suppress come creeping back.

The two teams haven’t played each other since that horrible series in Chicago in June 2006. In case you’ve forgotten, here are a few details to cause flashbacks: Mark Mulder and losing 20-6, Jason Marquis being a sacrificial lamb and giving up all the runs in a 13-4 loss, Jim Edmonds crashing into the center field wall and getting a concussion, Anthony Reyes allowing only one hit in a complete game … and losing 1-0 since it was a homer to Jim Thome. Yep. Sweep.

Ugh. Sorry to ruin your morning.

Here’s something positive: the Cardinals actually lead the all-time series against the Sox 10-8. The two teams played every year from 1997 to 2001 then didn’t meet again until 2006. (How are these interleague schedules created anyway?)

» Continue reading “Know Your Interleague Opponent: Chicago White Sox”

The return of interleague play this weekend marks the return of the Kansas City Royals to St. Louis. The series is the special “Teams Unite for Joplin” weekend — find more details on the activities and fundraising efforts here.

To preview the series, here’s a look at the Royals from Jen Nevius of Drinking the Royals Blue-Aid.

When the KC Royals and St. Louis Cardinals met back in the middle of May, the Royals were playing good baseball. Now the Royals have fallen to fourth place and are closer to the last-place Minnesota Twins than the first-place Detroit Tigers. They continue to be the majors worst team on the road, 9-19, though they have won three of their last six road games.

Roster Updates
The last time these two teams met, a rookie, Eric Hosmer had made his debut a week earlier. This time, it’s Mike Moustakas who made his debut. The third baseman is expected to man the corners with Hosmer for years to come. With Moose’s debut comes the move to the backup utility role for Wilson Betemit, who was having a nice season (a .289 average with 14 doubles, two home runs and 23 RBI) and has played just once since. Chris Getz has become the everyday second baseman. The struggling Mike Aviles was the odd man out and sent to Triple-A.

Joakim Soria went from struggling closer to just another reliever trying to find himself to closer again since the last time these two teams met. The starting rotation continues to change, but the overhaul won’t happen until after this series.

» Continue reading “Catching Up With The Royals”