It would appear the string of Astros-Cubs-Astros series couldn’t have come at a better time. The Cardinals who, this time last week, were clinging to the second Wild Card spot with the Dodgers and Brewers clawing back into the race, have now won seven of the last eight. With the Dodgers and Brewers faltering, the WC lead is now 4.5 with just nine days left in the regular season.

Last night’s win wasn’t the prettiest of sorts, in some regards. But then again, it was a Jaime Garcia road start that ended in a shutout … of the home team.

So with the win, here’s the “Good, Better, Best.”

When Jaime Garcia makes it to the “best” section, it’s probably going to be a good game!

Good

Just a few weeks ago at the United Cardinal Bloggers Weekend event, I started joking about Pete Kozma hitting a two-run homer. Everytime he stepped up to the plate, it was bound to happen! … I didn’t ever really expect it to happen! And, although not a homerun, he once again knocked in a big run, extending the Redbird lead to 3-0 in the top of the 8th.

Okay, I know. He also had two fielding errors on the night. And he did ground into a double play. And I’m not sure when or why he leapfrogged Ryan Jackson on the depth chart. But, in the last three games he’s 5-for-10 with two homers, and four RBI.

When the rest of the bats go quiet (like leaving 10 runners on base last night), Petey’s heating up! » Continue reading “Jaime Holds Houston, Cardinals Win 4-0″

It was bound to happen sooner or later. The best offense in the National League through the first month would return to form eventually, right? How does 14 runs sound?

Hey, go big or go home!

To be honest, though, the first part of Thursday’s game didn’t look much different than the rest of the road trip — like the Cardinals were just hoping to survive until they could get back to St. Louis.

Funny how scoring a few runs and getting a blistering start from the Wolf Pup can change things.

So many good things happened in this game, so let’s pick a few of the key highlights.

Lance Lynn. Obviously. In a rotation that has been anything but consistent, Lynn’s ninth win of the season was a pretty remarkable feat! The Astros would have loved to be facing just about anyone else. Despite the two runs he surrendered early, he struck out 11 batters, making him the first Cardinal pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts this season. That’s the kind of stat I like to see!

Runs, Runs, Runs. Scoring runs is fun, kids! Just ask David Freese. After striking out three times, he found his groove — you know, the “Mr. Clutch,” gotta-pick-up-my-boys, stroke-one-to-straightaway-center-field-and-make-it-look-easy groove. Not only did he blast a two-out grand slam to cap a seven-run seventh, but he came back in the ninth and let loose on another one — this time a two-run shot to tally the 13th and 14th runs of the night. » Continue reading “Cards Ice ‘Stros In Series Finale”

He’s got whatever it is that blows them away …

Astros’ starter Bud Norris, that is, certainly still has that whatever “it” is that stifles Cardinals hitters.

For only the second time this season, the Cardinals will lose a series. This time, that series goes to Houston.

It was Jaime Garcia’s fifth start and he was looking for his third win. Trouble is, he was 0-3 against Houston in his career. Add that to the fact the Redbirds don’t hit Norris well — at all! — and that it was a road game (not Garcia’s specialty) and things weren’t looking entirely promising to start with. Especially considering the spark the ‘Stros offense has shown lately.

The Cards continued their trend of scoring early — plating one run in the first inning. But, when Garcia walked the bases loaded with two outs, it was more than a little trouble. As Rick Hummel described it,

For much of the first inning at Minute Maid Park, Garcia had trouble locating  the strike zone. From bouncing his first curveball about seven feet in front of  the plate, Garcia proceeded to load the bases on walks with two outs.

Then, he began throwing strikes, as in two quick ones to [Chris] Johnson. The third  pitch to Johnson was a strike too, if Yadier Molina would have caught it.  Johnson took a pitch down in the zone and launched his first career grand slam  into the Crawford (Street) boxes atop the left-field wall and the Astros had  erased a 1-0 Cardinals lead built against Bud Norris in the top of the  first. » Continue reading “Bud Norris: Cardinal Killer Extraordinaire”