Richard Dominates Cardinals, Earn Split In Four Game Set
Today wasn’t easy for any of us I can imagine. Despite losing 5-3, it felt like there was more than one loss in this game.
I do want to take a moment and just say thank you to Adam Wainwright. Thank you for everything you’ve done not only for the Cardinals organization, but the city of St. Louis. I don’t want to speculate too much, but we could very well have just witnessed Waino’s last start as a Cardinal, or ever. It felt like my childhood literally flashed in front of my eyes today. It sucked. So did the outcome of the game.
The Cardinals did that thing again where they let a below average left-handed pitcher murder them. Thank God he wasn’t a rookie or we might have witnessed a perfect game. (I’m only kidding, sorta.)
Clayton Richard would start his afternoon off with back-to-back strikeouts of Pham and Bader before Cafecíto would fly out to RF, ending the inning.
Waino took the mound for the first time since facing the Cubs at Wrigley Field on 04/17, only making one rehab start in Springfield. Waino dodged a huge bullet in the bottom of the 1st, escaping a bases loaded situation. Hosmer started the threat with a bloop single into shallow CF and would advance to third base on back-to-back two out walks to Cordero and Lopez. Spangenberg then roped a ball back up the middle, finding the glove of a diving Paul DeJong. Waino threw 33 pitches, topping out at 88 mph.
I’m gonna keep talking about Waino, since that what we’re all here for and the offense didn’t want to do anything until the 6th inning anyway. The only factor up to that point was Swags collecting two singles.
Waino averted trouble again in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Freddy Galvis would lead the inning off with a walk and advance to second on a Manuel Margot infield single. After punching out pitcher, Clayton Richard, Waino would get out of the inning with a twin killing forcing speedster, Travis Jankowski, to ground out 6-3.
The wheels came falling off in the bottom of the 3rd for Wainwright. Hosmer and Pírela would leadoff the frame with back-to-back walks before Waino would be bailed out by home plate umpire, Chad Whitson. Waino would freeze Cordero with a high sinker up and in. Waino proceeded to walk the bases loaded, giving a free pass to Lopez, his 6th walk given up in 2.1 innings pitched. Spangenberg drew the end of the line for Waino as the Padres third basemen would lace an RBI single into RF, scoring Hosmer. Waino’s final line: (2.1 IP, 3 hits, 2r/2er, 6 bb, 3 k’s)
John Gant, who wasn’t optioned yesterday by the way, just on layaway for this sole purpose, would throw the next 3.2 innings for a taxed pen. Gant would escape Waino’s inherited mess, giving up a sac fly to Galvis as the only damage, giving the Padres the 2-0 lead.
Gant too, would run into his own problems in the bottom of the 4th. After recording his first of four strikeouts on Richard, three of the next four Padres would get base hits. Jankowski started the hit parade with a single into LF and would precisely steal second base with ease. Gant earned a big strikeout of Hosmer to bring the Cardinals one out away from escaping the jam. Pírela would rip a pitch down the LF line for an RBI double, scoring Jankowski. Cordero followed with an RBI single of his own to LF, scoring Pírela from second, giving the Padres a 4-0 lead.
The Cardinals would cut that deficit in half in the top of the 6th. Pham would reach base on a one out walk, the only time he reached base this afternoon. Harrison Bader got the Cards on the board with an RBI triple to RF, scoring Pham from first. Cafecíto kept the rally alive, knocking an RBI single up the middle, scoring Bader. After starting the game off (2-2) with two singles, Swags Ozuna would ground into an inning ending double-play, ending the rally.
The Cardinals would play some good defense in the bottom of the 6th. I know Kolten Wong started the inning off with a fielding error, but the defense played the next two Padres batters, made up for that blunder. After Jankowski reached base on the Wong error, Hosmer would hit into a 6-4-3 double play, and what a turn it was from Kolten Wong with the fading jump-throw. Pírela would end the inning, scorching a line drive that would find the glove of Paul DeJong.
Brett Cecil would make his third appearance on the season in the bottom of the 7th, piecing together a fine inning. I am in love with his knuckle-curve, and boy was he throwing it today. Case in point, first batter he faced. Cecil got Padres LF, Franchy Cordero to look foolish on the knuckle-curve low and in the dirt. He followed that punching out Lopez looking on a fastball on the outside part of the plate. Spangenberg was the final out of Cecil’s appearance, weakly grounding the ball back to him on the mound ending the inning. Cecil’s numbers after three appearances: (2 IP, 1 hit, 0r/0er, 0 bb, 2 k’s, 1 double-play)
Clayton Kershaw’s day, I mean Richard’s day would come to an end after tallying his final two strikeouts of the game on Fowler (PH) and Pham, ending the game with 10.
The Cardinals would make things a little interesting in the top of the 9th against closer, Brad Hand. Hand tossed two scoreless innings last night, and it showed in his outing this afternoon. Bader would greet Hand with a leadoff HR into the little porch by the RF foul pole, making it 5-3 Padres. Cafecíto drew a walk and advanced to second on a weak ground out to second base off the bat of Ozuna. With Padre killer, Jedd Gyorko up to bat, Cafecíto moved up an extra base on a wild pitch. Gyorko would eventually draw a walk to put runners at the corners for Paul DeJong, who represented the go ahead run. DeJong earned his way on base the hard way, getting drilled by a pitch, loading the bases for Carson Kelly. Hand would get Kelly to strikeout on a slider on the outside part of the zone, making Kolten Wong the final decision maker of the outcome of this contest. Hand would throw three straight sliders to Wong, the final two being right down the pipe, to strike him out looking with the bases loaded for a 5-3 Cardinals loss.
After a promising start to the series, the Cardinals drop the final two, splitting the series two games a piece.
Side Note: This was the third consecutive game Matt Carpenter hasn’t been in the starting lineup. He’s expected to be back in the lineup Tuesday in Minnesota.
The Cardinals (22-16) have a much needed off-day tomorrow and will be flying to Minnesota for another two-game interleague set with the Twins (17-19). Jack Flaherty (0-1, 3.60) will be recalled from Memphis to make his third start of the season against hard-throwing Puerto Rican, José Berrios (3-4, 4.50). First pitch 7:10 c/t.
Thanks for reading, cheers! Stew @StewStilez
Game 38 is 'In the Books'
Courtesy of Stew's Scorebook
