Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
St. Louis 4
Cincinnati 3
WP: Garcia (4-2)
LP: Harang (2-5)
S: Franklin (8)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Jonny Gomes was 3-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a stolen base (!). Gomes has rebounded quite nicely from his slow start.
–Great job by Mike Lincoln, Nick Masset, and — who else? — Arthur Rhodes to shut down the Cards and give the good guys a chance to get back into the game.
–Ryan Hanigan had two more hits, including a key single in the ninth that would’ve mattered if Dusty Baker hadn’t screwed up just after that.
–Drew Stubbs crushed a ball to dead center field for a two-run homer.
NEGATIVES
–Can anyone explain what in the name of all that is good and pure Dusty Baker was thinking in the bottom of the ninth? Why pinch-hit Ramon Hernandez there? Cards pitcher Ryan Franklin kills right-handed batters, Hernandez is 3-21 against the guy…plus Hernandez is slower than molasses. It didn’t take a genius to predict that Hernandez was a good bet to hit into a double play there.
–At least one run tonight was the direct result of Orlando Cabrera’s terrible defense. This guy looks like his feet are stuck in cement out there.
ETC.
–Aaron Harang wasn’t great, but he wasn’t awful either. Two bad pitches really ruined his night, but he loses any sympathy from me by the simple act of actually pitching to Albert Pujols. Pitch around that guy!
–This was a winnable game. If Orlando could move his feet and reach an easy ground ball to shortstop, that would’ve eliminated at least one run. If Dusty Baker had the first clue about how to manage a baseball team, maybe the Reds get another run in the ninth.
–Oh well, frustrating loss, but the Reds still have a good chance to make some noise in this series. Mike Leake is pitching tomorrow, and that’s always a fun time.