INSIDE PITCH
The
Cardinals reached a height Sunday night they hadn't scaled since the last day of
the 2011 season, when they won to get into the playoffs.
They got to 10 games over .500 for the
first time this season by beating the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-0.
This triumph gave the Cardinals 12
wins in their last 16 games and a sweep of the fast-fading Brewers. The winner
was perhaps the most overlooked pitcher in baseball, right-hander Kyle Lohse.
After tossing six scoreless innings to
lower his earned-run average to 2.79, Lohse ran his record to 12-2 for a .857
percentage, best in the National League. He has 12 straight starts of at least
six innings.
A fourth inning marked by an error and
two walks forced Lohse to throw 33 pitches, running his count to 100 by the end
of six innings. But that fourth inning was scoreless, telling manager Mike
Matheny something about Lohse.
"That inning in the past might have
reached up and bit him," said Matheny. "But you see a different pitcher
now."
To the thought that he is going
unnoticed, Lohse said, "I don't play this game for that stuff. I like the fact
that my teammates and my manager appreciate what I am doing."
A team that had the worst ERA in the
league for the seventh inning of games seems to have found an answer.
Right-hander Edward Mujica, acquired from Miami last week, worked a scoreless seventh for
the third time in a row.
"He's certainly done a nice job in
that spot," Matheny said, "so we're going to let him roll."
Mujica then turned matters over to
right-hander Mitchell Boggs, who logged his 23rd consecutive scoreless outing
with a spotless eighth, and right-hander Jason Motte, who recorded his 24th save
in 28 opportunities.
"It's a nice feeling to know that if
we get to the seventh with the lead, it's going to be held," Matheny
said.
And the Cardinals went to 59-49 at the
two-thirds point of their schedule. Asked if reaching 10 over meant anything,
Matheny said he didn't know anything about it. "You can tell how much attention
I paid to it," he said.
What he did know, though, was, "We're
playing good baseball right now."
NOTES,
QUOTES
SS Daniel Descalso,
giving Rafael Furcal another day off, turned in his first three-hit game of the
season with a triple and two singles. Descalso has started nine straight games
either at shortstop or second and manager Mike Matheny said, "He's on a good run
right now. We just want to keep him going. Wherever we've put him, he's done a
nice job. The guys all appreciate his brand of baseball. Not that they're not
playing hard but he goes through the wall."
Manager Mike Matheny said
SS Rafael Furcal still was not completely healthy after missing five games
recently with a lower-back issue. Furcal, who is nothing for his last 14, sat
out Sunday night's start too. "We're going to have to be careful with him, or
else we're going to lose him," Matheny said.
LHP Jaime Garcia, who
threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits and one run in a rehab start for
Class AA Springfield Saturday night, said he was not quite all the way back
after being sidelined with a shoulder strain. But he said, "It's definitely
better. I don't want to say that it's where it used to be two years ago or that
it is 100 percent. But I can definitely feel the difference." Garcia, who threw
64 pitches Saturday, next will pitch in San
Antonio for Springfield on Thursday and will try for 80 to
90 pitches. After that game, the Cardinals might choose to bring him up to the
majors for his next start.
RHP Joe Kelly, who has
pitched better than his 2-4 record, could find himself in the bullpen after his
next start if LHP Jaime Garcia (left shoulder strain) is activated next week.
But manager Mike Matheny, while saying the Cardinals had been considering for a
while what to do with their rotation when Garcia returned, said, "We'll address
that when we get to it."
LF Matt Holliday, who
seems to hit every ball hard if he makes contact, had two more hits on Sunday.
He has 32 two-hit games for the season and 42 multi-hit games overall as he's
raised his average to .324.
By the
Numbers:
7 - Seasons with at least
25 homers for RF Carlos Beltran.
Quote to Note:
"I just don't feel very
agile."
- 1B Lance Berkman, after
his right knee flared up again, placing him on the disabled list.
MEDICAL
WATCH
C Yadier Molina (sprained
right thumb) was hurt Aug. 1, and he didn't play Aug. 2. X-rays were negative,
and he was back in the lineup Aug. 3.
1B Lance Berkman (sore
right knee) re-injured the surgically repaired joint Aug. 2 and was placed on
the 15-day disabled list Aug. 3.
SS Rafael Furcal (back
discomfort) did not play July 28-Aug. 2. He felt a little better Aug. 3 and was
back in the lineup.
LHP Jaime Garcia (left
shoulder strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 6, and he
was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 16. After further examination, it was
determined that he has tearing in his rotator cuff. He threw 40 pitches from 60
feet on flat ground for the first time in a month July 4. He threw live batting
practice July 25. He began a rehab assignment July 30 in the rookie-level Gulf
Coast League, and he was slated to make three or four starts before a potential
return to the Cardinals in mid-August.
RHP Kyle McClellan (torn
labrum in right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list May 18 due to a
strained right elbow, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 30. He
threw on flat ground for the first time July 3, but he subsequently felt
shoulder pain. He had season-ending shoulder surgery July
10.
RHP Chris Carpenter (weak
right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, and he
was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 10. He threw for the first time since
March on June 13 and then threw another 40 pitches on June 15. He threw to
hitters for the first time June 22 but then had a setback June 25 when he felt
renewed weakness in the shoulder. He said it felt better the next day, and he
had an extensive throwing session off flat ground June 27. On June 28, he was
told he has thoracic outlet syndrome, which can cause, among its effects,
weakness in one's shoulder. A July 2 bullpen session was canceled. He underwent
season-ending surgery July 19 to relieve thoracic outlet
syndrome.
Link to boxscore: St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 0