Cardinals Takeaways 6-8-15

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Hans A. Carpenter

I really don’t want to have to do takeaways for this game. It was really, really bad. The Cardinals dropped a sticker in the opening game of the series with the Rockies 11-3 as the defense imploded and John Lackey hit hard. Let’s dig in.

The Takeaways

This was an UGLY game all around. U-G-L-Y ugly.

The defense was awful, with both Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter both being charged with errors. Carpenter had a brutal game all around, also failing to reach base.

John Lackey was shelled, giving up 8 ER over 4 IP. He gave up a whopping 12 hits. He finished with a game score of 7. His ERA spiked from 2.93 to 3.74. That’s a massive jump. It’s sad that his season stat line was so marred by this game because Lackey had been excellent coming into this blow out.

The only positives to take away from this game were two solo homers from Kolten Wong and Jon Jay. Ed Easley also recorded his first RBI on a sac fly.

On Yonder Horizon…

Hopefully things get back on track as Michael Wacha (8-1, 2.89 ERA) takes on Jorge De La Rosa (2-2, 6.15 ERA)

Cardinals Weekend Takeaways 6-5-15 thru 5-7-15

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Hans A. Carpenter

The Cardinals wrapped up their series with the L.A. Dodgers this weekend, going a healthy 3-1 against a very good ball club. Here are the scores:

Friday: 2-1

Saturday: 0-2 (L)

Sunday: 4-2

The Takeaways:

Pitching, Pitching, Pitching. The starting pitching in all three games was excellent for both clubs. First, the good guys: Carlos Martinez (7 IP, 1 ER, 11K, 4 BB, 3 H), Jaime Garcia (7 IP, 2 ER, 6K, 0 BB, 6 H) and Lance Lynn (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 1 BB, 6 H). For the Dodgers: Brett Anderson (7.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, 4 H) Clayton Kershaw (8 IP, 0 ER, 11 K, 1 BB, 1 H), Zach Grienke (6.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 K, 1 BB, 6 H).

The back of the Cardinals rotation beat the front of the Dodgers. The Dodgers have seen their rotation depth depleted with season-ending injuries to Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy, but they had two Cy Young winners and a former top prospect on the mound.

In a lot of ways, Brett Anderson and Jaime Garcia are similar players, as talented lefties who have struggled for years to stay healthy. Both deserved a win in their respective games, and both were let down by no run support. Garcia is now 1-3, when he should be 3-1, at least.

Jhonny Peralta is on fire. Peralta had a homer and a double in Sunday’s win, and continues proving his contract a bargain.

Late-game rallies were the difference in both Friday and Sunday’s games, both in the 8^th inning.

On Yonder Horizon…

The Cardinals are climbing a mile high, opening a series with the Rockies at Coors Field. The Cardinals will start John Lackey (4-3, 2.93 ERA) while the Rockies counter with David Hale (1-0, 4.26 ERA).

Cardinals Takeaways 6-3-15

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Hans A. Carpenter

The Cardinals looked to finish off the Brewers at home as they split the first two games, both of which ended 1-0. Veteran John Lackey took the mound for the Red Birds, while youngster Jimmy Nelson took the hill for the Brew Crew. The final result was a 7-4 Cardinal victory.

Takeaways

The bats came alive, as every starting fielder for the Cardinals save for Kolten Wong and Matt Holliday had at least one RBI. Carpenter, Molina, and Peralta all had multi-hit games.

John Lackey had a quality start, tossing 7 innings with 3 earned runs and 5 strikeouts. He continues to step up as the veteran horse with Adam Wainwright out for the season.

Trevor Rosenthal now has 17 saves, which is one less than the Brewers have wins (18). Let that sink in.

There was a scary moment in the sixth inning as Hector Gomez flew into the stands while catching a fly ball and landed face down on the stadium steps. He was attended to in the crowd for several minutes by trainers before leaving the game on his own power. Two Brewers ended up in the stands during Tuesday’s game. This may be a part of the game MLB needs to look into.

On Yonder Horizon…

Michael Wacha (7-1, 2.27 ERA) will take on Carlos Frias (4-2, 4.29 ERA) as the Cardinals head to LA for a series with the Dodgers. The game starts 9:10. Thanks west coast.

Cardinals Takeaways 6-2-15

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Hans A. Carpenter

The Cardinals came into this game looking to avenge a 1-0 loss, as Matt Holliday looked to extend his on-base streak to 46 games. One of those two goals was met, as the Cardinals won 1-0.

The Takeaways

The streak is dead. Matt Holliday’s on-base streak was ended at 45 games, and his night ended in controversial fashion as he was ejected in the 7^th inning for arguing balls and strikes. Was he likely to get another AB? No, not likely, but it’s still sad to see the streak end in controversy. Which leads me to my next point…

Of course it was Joe West! No umpire in the big leagues, with the exception of Angel Hernandez, has more of a reputation for injecting himself into game play than “Cowboy” Joe West. If you know an umpire’s name, it’s never for a good reason and nobody exemplifies that idea more than Joe West. Mike Matheny was also tossed after he came out to defend Holliday, who was walking towards the dugout at the time of the ejection. In nearly six years of Holliday suiting up for the Cardinals, that was the angriest I’ve ever seen him.

Lance Lynn was fantastic. 7 and 2/3 innings, 5 K’s vs 1 BB and 5 hits. Not too shabby. With close to 120 pitches, Mike Mathey shows again a faith to let Lynn pitch deep. Lynn finished the day with a season record of 4-4 with a 3.03 ERA.

The Brewers rode the Cravy train, but it stopped just short. Tyler Cravy gave up two hits to Randal Grichuk, one of which lead to an RBI for Mark Reynolds. Otherwise, Cravy was great in his first big league start, going 7 innings with 1 ER and 6 K’s.

On Yonder Horizon…

John Lackey (3-3, 2.83 ERA) looks to continue being the Cardinal’s veteran horse as he takes on Brewers youngster Jimmy Nelson (2-5, 3.90 ERA). This is the last game of the series with the Brewers, after which the Cardinals have the Dodgers to deal with.