Pittsburgh stays hot; Routs Cardinals 7-3 on Saturday

Pedro Alvarez hit a first-inning grand slam in the top half of the first-inning, starting pitcher Jeff Karstans pitched seven strong innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the defending champion Saint Louis Cardinals for the second straight day on Saturday afternoon by a score of 7-to-3 inside Busch Stadium.

Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny gave both starting catcher Yadier Molina and starting shortstop and leadoff man Rafael Furcal the day off--and in the big picture of things, it ultimately hurt the team as Saint Louis only totaled six hits on the night in the lost.

The Red Birds got on the board offensively in the third-inning as Jon Jay drove in Tony Cruz on a fielder's choice--and followed it up with an RBI single to left center from Matt Holliday that drove in Jay. Holliday finished the game 2-for-3 with his RBI--and Carlos Beltran finished the day at the plate just one-for-four but had an RBI double himself in the bottom of the eighth--which brought the team to within 6-to-3 heading to the ninth.

Lance Lynn, who leads the Cardinals in wins this season, finished the game recieving the loss as he went five innings and gave up six runs on seven hits--dropping his overall record to 10-4 on the season and bumped his earned-run average up to 3.62. He also struck out six batters but walked four batters as well.

The bullpen for the Cardinals combined to pitch four innings in relief, and gave up just one run (which was from Viktor Marte)--but walked no batters and struck out five on just one hit.

As for the Pirates, Karstans pitched seven innings on the day, improving his overall record to 1-2 on the season as he gave up just two runs on four hits. The Pirates' pen pitched two innings in relief, giving up just two hits and one run--and picking up his first save of the season was Jon Hughes.

The Pirates now have won four games in a row and will be looking for there first sweep of the Cardinals in quite some time. Tomorrow's game will deliver the first pitch at 1:15 pm Central Time and will feature a pitching matchup of the Cardinals' Jake Westbrook and the Pirates Erik Bedard.

Lynn, Cards aim to even up against Pirates (Lineups)

In the series opener against the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night for Carlos Beltran and his third-place Saint Louis Cardinals, things didn't go as well as planned--but with one of the teams best starting pitchers so far this season on the mound on Saturday afternoon, maybe the tides will turn.

Following the Pirates 14-to-5 rout of the defending champions on Friday, Lance Lynn will be on the mound, and will be in search of his team-leading eleventh victory on the year.

Both teams are battling it out in the National League Central division race with the first place Cincinnati Reds for first-place, the Cardinals enter today's game three games behind--while Andrew McCutchen and his Pirates trail them by just a game-and-a-half.

Here is a glimpse at the lineup card that manager Mike Matheny put together for the second of this current three game series between the two in Saint Louis inside Busch Stadium:

1. Skip Schumaker (Second Base)
2. Jon Jay (Centerfield)
3. Matt Holliday (Left Field)
4. Carlos Beltran (Right Field)
5. Allen Craig (First Base)
6. David Freese (Third Base)
7. Daniel Descalso (Shortstop)
8. Tony Cruz (Catcher)
9. Lance Lynn (Pitcher)

T-Cobb's MLB All-Star Player Ballot (the officia ballotl)

With the Major League Baseball All-Star voting just about near it's end, I have done a lot of analyzing and have watched a lot of players throughout the league at one point or another--and despite myself being a very biased Cardinals' fan, I kept it to the side as much as possible.

I currently put three Cardinals in my National League lineup--but with three players that I also are well deserving of a spot in the lineup, respectively. Utlimately, here is a look at my final MLB All-Star Game starting ballot:

American League All-Stars
First Base - Prince Fielders (Detroit Tigers)
Seccond Base - Robinson Cano (New York Yankess)
Third Base - Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers)
Shortstop - Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
Catcher - Mike Napoli (Texas Rangers)
Designated Hitter - David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox)
Outfielder - Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers)
Outfielder - Curtis Ganderson (New York Yankees)
Outfielder - Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays)

National League All-Stars
First Base - Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds)
Second Base - Dan Uggla (Atlanta Braves)
Third Base - David Wright (New York Mets)
Shortstop - Rafael Furcal (St. Louis Cardinals)
Catcher - Buster Posey (San Fransisco Giants)
Outfielder - Matt Kemp (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Outfielder - Carlos Beltran (St. Louis Cardinals)
Outfielder - Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals)

Cardinals pitching struggles again; Pirates win 14 to 5

In what was a series-opener in a pivitol series at Busch Stadium between the defending-champion St. Louis Cardinals and division rival Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, Andrew McCutchen drove in three-runs on four-of-five from the plate, and the Pirates steamrolled the Cardinals 14 to 5.

McCutchen went four-of-five from the plate, and had three runs-batted-in as he tallied one double and a three home-run in the top of the ninth inning, the Pirates pounded out a season-high nineteen hits in the game, and the Cardinals fell another game behind in the Central division title race.

Kevin Correria (4-6) pitched five innings as he recieved the win, but gave up five-earned runs on the night on six hits as he gave up one home-run and walked two, while striking out three. Lincoln pitched three innings in relief and Resop pitched one as they combined to give up no runs on one hit.

Adam Wainwright (6-8) pitched for the Cardinals, reciveing the lost as he pitched five innings himself, giving up seven runs on eleven hits--along with seven strikeouts and one walk--but one home run allowed as well.

The Cardinals got RBIs from David Freese (second-inning), Carlos Beltran on a RBI single to left (third inning), a home-run from Carlos Beltran (third inning)--all in which had been the run-production from St. Louis.

The Cardinals fell to 40-37 overall on the season--while the Pittsburgh Pirates improved to 41-35 overall, and made it three straight wins overall on the season. The Cardinals fell another game back in the National League Central division championship race with the lost, but will look to end the Pirates' skid and get back on the winning side tomorrow as Lance Lynn will be on the mound against the Pirates' starting pitcher Jeff Karstans for a 1:15 pm Central Time first pitch.

Cardinals host Pirates in pivitol series this weekend

Two teams that not many people expected to be in the current positions that they are in--the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates--battle it out over the weekend for three games inside Busch Stadium as both of the teams are fighting for it out for first-place with the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central division title race.

First-year manager Mike Matheny has done nothing short of a magnificent job with the way that he has handled all of the recent problems and injuries following his takeover of the 2011 defending World Champs--and with a good showing in the series this weekend, he could make yet another giant leap in suprising the likes of 'Cardinal Nation'.

Entering tomorrow's series opener, Saint Louis (40-36) currently trails the Pirates (40-35) by just a half game--while the Cardinals trail Cincinnati for first by just two games--and just a game and a half for Pittsburgh.

Both teams enter with an overall record of 6-4 in there previous ten ball games. The Cardinals are currently overall 17-16 at home inside Busch Stadium--while the Pirates are 17-22 away from Pittsburgh, although they have won two games in a row.

The Cardinals lead the head-to-head season series between the two ball clubs four games to two games--and won both two of three games at both Busch, as well as in Pittsburgh. The two teams met up for three in Pittsburgh in mid April; while they met for three games at Busch the first days of May.

The Pirates are led by the likes Andrew McCutchen, who leads the team in home runs (14), runs batted in (48), runs scored (42), and stolen bases (14). AJ Burnett, who won't get a start over the weekend, leads the team in wins from starters with eight.

With both teams fighting for first against the Reds, this weekend's series is pretty pivitol. The winner of this series could make a leap of momentum towards the division title; while the loser could lose a lot of ground on making noise this season. Grab your popcorn and soda, ladies and gentleman. This weekend is about to get serious.

Also, on another big note; Cardinals' ace and star starting pitcher Chris Carpenter has officially been throwing off the mound--and while his return still has no timetable--the news just continues to get better and better.

Cardinals split final two games against Miami

Game 2: (Tuesday night): Saint Louis Cardinals 5, Miami Marlins 2
Win-Kyle Lohse (7-2)  L-Carlos Zambrano (4-6)  SV-Jason Motte (16)

One day following the heroic performance from Yadier Molina in the depth of the Cardinals' comeback in the series' opener against the Miami Marlins, the offense broke it up again on Tuesday night--except this time, they did it early--and that is all that they needed.

The Cardinals scored all five of there runs in the top half of the first-inning and defeated the Marlins 5-to-2. Carlos Beltran started it out with an RBI-single that drove in lead-off man Rafael Furcal to get it started. Following that, Allen Craig drove in Matt Holliday on an error by the Marlins' Jose Reyes, and Molina belted a three run bomb to deep left-field that drove in both Beltran and Craig.

Kyle Lohse (7-2) continued his superb start this season on the mound, as he picked up his seventh win on the year after he allowed just two runs on four hits. Lohse improved his ERA to a team-low from the starters to 2.82 overall. He struck out four batters, as well as walking just two.

The Marlins got there offense from a solo home-run from Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the first, as well as an RBI sacrifice fly to center from Gary Dobbs in the fourth inning. Carlos Zambrano got the lost for the Marlins as he fell to 4-6 on the season, giving up five runs (all unearned) and seven hits.

The Cardinals improved there win streak to four games straight, and got the save from Jason Motte, which was his sixteenth overall on the young season. With the win, the Cardinals kept pace with first-place Cincinnati, staying two games out in the NL Central division race.

Game 3: (Wednesday night): Saint Louis Cardinals 3, Miami Marlins 5
Win-Annibal Sanchez (4-6)  L-Sam Freeman (0-1)  SV-Heath Bell (15)

With the Cardinals going for there fifth win in a row and a sweep of the new-look Marlins on Wednesday night, the wheels on the bus fell apart in the bottom half of the seventh-inning, leading them to a much-needed and crucial 5-to-3 victory.

As they held a two-run lead from the top of the first up until the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cardinals got a clutch first-career solo home-run off of the bat of Tony Cruz in the top of the seventh inning--which put St. Louis up 3-to-2--but that didn't seem to last very long.

In the bottom half of the inning, Miami answered the Cruz home run with back-to-back home runs of there own from the bats of both John Buck and Logan Morrison. The bombs put Miami back up on the scoreboard by a score of 4-to-3, which ultimately ended up being the game-winner on the night. Omar Infante doubled in the bottom of the eighth inning that brought in Dobbs, making that the final run of the night for the game.

The Cardinals got there offensive output from a sac-fly from Carlos Beltran, an RBI-double from David Freese, and then the solo blast off the bat of Tony Cruz.

Joe Kelly got the start for the Cardinals--and despite an impressive start in which he allowed just two runs on five hits, he picked up a no-decision (but improved his ERA to 3.38 overall on the season. Recieving the loss for the Cardinals was Sam Freeman (0-1), as he pitched just a third of an inning--allowing a solo home-run in which when the game was tied. Annibal Sanchez (4-6) recieved the win for the Marlins, making sure they avoided being swept.


The Cardinals, who are 40-36 overall on the season, are now currently tied for second place in the National League Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates--who is coming to town for a pivitol three game weekend series matchup starting tomorrow night. The game will deliver the first pitch at 7:15 and will be televised on FSN Midwest.

Cardinals score 4 runs in ninth; beat the Marlins in 10

In what started out as another contest that Yadier Molina and the Saint Louis Cardinals' offense had fallen asleep--the team bursted out with a huge game-tying four-run ninth inning behind yet another clutch home-run off of the bat from Yadier Molina--before eventually winning the ballgame in the tenth-inning on an RBI single from Rafael Furcal in a 8-to-7 slugfest on Monday night in Miami.

With two-outs, top of the ninth-inning, Cardinals trailing six-to-four, Molina represented the tying run at the plate--and like he does an awful lot in the clutch, he nailed a two-run bomb into the left-field bleachers to tie it all up at six.

Then following an RBI single to take the lead off the bat of Furcal in the top half of the tenth-inning, the Cardinals plated two in the extra inning, ultimately leading the Cardinals to a 8-to-7 win.

Joe Kelly, who is the Cardinals' scheduled starter for Wednesday's series finale contest, got his first career big-league hit in the tenth-inning, which was most certainly a big sparking point that helped lead St. Louis to there fourth straight win overall on the season--and kept manager Mike Matheny and his defending champion Cardinals in a tie for second place in the Central with Pittsburgh (just two games behind the Reds for first).

It was a quiet game all the way through six-innings, as Jose Reyes and his Miami Marlins held a two-to-nothing lead going into the top of the sixth. David Freese scored on a passed ball from the hand of Miami's starting pitcher, Ricky Nolasco.

With the Marlins leading 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Miami busted out a four-run inning of there own as the team knocked out the Cardinals' starting pitcher Jake Westbrook, who before this start, had arguably his best start of the season so far last week in his victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The Cardinals used six pitchers other than Westbrook, as Jake pitched six strong innings while only allowing two runs on six hits. Westbrook didn't recieve the win like I feel he deserved, but he is most certainly starting to get stronger as he goes through each start.

Fernando Salas, Edqaurdo Sanchez, Marc Rzepczynski, Freeman, and Victor Marte all came out of the bullpen as they all had managed to pitch three innings combined, allowing two runs or three hits--while walking four. Jason Motte picked up his fifteenth save on the season--but did give up one run on two-hits in an inning of work.

Monday night's victory not only capped off an electricifying comeback, but improved the Cardinals winning streak to four games overall and keeps them in second place in the National League Central, tied with Pittsburgh for two games out behind the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals have now won both meetings against the new-look Marlins, and will send Kyle Lohse to the mound against ex-division rival Carlos Zambrano tomorrow night for a 6:05 pm Central Time first pitch.

Cardinals' injury bug contines; division still in sight

Following the fast start from first-year manager Mike Matheny and the new-look St. Louis Cardinals, the injury bug has continued to bite but the division title is still in sight through the first-half of June.

The Cardinals defeated the Chicago White Sox 1 to 0 tonight behind a spectacular performance from arguably the teams biggest suprise, Lance Lynn, as he pitched 7 and 1/3 innings of shutout baseball on just three hits.

Lynn, who started the season as a "project" as the teams' fifth starting pitcher, won his tenth game of the season, and has arguably been one of the National League's best starting pitchers through two and a half months of baseball.

Tonight's game was hopefully a big momentum shift that will get this team back on track. The offense got just four hits on the night--and three came off the bat of Carlos Beltran--including his NL-leading 19th home-run that was a solo blast that turned turned out to be the only run scored on the entire night.

Following the 1-0 win tonight, the Cardinals improved there overall record to 32-31 on the season and stayed at just three games out for first place in the Central division after the Reds beat Cleveland 5 to 3 earlier on Wednesday--which is exactly where this team should be very happy to at considering all of the injuries that this team has had to deal with.

In Matheny's first season as the teams skipper, as the team is going for there 12th World Championship, the team has seen the likes of Lance Berkman (Strained left calf/Torn Meniscus), Jon Jay (Right shoulder), Kyle McClellan (Strained right elbow), Allen Craig (Recovery from knee surgery/strained hamstring), Matt Carpenter (Strained right oblique), Skip Schumaker (Strained hamstring), and Jaime Garcia (strained left shoulder) all get put on the 15 day disabled list.

With that making it pretty hard to believe this team can play at the level that many people believe they can play, the young guns and new comers are all making there presence felt--actually, they are all stealing the spotlight thus far through 2012.

Carlos Beltran leads the National League in home runs with 19 and is leading the way for this new revamped offense. He is certainly forming a nice trio with last seasons' World Series hero David Freese and fan-favorite to Cardinal Nation, Matt Holliday. The team is also getting a good showing from newly brought up utility man, Matt Adams. In 63 at-bats, Adams has hit seven bombs while driving in sixteen.

Despite hearing the terrible news that Jaime Garcia would be shelved for the next two months atleast, good news has finally made it to the headlines. Chris Carpenter, who has no timetable for his return at the moment, has finally begun throwing off the mound, which is certainly a big step to seeing him return. As long as this team can continue to get big performances from the current starting rotation, getting Carp back on the mound could make a humongous difference in a playoff race come September. Lynn, who got the win tonight, leads the NL and the Cardinals with ten wins on the season. Kyle Lohse has six wins, Adam Wainwright has five, while Jake Westbrook has four and Jaime Garcia had three before the recent injury. Also, Jason Motte has tallied a total of 12 saves on the season.

Through two months of what has been a huge rollercoaster ride so far this season, the injury bug has hit hard--but this team is sitting perfectly as they are staying in the thick of things. Things will only get better from here on out through the rest of this roller coaster.

College Baseball NCAA Tournament Watch

Well ladies and gentleman, it is finally Friday--and you know what that means? The NCAA Tournament for college baseball is getting underway.

With the 64-team field being set and regionals being started all around the United States today, I will be posting articles and on twitter all weekend for the event.

With the 2012 MLB Draft getting underway on June 4th, you never know which slugger may be a future Cardinal--but one thing is for sure, some of the them very soon will be.

As I am a very big Mizzou fan as well, I will keep there regional information and results up-to-date; as well as some of stories and such on other big players and teams in the tournament.

With games starting at 11am Central Time and Mizzou not starting until 10pm tonight, today is pretty much baseball heaven--outside of Busch Stadium.

Follow me on twitter at @tcobb1990 for updates, stats, information, and scores from all over the world following the tournament games that will be watched and followed closely all weekend long.

Cardinals have minor slump; trail Reds in Central

The defending world champion-St. Louis Cardinals have somewhat fallen into a minor slump for the first time this season; and at the moment are in second place in the Central division behind the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cardinals are currently 27-24 overall on the season so far and enter tonights contest which is just the first of four with the Mets in the Big Apple at just a game and a half back for first place.

The team, behind first-year manager Mike Matheny, is 2-5 in there last seven games. The current slump began following there first sweep of the year against the San Diego Padres at home--and the current slump pushed the team out of the number one spot in the National League and Central divisions for the first time all season.

All since just May 18th the team has had to put the likes of all three Kyle McClellan, Lance Berkman, and Matt Carpenter all on the 15-day disabled list.

On the bright side from the injuries, the Cardinals have gotten to see a glimpse from possible future first baseman Matt Adams. In eleven games so far, Adams is batting an impressive .317 at the plate with one home run and five batted in.

The team announced yesterday that they decided to recall right-hander Maikel Cleto from Memphis and optioned both Chuckie Fick and Brandon Dickson (both pitchers) back to Memphis.

The Cardinals will open up the four game series against the Mets tomorrow with a 6:05 first pitch St. Louis time and will feature a pitching matchup of Adam Wainwright and the Mets' Johan Santana.