Back On the Horse

So far, this Cardinal team has shown resiliency.  Drop a game?  Win the next.  Whether they can win the next five like they did last time remains to be seen.

And there was little doubt who last night's Hero was.  Troy Glaus made it competitive (for the second straight night, which is a good sign) with his tie-breaking two-run double, but the game likely wouldn't have been that close if it weren't for the pitching of Anthony Reyes.  To come in and shut down the Astros was a great thing to see.  Three solid innings, no runs, only one hit.  He had good velocity, though he only had one K and had a negative GB ratio.  In other words, he pretty much pitched his way, it seems like.  A good discussion of the variance in reaction between TLR and Dave Duncan can be found at VEB.  When you look at what Duncan says, it really does start to come off like a guy that's been proven wrong and doesn't want to talk about it, finding any flaw he can.

Glaus is finally getting some good swings and even made a nice defensive play last night, spearing a shot hit right at him by Mark Loretta.  While we know the Cardinals have downgraded defensively over there, it's good to see him make some plays and hopefully as he relaxes, the bat will continue to come around and the glove will as well.

If the Hero wasn't much in doubt, then neither was the Goat.  Brad Thompson may have just pitched himself out of the rotation.  Whether it was internal pressure knowing that Joel Pineiro was pitching in Memphis last night or just the Astros catching up to him, three runs and five hits in four innings is not the way to step up to the challenge.  He left the bases loaded in the second and then allowed the runs in the third.  I expect the next time we see the Puppy Kicker will be coming out of the pen.

Pineiro pitched well last night and should be back on Sunday, depending on what the braintrust wants to do.  Also on the injured pitcher front, Mark Mulder should start his rehab on Monday, meaning he will be in St. Louis no later than the middle of May but likely earlier.  I hope we get to see a healthy and effective Mulder, but I don't think anyone is holding their breath on that just yet.

So let's take a look at today's matchup.  Braden Looper goes for the Cardinals.  Here's how he matches up against the current Astros.  Surprisingly, though Berkman has a nice average against him, the only member of the lineup that has a home run against him is Geoff Blum.  J.R. Towles had a good day against him last year, driving in five runs and going 3-3.  Bet he's in the lineup tonight.

Chris Sampson takes the bump for the 'Stros.  The Cardinals haven't seen much of him.  Kennedy and Ludwick have good averages against him, but for the second time this series, Pujols faces a pitcher he's never gotten a hit against.

Both games have had 5-3 finals.  Tonight's should be in line with that.


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