Continuing the Trend

The Cardinals, after last night's victory, have won four series in a row, all by a 2 games to one count.  They've at least mixed up the game they lost, though, losing the first one twice, the second once and the third once.  That's winning baseball for almost two weeks, which was very good to see after the mini-meltdown (3-7) in the middle of the month.

Lots of people going on about Chris Duncan's at-bat last night.  It was a good sign to see Duncan battle back and drive the runs in.  However, I'm still giving the Hero tag to Albert Pujols.  First off, it was his two-out single that kept the first alive, leading to Duncan coming up (after a couple of walks).  Second, his home run proved to be the difference in the game.  If he doesn't hit that and Berkman ties it up in the ninth, you think as much talk about the first inning is going on?  You also have to fit Kyle Lohse into the Hero conversation, but no strikeouts is something that can come back to bite you eventually.

With not a lot of offense going on, it's a little tougher to find a Goat.  Ryan Franklin could have gotten consideration if he'd struggled after the home run to Berkman, but getting three straight outs after that soothed things.  So I think I'll go with Rick Ankiel, who went 0-4 including a strikeout hitting ahead of Pujols.  This shouldn't have been too unexpected, however.  He's hitting .232 in the #2 hole.

The Cards now face the last team they lost a series too.  Pittsburgh came into Busch May 13-15 and won the first and last game of the series.  Now, they come in for a four game set having settled back into the cellar that they are accustomed to.  As far as I can tell, this is the last series against the Pirates in St. Louis for the year.

Tonight's matchup is Todd Wellemeyer against Zach Duke.  Wellemeyer, as we say every time he comes around in the rotation, has been the pleasant surprise of the pitching staff.  He's solid proof that Dave Duncan does know what he was doing.  The last couple of years of Walt Jocketty's reign, he tended to grab anyone on the scrap heap and let Duncan tinker.  It didn't always work, but when it did, it worked big.

Wellemeyer has faced the Pirates twice this year.  The first outing, in Pittsburgh, was one of his worst of the year.  He had an almost identical line his next time out, then did not give up more than two earned runs again until his last time out against the Dodgers.  That included facing Pittsburgh in Busch, where he gave up one run in seven innings in a win.  He's got good career numbers against most of the hitters as well.

Duke, on the other hand, has never really fulfilled the promise he showed in 2005 as a rookie.  His ERA has always been high and he's only one five games in the last two years.  He's actually pitched much better on the road than at home this year, with an ERA under four.  However, no matter where he's at, his K/BB ratio is close to one and he gives up over a hit an inning.  If the Cardinals are patient against him, they may be able to continue their good numbers against him.

The YNOT for this series is up at the Clubhouse and the series preview will be soon as well.

Other news and links: Mark Mulder will retire rather than have another surgery.  It may come down to him retiring anyway, as neither he nor the team now thinks he'll be ready by the All-Star Break.  I was really hoping the Cards would get something out of him, especially after all the players were raving about him in the spring.  Now it really looks like his career is probably over.

And, if you are a big Lost fan like I am, you'll get a kick out of this one.  (And don't say a thing about the finale--I've still not watched the hour from a couple weeks back, much less last night's episode!)


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