Padding the Lead

Great start to the homestand by the Cards, as they take out their closest competitor and raise the lead in the Central to 1.5 games.

Braden Looper pitched just well enough to win.  Five walks in five innings is asking for trouble, and if game Hero Kyle McClellan hadn't been there, that 3-1 lead he left with could have vanished very quickly.  McClellan got a key double play and the crisis was averted.  That seemed to wake up the bats as well, as they then stretched the lead to 6-1 before the final out.

Obviously Tony is quite taken with McClellan.  "Where he goes, I'll go with him."  I can't remember when a rookie pitcher made that much of an impression on the manager, save the 2006 postseason where the whole unproven corps got significant work.

It's a good thing that Adam Kennedy went 3-4 with two runs and an RBI.  His errant throw was going to earn him Goat status otherwise, especially if it looks like there's some long-term damage to Pujols's wrist.  Since AP played the rest of the game, hopefully it's fine and we can move on.

That does mean we have to assign a Goat, though.  Everyone in the starting lineup got a hit and the bullpen did its job (including another scoreless inning from Mr. Reyes, who seems to be enjoying the bullpen somewhat), so it makes it tough.  I really don't know who to give it to, so I guess, due to all those walks, it'll be Looper.   But it's definitely not a strong Goat.

The Cards get to throw out their ace, Adam Wainwright, to try to make a little more breathing room at the top of the division.  Wainwright's had some success against the Brewers, though none of them have had 10 plate appearances against him.  Prince Fielder may be in for another long night of trotting to first, as he has a .429 average with a home run off the Wagonmaker.

The Brewers have Carlos Villanueva on the hill tonight.  Albert Pujols is pleased, since he is hitting .400 with 2 homers off of the Milwaukee hurler.  Chris Duncan has a homer off of him as well, and we'll probably see Skip again tonight since he's 2 for 5 against Villanueva.  I still think that Brian Barton is getting buried on the bench, but Skip's production lately does make it hard to sit him.

Could be a fun game for the Cardinals tonight, if the stats hold up.  Unfortunately, when it comes to the Cardinals, it sure seems like a lot of times they don't.

Mark Mulder threw five pretty solid innings at A Palm Beach.  His next start will be at AA Springfield, so it seems like he's on track to be back in St. Louis by the beginning of May.  Speaking of pitchers returning from injury, Russ Springer could be back pretty soon, which will make for some interesting decisions.

I've added two blogs to my blog roll, The Cardinal Virtue and Keeton's Cards.  Check them out when you've got a chance. 

Also, the United Cardinal Bloggers are in the planning stages of their next project, which may be something that's never been attempted in the history of the Internet.  And it's pretty cool, too, if I do say so myself.  I need a lot of bloggers involved, so if I sent you the e-mail, I hope to hear from you soon.  If I don't have your e-mail and you are interested in participating (or just want to know more), send me a note through the "Contact Me" at the top of the page.


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