5.1 Cardinals vs. Pirates Recap: Lynn strong, Matts strong, Cards walkoff Pirates

pre game

Pirates Lineup:

Cardinals Lineup:

game

Winning is fun. Walking off is funner.

Extra innings remind me of a standoff in a western. Both teams staring at each other. Each one tries not to flinch first. And one wrong move could be your last (for the game). We can only hope that our team is able to scratch and claw their way across home plate first and prevent the other team from scoring. It is a beautiful thing. No clock. No shootout. The game continues until there is a winner.

Back to that in a moment.

The first few innings of this game sort of flew by. The Cardinals got on base a few times, then were promptly removed from base trying to steal second. Heyward was the only successful base-stealer in the early goings, and even then there were two outs. While the offense was busy padding Francisco Cervelli's CS%, Lance Lynn was SMFO. In typical Fascist fashion his night ended after seven innings allowing one run off ten strikeouts and one walk. It was glorious, but this night could have turned out a lot differently. To the sixth!

This was the inning where the Pirates scored their one run. After leading off the inning with a single, Cervelli, who was proving to be a real fly in the Cardinals' ointment, advanced to third on a Mercer double and scored on a Burnett single through a drawn in infield. With runners on first and third and no outs, the inning proceeded to be get worse when Lynn walked Polanco loading the bases with none out. I am sure talks of "Lynnings" and whatever else were flying around. The mood was tense. But then Lynn got out of it. He just freakin' got out of it. Harrison pops up to Adams, McCutchen and Walker strike out and bing-bam-boom inning over. The Cardinals still trailed 1-0, though.

The offense faced a tough challenge in scoring against a Pirate 'pen that is eighth in the league in FIP and seventh in ERA. With a little help from instant replay, they were able to find a way, however. Peralta lead off the inning with a single and advanced to second after Jason Heyward walked. Molina flaired a ball into short left field that Peralta miss-judged. After originally being called out on the play, the call was overturned thanks to a sucessful Cardinal challenge. Then, in a surprise twist, Peralta and Heyward pulled off a double steal.This allowed Peralta to score easily on a Mark Reynolds 17-hopper up the middle.

The bullpens would continue to hold until the bottom of the tenth. The Cardinals made two outs and I decided I was tired and needed this game to end so I could go to bed, so I made a Rally Thread™to speed things up. Jon Jay singled, Matt Carpenter double, Matt Holliday walked, and Matt Adams effed a shift. Cards walkoff. The End.

Stray thoughts:

• Jim Edmonds was doing some broadcasting behind center field. I thought he was okay, although I did mute the game in the fourth - not because of Edmonds, but because I am sick and just couldn't take the noise anymore.
• Jason Heyward walked twice tonight which is just as important to me as hittin' dingers.
• A.J. Burnett kept dropping the ball and it was starting to get hilarious.
• Worrisome moment when Cutch needed a little help off the field. He came back out to play centerfield in the next half of the frame, though, so maybe it is nothing.
• This:
  

  @stlCupofJoe pic.twitter.com/tkqmKFze3d

  — Chase Woodruff (@dcwoodruff) May 2, 2015

• Hahahahahaha if you thought Matt Carpenter wouldn't double.
  

  Matt Carpenter Doubles Watch 2k15: Earl Webb in Eclipse pic.twitter.com/AcaaLkR7Pf

  — Dan Moore (@mademdashes) May 2, 2015

• Trevor Rosenthal has a goatee now.
• Randy Choate shaved his goatee.
• Two other replays tonight - one confirming Heyward's assist and another overturning a double play in the top of ninth.

post game

LIL SCOOTER'S PLAYER OF THE GAME:

Matt Carpenter was on base three times tonight with a walk, a single, and a double and .230 WPA. Lance Lynn had a really darn good game, too.

Source: FanGraphs

Tune in tomorrow at 1:15pm CST as John Lackey takes the mound against Francisco Liriano.