clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2015.08.28 Cardinals at Giants Recap: Cards drop game one

and here is how it happened

By lil_scooter93
i do not know why this picture exists, but it feels appropriate
i do not know why this picture exists, but it feels appropriate
Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

pre game

cardinals lineup:
Matt Carpenter 5
Thomas Pham 8
Jhonny Peralta 6
Yadier Molina 2
Kolten Wong 4
Stephen Piscotty 9
Brandon Moss 7
Mark Reynolds 3
Michael Wacha 1

giants lineup:
Nori Aoki 7
Mike Duffy* 5
Brandon Belt 3
Gerald Posey 2
Marlon Byrd 9
Gregor Blanco 8
Kelby Tomlinson 4
Ehire Adrianza 6
Mike Leake 1

*Mike Duffy may or may not just be a name I made up because it sounded right.

game:

Sometimes, the team just loses.

There is really nothing more to say. For whatever reason, a night just won't be the team's night. Tonight was one of those nights for the Cardinals. It was not that Michael Wacha just "didn't have it", or that the offense could not put runners on or bring runners home. It was not really managerial incompetence, though there were some questionable decisions, of course. The game was not really particularly sloppy, but again, there were some moments it was. This was just one of those games the baseball gods had preordained that the Cardinals lose, perhaps for some sort of greater good, of which the feeble mortal mind is incapable of grasping.

Like most, this game was really a boring game peppered with moments of high intensity. There were three key intense moments the Cardinals faced:

  1. the bottom of the third
  2. the bottom of the eighth
  3. the bottom of the ninth
And here is how they look visually:
In each of these instances, just plum bad execution was the key ingredient. The Cardinals committed three errors on the night, two in the third inning alone. The first error by Carpenter was bad in that it allowed the leadoff runner to reach base. The second error by Peralta was worse because it not only allowed a second runner on base, but it negated a possible double play. These errors were followed up by two pitches. One that ended up here:


And the next one that ended up here:

After Byrd's grand slam, the Cardinals mounted a comeback in the top of the fourth. Piscotty plated two on what is already his eleventh double of the season, adding to the run scored earlier in the inning by Carpenter to bring the Cards to within one. Tommy Pham nearly single-handedly scored the equalizer in the sixth by tagging up on fly balls to Bryd twice to get to second, then third, and then scored on a wild pitch.

Things got interesting in the bottom of the eighth when Jonathan Broxton loaded the bases with two outs, but he was able to escape the jam with some cleverly-placed strikeouts. Kevin Seigrist was not so fortunate an inning later, however. After walking the bases loaded with one out, the Cardinals employed the rare five-man infield, this version included Brandon Moss playing in the middle infield. The Bespecled Menace Tomlinson then drilled a base hit up the middle to snap the Cardinals winning streak at five.
stray thoughts:

  • Almost done with the west coast!
  • Trevor Rosenthal is about to become a father again! He out this series on paternity leave. Congrats to the Rosie family!
  • #SignJasonHeyward
  • M tarred, so this is all y'all are gittin' from me. (This actually closely resembles my native colloquialisms, of which I tend to use more whenever I lack sufficient sleep or beverages that do not contain alcohol.)

post game

LIL SCOOTER'S PEST OF THE GAME/HONORARY NORI AOKI AWARD

Tomlinson leads all players with .199 WPA, barely edging out Stephen Piscotty and Tommy Pham in that area, who are at .190 and .181, respectively.


Source: FanGraphs

Saturday afternoon is Lance Lynn versus Ryan Vogelsong. Until then, friends!

More From Viva El Birdos