There once was a team from Wisconsin
They started a pitcher, Anderson
They tried real hard
And one guy went yard
But then the Cards won, it was awesome
Guys. It is Saturday, and as you can probably imagine, it can be tough to be the recapper on nights like these. Because it is still 100 degrees in Phoenix and my pool is 88 degrees. I made steaks. Life is really, really good right now. Anyway, as a result of all of this, I did not pay as close attention to this game as I normally would. So, here is what I gathered.
Adam Wainwright took the mound against Chase Anderson. They were both good for a long time. Wainwright made one mistake; in the fifth inning, he threw a sinker that didn't really sink. And Keon Broxton drove it out of the park. 1-0 Brewers.
It seemed like the game was going to end like that. The
Cardinals just couldn't seem to get anything going.
Jhonny Peralta hit a one-out single in the fifth, only to be followed by a
Randal Grichuk ground ball double play. In the sixth inning, Wainwright led off with a walk, and for unknown reasons,
Matt Carpenter bunted him over. [Side note: Hi, IHeartBoog here. WHY THE FUCK WAS THE BEST HITTER ON OUR TEAM BUNTING OVER THE PITCHER? Ahem. Sorry about that. guys. It was terrible and I hated it, but that was uncalled for.]
Kolten Wong flew out and
Stephen Piscotty struck out. Boo.
But Wainwright kept on trucking. In the seventh inning, he was around 70 pitches. He had been super efficient all night...until then. Waino gave up singles to the beloved Ryan Braun (later out on a double play) and Domingo Santana. Then he walked Broxton. But, he got out of the inning with no runs scored. Still, 1-0 Brewers. Then, in the eighth inning, he walked more people! Andrew Susac (who was pinch-ran for and sac bunted over to second), then Jonathan Villar, then a single to Scooter Gennett, then an intentional walk to Ryan Braun. But then Wainwright struck out Hernan Perez and got out of it. But it was STILL 1-0 Brewers. Grr.
Everything changed in the bottom of the eighth inning. As if awaking from a long winter slumber, the Cardinals offense yawned, took a big, long stretch, and started hitting the crap out of the ball. Peralta singled, and Tommy Pham came in to pinch run for him. Then Randal Grichuk doubled to move Pham to third base. If only Pham hadn't skipped leg day, you guys, he might have scored. Worry not, folks. He scored on Matt Adams' ground out the next at bat. Tie game. Corey Knebel was pitching at this point, and he intentionally walked Carpenter. Not a bad move, I suppose, but newly rejuvenated Kolten Wong singled to score Grichuk. 2-1 Birds. Piscotty followed with a bases clearing double. 4-1 Cardinals. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Yadier Molina singled home Piscotty. AND JUST LIKE THAT IT WAS A 5-1 GAME. So beautiful.
And that was how it ended. Wainwright pitched eight pretty strong innings (8 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 7 K, 4 BB - 109 total pitches), giving way to Matt Bowman in the ninth. He pitched a clean inning, striking out one and preserving the lead. Cardinals win 5-1!!!
Best. VEB. Day. Ever.
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