/Game ends

Me: Well that was nice. I sure am glad the Cardinals pulled that off...

... oh no. Wait. Do I... do I have to recap that?

Crud.

Friends, I have no idea how to recap this game.

Imagine a baseball game. Are you picturing it? Do you see it all in your head? Close your eyes if you must. I will wait for you.

...

.......

..........

Ready?

Now imagine the most standard, run of the mill, regular game possible. Lots of groundball outs, a few defensive gems, maybe a home run? That was this game. The game was so baseball-y, I am not sure that recapping it is even necessary. You have all seen this game before. It is not a new thing.

No, I still have to recap it? Fine. But I am just doing the cliffnotes.

Kolten Wong

When: The bottom of the third

Where: Home plate

What: Hit a homer

Why: To better understand the beauty that we call life and to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead

Randal Grichuk:

When: The bottom of the seventh

Where: Second base, third base, home plate

What: Stole a base, advanced on the overthrow, scored on a Jose Martinez single

Why: To find out why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch and also to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead

Lance Lynn

When: First inning through seventh inning

Where: Pitcher’s mound

What: Fire emoji

Why: Those meddling kids and their dog and to shutout the Pirates

***

Lance Lynn pitched well with five strikeouts and only one walk and three hit in seven innings of shutout ball. The Cardinals plated two runs on offense, one on Wong’s homer in the third and and the other via small ball in the second. The second run proved to be the game winner after the Pirates cobbled together a run in the top of ninth off Seung Hwan-Oh.

And the Cardinals did not find a way to implode! Hooray!

I think that final line about sums it up.

***

Stray Notes:

• Trevor Rosenthal looked darn good again
• Randal Grichuk made a nice play in the outfield
• The Cardinals appear to have tabled the Matt Adams in left field experiement/experience
• Hey, did you know that David Freese quit playing baseball for awhile in college
• TOOTBLANS COUNTER:
  Just one I saw - Stephen Piscotty tried to stretch a single into a double and was thrown out on the bases like a nincompoop by approximately 497 feet, give or take.*
  *Yes, I am exaggerating, but no, it was not close.

A Win Expectancy Graph:

LIL SCOOTER’S LIL PLAYER OF THE GAME:

Lance Lynn led the Cardinals with fastballs thrown and in WPA with .456. He receives this time honored award.

Tomorrow Mike Leake toes the rubber against Chad Kuhl at 7:15pm in game two of the three-game set.