9.9.17 Recap: Cards Inch Closer to Cubs with a 4-3 Victory

So here is the deal: I missed the entire game because I was at a one year-old's birthday party.  Don't ever tell me I'm a bad friend.  The party started at 5pm CT and ended at 8:30 CT.  It is just my luck that it would run literally through the entire game.  Fortunately, I had five beers.  So everything I know about this game, I read three minutes ago on mlb.com.  But apparently it was a very good game!  Here are some things that happened:

• Carlos Martinez threw 6 solid innings, giving up just four hits and two runs, while walking two and striking out eight.  A typical 2017 El Gallo start, in other words.
• This was a ying yang sort of game.  The Pirates scored first, with two runs in the second inning on a double by the pitcher, Chad Kuhl, and Adam Frazier.  The Cardinals came right back in the bottom of the inning with two of their own on a Yadier Molina 2-run home run.
• Nothing happened in the third through sixth innings except that Carlos Martinez continued to be awesome.
• More scoring in the seventh.  Frazier hit an inside the park home run, somehow?  I don't....understand.  Anyway, Matt Carpenter followed with a home run of his own in the bottom of the inning, though it was a regular old over-the-fencer.  Still a tie game, 3-3.
• The bottom of the eighth inning arrived.  Paul DeJong hit a ground rule double to lead off.  He advanced to third on a Jose Martinez ground out, then he scored when Randal Grichuk grounded out.  4-3 Cardinals,
• Juan Nicasio pitched the top of the ninth.  Not sure who this dude is, I vaguely remember hearing his name in some sort of transaction recently.  Anyway, he gave up a lead off single, but then got everyone else out.  Cardinals win 4-3!  Yea!!
• THE CUBS LOST LIKE THE CORN COBS THAT THEY ARE.  Three games out of first in the division, tied with Milwaukee; 2.5 games out of the wildcard, also tied with Milwaukee.  As of publication time, Colorado is beating L.A. 5-4.  (Dude, side note - what in the world is going in on L.A.?  They've lost eight in a row!)
• Tomorrow, 1:15 CT, Ivan Nova v. Michael Wacha.  Be there.