MLB NEWS
That’s Mr. Pujols To You, Pal
Published by MoonDog on August 7, 2008
Albert Pujols is on one of his classic streaks where everything a pitcher throws at him gets hammered. Wednesday night the All-Star first baseman went 4-for-4 hitting two singles, a double and a grand slam to lead the Cardinals past the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-6.
Pujols’ blast broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth, connecting off of Dodgers’ starter Derek Lowe. Four pitches later, Ryan Ludwick continued his recent home run string, slamming a long one into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run in the past five games.
The Cardinals got a good start from Joel Pineiro (4-5, 5.04), who pitched seven solid innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. Pineiro struck out two and walked no one while tossing only 78 pitches.
Pineiro’s good performance bailed out the Cards’ bullpen – sort of – after Jason Isringhausen blew another save for the Cardinals Tuesday night, their major league-leading 27th.
Chris Perez, recalled from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, got the final five outs to earn his first big league save. It was a clear indication that manager Tony La Russa has reached a point where he can no longer trust Isringhausen with a late-inning lead.
Ludwick is the fifth Cardinals player to homer in five straight games and the first since Pujols from August 17-22 last season. Ludwick hit a walk-off two-run shot in the 11th inning off Jason Johnson on Tuesday against the Dodgers.
Ludwick is batting .486 (18-for-37) during a nine-game hitting streak and has raised his average to .307, with 29 HRs and 82 RBIs.
The win helped the Cards’ keep pace with the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. St. Louis (64-52) remained 5.5 games behind the Cubs after Chicago defeated the Houston Astros earlier in the day, 11-4. The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card race.
St. Louis will try for a sweep Thursday afternoon against the Dodgers. The Cardinals will send Kyle Lohse (13-3, 3.73) to the mound while the Dodgers are expected to send Clayton Kershaw (1-3, 4.02) to the hill.
In Other Cardinals News
Right-hander Adam Wainwright will make a rehab start Friday night at Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals originally scheduled Wainwright to begin his rehab assignment with a start on Saturday, but announced the change Wednesday night.
There has been some speculation that once Wainwright completes his rehab assignment he could be inserted into the closer role. That’s a job he’s held previously in 2006 when Jason Isringhausen was injured.
After Tuesday night’s game, general manager John Mozeliak was asked about Isringhausen’s performance.
“It was disappointing. Obviously to get a game pitched so well up until the ninth and to have the outcome go the way it did, in terms of a home run, hit, walk — it was tough. I think it’s something that Tony, Dunc and I will talk about tomorrow, strategize and see what makes the most sense. You can’t just keep giving games away like that.”
“We’re not in a situation where we can go out and necessarily find somebody to close. We’re very supportive of Izzy, and we’ve stood by him. but at some point we have to get some results.”
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- Albert Pujols Should Vote His Teammates Off The Island
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3rd Down H-Back on Thu, 7th Aug 2008 18:03
It must be nice to pull for a team that hasn’t already conceded the season.