It was fairly frustrating not to see the game last night. FSN Midwest, usually reliable, failed me by being out-of-service for the duration of play. I watched the gameday play-by-play on MLB.com (thank you, MLB.com), and I guess I could have listened on the radio (even though that didn't occur to me until the eighth inning or so), so I knew what was going on, but missed all the actual game action.
Yadi was the Cards' DH. It sounds funny, but (1) it's a good way to get him in the game without risking him behind the plate, and (2) who else ya got? Miles? Barton? Both are good hitters, but not any better than Yadi. In other words, he's as good a choice as anyone.
Duncan has GOT to get this figured out. A ground-out RBI is not the ideal way to score, especially from a guy who hit 22 home runs last year, but his last two RBIs have been exactly that. I can't tell if he's just not seeing the ball, or if his swing is different than what's worked for him in the past, but something's wrong. I love you , Duncan, which makes it even harder to watch you continually strike out and miss good pitches.
Three home runs (LaRue, Schu, and Yadi) and a ground-out/fielding error RBI (Duncan) provided all the offense for the Cards. Kyle Lohse pitched an exceptional six innings, only giving up 2 runs, and left the game with a 4-2 lead. Randy Flores loaded the bases in the seventh and had to be pulled before he retired a single batter. Then Springer came in and rescued him with a double play and a strike-out, and only allowed one run to score. Franklin pitched two innings for the save, and while he did give up a run in the bottom of the ninth, he was able to hold onto a one-run lead for the Cardinals' win.
