Yadi Gives Cards Last Laugh

It was a dark and stormy night again in the midwest.  But this time mother nature spared the St. Louis area long enough for the Cardinals and Reds to finish their early season three game set.

Oh, there was rain.  But the thunder came off the bat of Yadier Molina with a huge two-out three-run home run (you can access the video via this link) off Cincinnati starter Edinson Volquez to provide all the scoring in the game, and give a little shot to Brandon Phillips and the contentious Reds.  Yadi sprinted around the bases reminiscent of Phillips HR trot on Friday. 

For his heroics, Molina got a taste of lightening in the form of an Aroldis Chapman purpose pitch during his next at bat in the eighth.  Many observers saw that coming, given that the Reds and their fans blame Molina for the brawl last summer as much as Cardinal fans blame Phillips.  And while Yadi did sprint around the basepaths, he did it with his right arm raised in the air.  

This was a real pitchers dual, not a poor hitting display as is usually the mislabeling of a game with few hits and fewer runs. St. Louis sent out Jake Westbrook on short rest to face Volquez. Westbrook clearly has been the Cardinals worst starting pitcher this season, coming in with a record of 1-2 and had given up 23 runs in only 18 1/3 innings.  He also was the only starter in the National League who had not yet reached the sixth inning.

Volquez entered haunted by demons of his own.  His first inning ERA was 29.25 when he started the game.   But he was much better tonight, and escaped the first with only a zero on the scoreboard.  And he was sharp, allowing baserunners but always managing to get a key strikeout to avoid runs.


Westbrook was even better.  Through six innings of work, he allowed just 3 hits and worked around three walks while recording four strikeouts.  One of his walks was to intentionally pass Joey Votto after Brandon Phillips stroked a two-out double.  Westbrook did what he does best when he's on, getting Jonny Gomes to meekly ground out to short.

After Molina's thriller, the bullpen can in and shut down the Reds.  Shut them down hard.  Fernando Salas and Eduardo Sanchez each got two strikeouts in their respective inning of work.  Then Mitchell Boggs again came into the ninth to seal the victory.  Reigning NL MVP Joey Votto touched him for a double with one out, but Boggs wasn't fazed and struck out Gomes and Jay Bruce to notch his third save in three chances.  Just don't call him the closer yet, he just happens to be the guy called on in the ninth so far - according to manger Tony La Russa.

After the game, Molina was undaunted. "Every time you hit a home run, what do you want?" Molina asked rhetorically. "You want to be mad? Or sad? No. You've got to enjoy it, man. Especially me. I don't hit a bunch of home runs. Every time I get an opportunity to enjoy it, that's the way you have to play this game. Fun." 

Well Yadi, Cardinal Nation enjoyed it.  And apparently Brandon Phillips enjoyed the weekend's entertainment too, despite the Reds losing two of three in the series.  He blew a kiss to the fans after making the first out in the ninth. 

Man, there's going to be some fun to be had between these teams all season long.

Cards Win As Reds, Phillips Blow Into Town

A foul wind blew into St. Louis Friday afternoon.  And no, it was not the big mouth of Cincinnati Reds 2B Brandon Phillips.  Mother Nature unleashed her fury with devastating tornadoes that damaged Lambert International Airport, and delayed the highly anticipated start of the Cardinals-Reds series.  The game was played amongst the debris.  And now the NL Central is part of the debris as the Redbirds roost alone atop the division - 1/2 game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Forgive me if I sound flippant about the storm sitting cozily in warm weather in Tucson.  My son lives in Ellisville with his mother.  I have friends and family in Maryland Heights, Overland, Florissant, and Hazelwood.  Additionally, my mother still lives in southern Illinois which has not been spared by the recent weather.  I am very concerned about the news.  My prayers go out to the entire area.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa showed a heapin' helpin' of Hall of Fame cool for playing chicken with the weather.  LaRussa made a last minute decision to start Miguel Batista against the Reds, knowing full well what the forecast portended.  And he was vindicated when the game was delayed six pitches in.  Reds manager stuck with scheduled starter Edinson Volquez, and he was done without throwing a single pitch in the game.   Perhaps Baker knew what he was doing with Volquez, who's given up 6 HR's, 20 hits, and 17 runs in 22.2 innings thus far this season.

When the storm abated and the game resumed, Kyle McClellan also resumed his anticipated start (technically in relief).  With no outs and a runner on second, McClellan escaped the first without damage.  And he continued to perform as he has all year - 6 innings pitched, 2 ER, 7 hits, 3 BB, and 2 K's on 93 pitches.  Actually, it may have been his worst start of the season - if it was indeed a start.

Ryan Theriot is proving himself to be quite the brown-noser, proving Cardinals GM John Mozeliak correct for bringing the former Cub aboard.  Theriot went 3-4 with a double, and scored 2 runs to get the home team to an early lead they never relinquished.  Theriot is now batting .321 as the replacement for light-hitting Brendan Ryan.  Albert Pujols managed 2 RBI's, and the Lance Berkman Fan Club was thrilled as the Big Puma keeps impressing, matching Theriot's line exactly.  Yadier Molina again had one big hit, a two-out RBI single in the fifth that gave the bullpen the space needed to lock down the victory.

Is it fair to lump the job former reliever McClellan did into the body of work the bullpen did tonight?  I don't think so.  Their performance stands alone.  Eduardo Sanchez was called upon in the sixth inning to save K-Mac in a two-on no-out situation.  The rookie showed jitters, throwing two wild pitches that lead to one Red run, but limited the damage and escaped the jam.  Jason Motte worked himself into a jam, giving up two singles in 2/3 of an inning.  He gave way to Mitchell Boggs who went old-school, pitching over an inning to earn his second straight save.

Let us not forget about the man who created the hype of this series and the burgeoning rivalry between the clubs - Brandon Phillips.  He was the one Red to get good wood on a McClellan offering, depositing his second home run of the season into the left-centerfield bleachers in the fifth.  Phillips showed some class by not grandstanding the performance - he hustled his way home on what had to be a satisfying home run trot.  Cardinal Nation hates him, but his antics upped the hype, and has the final two games of the series on national TV - Saturday afternoon on FOX, and the Sunday night game on ESPN. Here's what the Reds All-Star second baseman has to say after tonight's show:

  You can follow him on twitter @DatDudeBP.  Honestly, he's one of the best MLB players to follow. 

We have national TV, national media, controversy, adversarial competitors, and two good divisional teams facing off in late April.  This rivalry is everything the Cards-Cubs should be, it's Yankees-Red Sox for the rest of the nation.  It was an exciting win for the Redbirds tonight.  I can't wait for tomorrow.  I can't wait to see how this drama plays out through the summer.

This Cool, Red-Hot Cardinals-Reds Rivalry

It's only April, and we are barely 10 percent of the way through the St. Louis Cardinals summertime sojourn, but the season seems ripe for a big series.  Behold, it is upon us as the defending NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds cross the Rubicon Mississippi, and invade the battlefield of Busch Stadium tonight to begin a three game tussle.

It's a long awaited confrontation heightened by the hijinks of last August.  This nascent but vibrant rivalry has been brewing since the 1800's, began budding when former Cardinal GM Walt Jocketty was hired by Cincinnati for the same position, and bloomed with The Brawl last season(video).  Add a jigger of the intensive on-field antagonism of managers Tony LaRussa and Dusty Baker, fill to the top with a healthy dose of Scott Rolen, and stir with the inflammatory controversy of Brandon Phillips' comments:

"I'd play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is [bleep] and moan about everything, all of them, they're little [same bleep, plural], all of 'em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals."

What you have brewing is an intoxicating cocktail that is served best flaming hot, and is to savored.  Yes, I find this flowering rivalry quite cool.

What wasn't cool was the kicking of frustrated futbol-star Johnny Cueto ripping up Chris Carpenter with his spikes, and the career-ending concussion to Jason LaRue.  Sissy-kicking gets you kicked out of the club, Mr. Cueto.  It's a bigger offense to my sensibilities than shoplifting t-shirts.

This entire brouhaha really was ordered by the big mouth of Reds All-Star second baseman Phillips.  Before what appeared to be a crucial series last August, Phillips made statements about how the St. Louis team were a bunch of whiners, and how he hates the Cardinals.  While whine is not a part of this recipe, the hates the Cardinals thing makes a wonderful garnish.  His comments were met with an icy reception across Cardinal Nation, however this observer thought that his shot across the bow was quite cool.

I mean, what is he supposed to say?  The usual, boring platitudes that most professional spout out these days?  Humbug on that.  The Reds team liked their make-up last year, and were ready to take down the Yankees of the division.  He put his confidence on the bulletin-board for all to read and fit his mates for battle.  Phillips and his mates lost that battle, but won the war - and proved their mettle.

Now the teams meet again, tied for the division lead and looked to be running side-by-side all season.  Without Phillips fanning the flames of rivalry, this would just be another early season intra-divisional series.  Now we've got fun, folks.  Good ol' get-in-your-face, spit-on-your-shoes fun.  

Spring flowers in a long-awaited showdown before Memorial Day.  Such things are rare in baseball.  And myself, I will drink in every drop of this new Cardinal-Reds Rivalry cocktail because victory will smell so sweet.  

Let us all wish that Mother Nature doesn't crash our party, leaving us with naught but karaoke this weekend.  Singing the blues about how our awaited refreshment was spilt.