The first six batters of the game made all the difference yesterday in the Cardinals 7-1 rout of the Cubs. Randy Wells was unable to record an out yielding a hit to each one of them and surrendering five runs before Piniella took pity and pulled him out of the game. James Russell took over for Wells and was tremendous as was the rest of the bullpen, holding the Cardinal offense scoreless until the ninth inning.
As usual the Cubs gave themselves plenty of chances to score, but they did not take advantage of a single opportunity. Not one. They were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and it was mostly the middle of the line up that had chances to do the damage. The 4-5-6 hitters: Soriano, Ramirez,and Byrd combined to leave 12 men on base.
Chris Carpenter also did not appear to have his A-game, or even his B-game yesterday repeatedly getting into jams before maneuvering his way out each time. A lot of credit has to go to the Cardinals ace as that is what good pitchers do. When they don’t have their best stuff they are still able to give their team a quality start by bearing down and getting the big outs.
Any loss to St.Louis is going to be a frustrating one, but the Cubs were coming off of back-to-back series wins against two of the major league’s hottest teams. The way that the game felt “over” after six batters combined with all of the missed opportunities makes this one even tougher. However, the Cubs have a chance to bounce back today as they send the suddenly unbeatable Carlos Silva (6-0, 3.52) to the hill. Meanwhile, 24-year-old right-hander Adam Ottavino will make his major league debut for St.Louis. Ottavino was 4-3 in eight starts for Triple-A Memphis with a 4.17 ERA.
