INSIDE PITCH
In
essence, the Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins, 8-7, in 10 innings Monday night
both in spite of themselves and because of themselves. Home-plate umpire Bob
Davidson had a little to do with it, too. But if the Cardinals' season amounts
to anything, they may well look back at this game as a watershed moment.
In the seventh, after the Cardinals
had cut Miami's lead to 2-1, left fielder Matt Holliday, who has 11 hits in his last four games, batted with the bases loaded
and two outs. Holliday sent what might have been a two-run, go-ahead single to
right field but the smash hit center fielder Shane Robinson, the baserunner at
first. Holliday had his hit, officially, but Robinson was declared out, ending
the inning.
Then in the bottom of the inning,
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny brought in right-hander Eduardo Sanchez, the
reliever with the least control on the Cardinals' staff, with runners at second
and third and one out and Miami shortstop Jose Reyes the hitter.
Matheny had Sanchez walk Reyes
intentionally, loading the bases. The Cardinals still had two outs to get and
Sanchez is said to have the best swing-and-miss stuff on the staff. But,
sometimes, the opponents don't have to swing.
After getting ahead of third baseman
Hanley Ramirez 1-2, Sanchez threw three straight balls to force in a run. And
then he walked right fielder Gioncarlo Stanton to shove across another run.
Left-hander Marc Rzepczynski relieved and was nicked for a forceout grounder and
an infield hit, which scored a run apiece, and it was 6-1. Sanchez has walked 13
hitters in 14 innings.
The Cardinals scored one run in the
eighth and than blindsided Marlins right-hander Heath Bell, their closer, with a
four-run ninth, capped by catcher Yadier Molina's two-run homer with two
out.
The eighth-inning rally had been cut
short, in part, because of three called third strikes by Davidson, who then
appeared to mess up Matheny's double-switch lineup move in the bottom of the
ninth.
Matheny had wanted to bring in
right-hander Victor Marte and take out third baseman David Freese, who had made
the final out of the ninth. Freese was the No. 7 hitter, but Davidson somehow
put Marte in the No. 5 spot on his card and conveyed that to Miami manager Ozzie
Guillen.
After Ramirez singled off Marte,
Guillen brought up his lineup card to Davidson, saying that Cardinals first
baseman Allen Craig, the No. 5 hitter, should be out of the game, and, after
many conversations between the umpires and both managers and the umpires among
themselves, Craig had to come out and Tony Cruz, who was the Cardinals' last
position player, entered the game at first base.
Matheny, in his first year as a
manager, said he had listened to veteran managers discuss how best to let the
umpires know of a complicated lineup change -- write it down in front of them at
home plate. And so, he wrote Marte in the No. 7 spot on his card. He also was
noting that Tyler Greene was coming in at second base in the No. 9 position and
that second baseman Daniel Descalso was going to third base.
"I don't know where it got switched to
'5.' Somehow, the '5' hole came up," said Matheny. "If that what's he heard,
that's what he heard and I screwed up."
Guillen actually would pay for the
lineup mixup. After the Cardinals had gone ahead, 7-6, in the 10th inning on
shortstop Rafael Furcal's double, Guillen intentionally walked Cardinals right
fielder Carlos Beltran to load the bases for Marte in the No. 5 spot, knowing
the Cardinals were out of position players. Matheny sent up right-handed pitcher
Joe Kelly, a former outfielder at Cal-Riverside.
Kelly, after falling behind 0-2,
legged out an infield hit to plate what proved to the winning run. Closer Jason
Motte allowed one run in the home 10th before getting Reyes on a liner to center
with two on to end the game.
"Unbelievable," said Matheny of the
whole night's proceedings.
NOTES,
QUOTES
RHP Joe Kelly, pinch
hitting in the 10th inning because the Cardinals were out of position players
after a lineup mixup, got his first big-league hit, a run-scoring infield single
with the bases loaded. Kelly, a rookie who has been in the majors less than two
weeks, said, "They told me to get loose and I started swinging. I was the most
nervous I could be. I was thinking I might actually come up in a situation where
I'd have to hit. The first couple of pitches (from Miami right-hander Chad
Gaudin) were nasty sliders. I thought I was going to get a first-pitch fastball
because I'm a pitcher. I just put (the 0-2 pitch) in play and started running. I
knew I could beat out the ball."
SS Rafael Furcal's double
in the 10th inning gave the Cardinals their first lead Monday night. Furcal
sliced a hit to left field, scoring 2B Tyler Greene, who had singled, from first
base. When you've got a team like we have, we play like a champion," Furcal
said. "We never give up. As soon as (Greene) got that base hit, I said, 'It's my
turn.' I was 0-for-4."
RHP Chris Carpenter did
not face hitters, as scheduled, before Monday's game, because he had felt on
Sunday a renewed weakness in his right shoulder. That was the issue, caused by a
nerve irritation, that had shut him down in spring training. "We need to find
out why it's doing it," Carpenter said. "That's what we don't know. … It's just
not strong enough to throw." General manager John Mozeliak said Carpenter would
be re-examined when the team returned to St. Louis on Thursday. Carpenter, progressing
quickly, seemed headed for a rehabilitation assignment, and Mozeliak said,
"Anytime you come off a planned program, it's not perfect. But, rather than jump
to conclusions, we'll give it a few days and re-evaluate
it."
CF James Ramsey, the
club's second pick in the first round of the recent first-year player draft, has
agreed to terms and, after he takes a physical later in the week, will report to
one of the team's Class A affiliates.
3B David Freese has hit
safely in six straight games at 10 for 24 and is over .280 after dipping into
the .250s.
By the
Numbers:
19-5 - Cardinals' record
against the Marlins in Miami since the start of the 2005
season.
Quote to Note:
"The only thing I can say
is that he's been doing this a lot longer than I have."
- Manager Mike Matheny,
referring to home-plate umpire Bob Davidson and a lineup-card mixup in the ninth
inning.
MEDICAL
WATCH
LHP Jaime Garcia (left
shoulder strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 6. After
further examination, it was determined that he has tearing in his rotator cuff.
He won't throw until at least late July and is out until at least
mid-August.
1B Lance Berkman (torn
meniscus in right knee) went on the 15-day disabled list May 20. He had
arthroscopic surgery May 25, and no ACL damage was found. He might be able to
resume baseball activity in late June.
RHP Kyle McClellan
(strained right ulnar collateral ligament) went on the 15-day disabled list May
18. He won't need surgery but likely will be sidelined until at least late
July.
RHP Chris Carpenter (weak
right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, and he
was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 10. He threw for the first time since
March on June 13 and then threw another 40 pitches on June 15. He threw to
hitters for the first time June 22 but then had a setback June 25 when he felt
renewed weakness in the shoulder. He was expected to get a few more days off
before trying again.
Link to boxscore: St. Louis 8 at Miami 7 (10 innings)