Pujols In The City

I think that, if I were the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I would petition Major League Baseball to make sure that the Cardinals never came to Pittsburgh in August.  It’d be bad enough to face  Albert Pujolsin his own park in the month that he’s always hitting, but to have him come to PNC Park is  just asking for a beating .

I couldn’t help but laugh after his first at-bat.  You hate to see a pitcher leave with an injury that early, but especially when the first two batters have reached.  A lot of times, that can kill momentum as the new pitcher warms up as much as he likes, plus has his own new rhythm.

So Pujols waits through the delay….and then sends the first pitch over the wall.  No taking one to get timing, no waiting to see what the guy has, just first pitch boom.  He didn’t even expect to swing, but his instincts and reactions are such that he just did it automatically, with the results we’ve come to expect.

After his 3-5 night, he’s at .319, four points behind Joey Votto (and a point behind Martin Prado) in the batting race.  He’s got a lead in the other two categories, so with him facing Paul Maholm, Votto going against Jonathan Sanchez and Prado getting Jorge De La Rosa (in Colorado), that order could shift around tonight.  Be interesting to see if AP could get on top of all the Triple Crown categories, at least for a day or so.

It was another night where finding a Goat was a tough thing, but with  Felipe Lopezbeing the only starter without a hit, I put him in there, even though he did draw two walks.  I was pretty surprised to see him hitting in the fifth slot, though.

It was very good to see quality results from Kyle Lohse last night.  I’m not sure that he’d have put up a line like that against many teams, but if confidence is something he’s needing, facing the Pirates can only help.  He gave up a few fly balls that were a little worrisome in the first couple of innings before allowing his two-run homer in the sixth, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.  He should be facing Washington next time out, so that will likely be another situation where he could gain a little momentum.

I was actually afraid I’d seen this game before for a while.  I remember a game against Pittsburgh I believe last year, when Ian Snell allowed four runs before getting an out, then held the line the rest of the way and Pittsburgh came back to win.  I was glad to see the offense didn’t completely shut down after getting that early lead, especially since it wasn’t Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright on the mound.  Lohse probably needed that extra cushion.

The injury news off the field is piling up as well, both good and bad.  The good is that Jason Motte is just about  ready to go out on a short rehab assignment .  With the minors ending here in a week or so, it can’t be a long one, but likely Motte doesn’t need much.  Having him back in the pen will be a good thing, though the relievers haven’t struggled much lately.

The bad (at least in theory) is that Dennys Reyes isn’t doing well and that Colby Rasmus is still days away from returning.  Reyes has been so iffy this season anyway when coming into LOOGY situations that not having him available hasn’t been the disaster that it might have been last year.  Maybe some rest will have him be more effective for October, if the Cardinals make it.

Rasmus is a different story.  More and more the “JD Drew” rumblings are coming to the surface.  Not that anyone doubts that he’s hurt at all, don’t misunderstand.  But it seems like it’s tough for Rasmus to play a full season and, with Ryan Ludwick gone, the Cards really need his healthy bat in the lineup.  You’d hate to see him get into the doghouse like Drew did, but it seems like a strong possibility.

Cardinals get to send Adam Wainwright to the hill tonight, which is usually a wonderful thing to watch.  Pirates put out Paul Maholm, who has been a problem for St. Louis in the past.  This year, not so much, as in the one game he started against the Cardinals, he gave up six runs (four earned) in three and a third.  If it’s another night like that for Maholm, Pujols might get to #400 and the Cards might be able to cut another game off that NL Central deficit.  Here’s hoping!