It’s over.
In losing to the Chicago Cubs 6-4, the St. Louis Cardinals were eliminated from the 2015 postseason. But the Cards did not go down without a fight.
Steven Piscotty got the scoring started in the first. The young outfielder jacked a two-run home run off of Cubs pitcherJason Hammel, but Hammel hunkered down afterward and lasted through the third inning. That was just long enough for the Cubs offense to take action. In the second inning, Cubs rookie shortstopJavier Baezhomered to bring in fellow rookieKyle Schwarberand Hammel. Earlier in the inning, Hammel had singled to bring inStarlin Castro.
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This riled Cardinals pitcherJohn Lackey, who only pitched three innings. After the third inning, both clubs went to their bullpens. The Cardinals relied mainly onAdam Wainwright; Wainwright primarily focused on damage control, pitching two innings of no-hit ball. The Cardinals offense could not take advantage until the top of the 6th. In that half-inning,Tony Cruzdoubled andBrandon Mosssingled to bring inJason HeywardandJhonny Peralta, respectively, to tie up the score.
In the bottom of the sixth,Anthony Rizzohomered to bring the score to 5-4, and in the next inning, Kyle Schwarber hit one out of the park to put the game away for good. It wasn’t quite the outburst the Northsiders had Monday night, but it was more than enough.
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After the 6th inning, the Cubs bullpen only gave up one hit, a single toMatt Carpenterin the 9th. The Cardinals could not get it going against the Cubs bullpen-by-committee, giving the potent Cubs offense more than enough time to put the game away. The Cubs bullpen relied on pitchers for no longer than one inning, and the winning pitcher,Trevor Cahillactually did the worst of the Cubs bullpen; Cahill gave up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts.
There is a reason the Chicago Cubs have made to the NLCS. The Cubs have consistently relied on an extraordinarily deep roster to pull through, not only when their backs were against the wall (both in Pittsburgh and throughout the regular season), but also to get the job done when required. The Cards, on the other hand, could not, and tonight it showed. Now the Cubs are waiting on the Mets and the Dodgers to finish their business.
As for the Cardinals, I hopeMike Mathenyhas a decent golf handicap.
It’s been fun, folks. There’s always next year.
Next: St. Louis Rams Release RB Trey Watts
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