Cards make Yanks pay for errors
ST. LOUIS -- The guys who are supposed to do it, did it. And they did it when and how they always seem to do it.
The heart of the Cardinals' order came through in a big way early, and starter Jason Marquis pitched an exceptional game, as St. Louis beat the Yankees, 8-1, in the opener of a much-hyped Interleague series. The Cards chalked up two runs in the first, then put the game away with a five-run third.
The Cardinals have dominated their opponents in the early going this season, outscoring opponents by 59 runs over the first three innings of games. That means jumping on the opposition's starter and getting a reputable beginning from your own hurler.
That adds up to wins.
"It's always good if you can score some runs early," said Albert Pujols, "because you can take the pressure a little bit off your starter. If you can take that first step and take the first lead, it's always good. That's what we've been doing."
Through 60 games, the Cardinals have scored 139 runs in the first three innings, allowing 80. That means on the average, they lead by a run after the third in every game. It was 7-0 after three frames on Friday night, and the game was never in doubt after that.
The starting pitchers are a big part of that, but so is the heart of the National League's most potent lineup. Pujols singled, doubled and pounded his 15th home run of the season, scoring three times and driving in two runs. He had a hit in each of the three innings in which St. Louis scored. Pujols has reached base by hit or walk in 15 consecutive games.
Pujols was joined by the rest of the Cardinals' middle-of-the-order thumpers. Jim Edmonds singled, doubled, scored and drove in a run. Larry Walker, batting fifth, singled, walked twice and had a run and an RBI. Reggie Sanders singled twice, scored and drove in a run. All told, the starting 3-6 hitters in St. Louis' lineup reached base 11 times in 17 plate appearances, scored six times and tallied five RBIs.
All this against Chien-Ming Wang, a rookie whom the Cards had never seen before and who had been pitching well -- usually a combination resembling kryptonite against St. Louis' supermen.
"Our video guy, he does a pretty good job preparing the tape," said Pujols. "It's pretty tough when you face the American League, because you don't face the guys. But you pretty much study the tape and hopefully get an idea and get a game plan going, and hopefully it works in the game. It worked out for us today."
Albert Pujols / 1B
Born: 01/16/80
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 225 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
The Redbirds also got some help from an uncharacteristically sloppy Yankees club. St. Louis picked up only three base hits in the decisive third, but New York helped out with two errors and three walks, two of them intentional. The Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate in the third against Wang (3-2).
"They're humans," said Walker. "They're not machines. It's going to happen. It's a game, and they're human and make mistakes as we do. They could come out tomorrow and play absolutely flawless and beat us."
Still, with the Yankees struggling at two games under .500 despite a mammoth payroll, one Cardinal drew a parallel to the 2003 Cardinals. That team, loaded with talent and a heavy preseason favorite, finished in third place with a disappointing 85-77 record.
As shaky as the Yanks were defensively, the Cards were just as sharp behind Marquis. The right-hander was back to his groundballing ways, getting 14 outs in the infield. He improved to 8-3, tying Chris Carpenter for the team lead in wins, and his 3.27 ERA is the best of the team's starters.
Marquis pitched eight innings, allowing a run on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. It was the first time since May 13 that Marquis lasted more than six innings.
"I was able to locate my fastball down in the zone," he said. "The defense made some great plays for me and I just tried to throw strikes, get ahead early and make pitches."
St. Louis is 39-21 on the season and leads the National League Central by 6 1/2 games over the Cubs. The Cards have won 17 of their last 19 regular-season games against American League opponents, dating back to 2003.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
The heart of the Cardinals' order came through in a big way early, and starter Jason Marquis pitched an exceptional game, as St. Louis beat the Yankees, 8-1, in the opener of a much-hyped Interleague series. The Cards chalked up two runs in the first, then put the game away with a five-run third.
The Cardinals have dominated their opponents in the early going this season, outscoring opponents by 59 runs over the first three innings of games. That means jumping on the opposition's starter and getting a reputable beginning from your own hurler.
That adds up to wins.
"It's always good if you can score some runs early," said Albert Pujols, "because you can take the pressure a little bit off your starter. If you can take that first step and take the first lead, it's always good. That's what we've been doing."
Through 60 games, the Cardinals have scored 139 runs in the first three innings, allowing 80. That means on the average, they lead by a run after the third in every game. It was 7-0 after three frames on Friday night, and the game was never in doubt after that.
The starting pitchers are a big part of that, but so is the heart of the National League's most potent lineup. Pujols singled, doubled and pounded his 15th home run of the season, scoring three times and driving in two runs. He had a hit in each of the three innings in which St. Louis scored. Pujols has reached base by hit or walk in 15 consecutive games.
Pujols was joined by the rest of the Cardinals' middle-of-the-order thumpers. Jim Edmonds singled, doubled, scored and drove in a run. Larry Walker, batting fifth, singled, walked twice and had a run and an RBI. Reggie Sanders singled twice, scored and drove in a run. All told, the starting 3-6 hitters in St. Louis' lineup reached base 11 times in 17 plate appearances, scored six times and tallied five RBIs.
All this against Chien-Ming Wang, a rookie whom the Cards had never seen before and who had been pitching well -- usually a combination resembling kryptonite against St. Louis' supermen.
"Our video guy, he does a pretty good job preparing the tape," said Pujols. "It's pretty tough when you face the American League, because you don't face the guys. But you pretty much study the tape and hopefully get an idea and get a game plan going, and hopefully it works in the game. It worked out for us today."
Albert Pujols / 1B
Born: 01/16/80
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 225 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
The Redbirds also got some help from an uncharacteristically sloppy Yankees club. St. Louis picked up only three base hits in the decisive third, but New York helped out with two errors and three walks, two of them intentional. The Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate in the third against Wang (3-2).
"They're humans," said Walker. "They're not machines. It's going to happen. It's a game, and they're human and make mistakes as we do. They could come out tomorrow and play absolutely flawless and beat us."
Still, with the Yankees struggling at two games under .500 despite a mammoth payroll, one Cardinal drew a parallel to the 2003 Cardinals. That team, loaded with talent and a heavy preseason favorite, finished in third place with a disappointing 85-77 record.
As shaky as the Yanks were defensively, the Cards were just as sharp behind Marquis. The right-hander was back to his groundballing ways, getting 14 outs in the infield. He improved to 8-3, tying Chris Carpenter for the team lead in wins, and his 3.27 ERA is the best of the team's starters.
Marquis pitched eight innings, allowing a run on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. It was the first time since May 13 that Marquis lasted more than six innings.
"I was able to locate my fastball down in the zone," he said. "The defense made some great plays for me and I just tried to throw strikes, get ahead early and make pitches."
St. Louis is 39-21 on the season and leads the National League Central by 6 1/2 games over the Cubs. The Cards have won 17 of their last 19 regular-season games against American League opponents, dating back to 2003.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
