Cards' offense shut down in Toronto
TORONTO -- They were playing in a hitters' ballpark. They had an extra offensive player, thanks to visiting the hitters' league. And they're the best hitting team in the National League.
But even with the designated hitter, and even at the Rogers Centre, the Cardinals couldn't hit Roy Halladay on a night when the former American League Cy Young winner was making pitcher's pitches. Halladay carved up the St. Louis offense, and the Cards lost to the Blue Jays, 4-1, on Monday night.
The big right-hander needed a mere 101 pitches to go the distance for his fifth complete game of the year. He joined Randy Johnson and David Wells in becoming the third hurler to shut down the St. Louis offense in less than a week.
"The common thread is that they were very efficient," said David Eckstein, who had two of the five hits against Halladay (10-3). "They pounded the zone with strikes, and they pounded the ball low. They didn't leave too many mistakes.
"In this game, everyone knows good pitching gets out good hitting. So on those days, you've got to be tough and try to find a way to get the pitch count up. But when they're throwing that many strikes, you've got to swing the bat."
Jeff Suppan recovered from some early struggles to pitch a solid game, but he had essentially no margin for error against the Toronto ace. Suppan permitted three runs over seven innings, frequently working out of trouble. The right-hander stranded nine base runners over his seven frames.
Though Suppan escaped damage over his final five innings, he couldn't avoid it in the first two. He trailed, 3-0, after two innings, and even that relatively small margin was too much.
"The early part of the game, my location wasn't where it needed to be," said Suppan (5-6). "They were able to get some hits early on, and any time you're going against a pitcher like Halladay, three runs is enough. He was on tonight and threw a good game."
John Mabry cranked a solo homer for the Cardinals' only run in the opener of a 10-day, nine-game, three-city road trip. Though St. Louis has erupted for seven or more runs six times this month, the Cards have also been held to two or fewer on four occasions in June.
It didn't help that they were playing without two of their three MVP candidates from last season. Scott Rolen remains on the disabled list, and Jim Edmonds was a late scratch due to a rib injury.
Meanwhile, the stars who were available had mostly off nights. Albert Pujols went 0-for-4, with three groundouts. Mark Grudzielanek, who has been one of the Cardinals' most dangerous hitters all year, also went 0-for-4, with two strikeouts. And Larry Walker made it 0-for-12 for the 2-3-4 spots in the order, striking out twice himself.
"[Halladay] didn't win the Cy Young by a fluke," said Walker. "We knew we had our work cut out for us tonight. He's been pitching well. He throws the ball good. He's pretty much nasty, so you tip your hat to him."
Suppan permitted a leadoff double to Alex Rios in the first. A groundout and a sac fly scored Rios but also emptied the bases before Shea Hillenbrand hit a homer that made it 2-0. An inning later, Suppan was one out away from working around another leadoff double when No. 9 hitter Russ Adams hit a single to give the Jays a three-run lead.
"There's always going to be situations where you need to make pitches," said Suppan. "In games like this, those times when you're not making pitches are [magnified] when the other guy is throwing a good game."
The game was the opener of a three-game Interleague series and the first regular-season game the Cardinals have ever played in Toronto. It was the first time in four all-time regular-season meetings that the Blue Jays beat St. Louis.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
But even with the designated hitter, and even at the Rogers Centre, the Cardinals couldn't hit Roy Halladay on a night when the former American League Cy Young winner was making pitcher's pitches. Halladay carved up the St. Louis offense, and the Cards lost to the Blue Jays, 4-1, on Monday night.
The big right-hander needed a mere 101 pitches to go the distance for his fifth complete game of the year. He joined Randy Johnson and David Wells in becoming the third hurler to shut down the St. Louis offense in less than a week.
"The common thread is that they were very efficient," said David Eckstein, who had two of the five hits against Halladay (10-3). "They pounded the zone with strikes, and they pounded the ball low. They didn't leave too many mistakes.
"In this game, everyone knows good pitching gets out good hitting. So on those days, you've got to be tough and try to find a way to get the pitch count up. But when they're throwing that many strikes, you've got to swing the bat."
Jeff Suppan recovered from some early struggles to pitch a solid game, but he had essentially no margin for error against the Toronto ace. Suppan permitted three runs over seven innings, frequently working out of trouble. The right-hander stranded nine base runners over his seven frames.
Though Suppan escaped damage over his final five innings, he couldn't avoid it in the first two. He trailed, 3-0, after two innings, and even that relatively small margin was too much.
"The early part of the game, my location wasn't where it needed to be," said Suppan (5-6). "They were able to get some hits early on, and any time you're going against a pitcher like Halladay, three runs is enough. He was on tonight and threw a good game."
John Mabry cranked a solo homer for the Cardinals' only run in the opener of a 10-day, nine-game, three-city road trip. Though St. Louis has erupted for seven or more runs six times this month, the Cards have also been held to two or fewer on four occasions in June.
It didn't help that they were playing without two of their three MVP candidates from last season. Scott Rolen remains on the disabled list, and Jim Edmonds was a late scratch due to a rib injury.
Meanwhile, the stars who were available had mostly off nights. Albert Pujols went 0-for-4, with three groundouts. Mark Grudzielanek, who has been one of the Cardinals' most dangerous hitters all year, also went 0-for-4, with two strikeouts. And Larry Walker made it 0-for-12 for the 2-3-4 spots in the order, striking out twice himself.
"[Halladay] didn't win the Cy Young by a fluke," said Walker. "We knew we had our work cut out for us tonight. He's been pitching well. He throws the ball good. He's pretty much nasty, so you tip your hat to him."
Suppan permitted a leadoff double to Alex Rios in the first. A groundout and a sac fly scored Rios but also emptied the bases before Shea Hillenbrand hit a homer that made it 2-0. An inning later, Suppan was one out away from working around another leadoff double when No. 9 hitter Russ Adams hit a single to give the Jays a three-run lead.
"There's always going to be situations where you need to make pitches," said Suppan. "In games like this, those times when you're not making pitches are [magnified] when the other guy is throwing a good game."
The game was the opener of a three-game Interleague series and the first regular-season game the Cardinals have ever played in Toronto. It was the first time in four all-time regular-season meetings that the Blue Jays beat St. Louis.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
