Cardinals v. Nationals (3 Games)

In an effort to save time and space I’m just going to be doing the key stats and highlights of each game of the series from now on.

Game 1- Looper pitched six innings giving up one run, five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Springer gave up three runs on three hits while Villone, McClellan, Franklin, and Izzy did not allow a run. Nationals starter Odalis Perez gave up five runs on eight hits lasting only four innings. Rick Ankiel hit his second HR of the season with two RBI. Barton, Pujols, Izturis, and Ludwick all hit doubles. Cardinals 5 Nationals 4.

Game 2- Adam Wainwright collected his first win of the season with two runs allowed during eight innings of work giving up eight hits, one run, and four strikeouts. He also drove in a run of his own at the plate. Anthony Reyes gave up two runs and Flores earned his first save of the season after facing only one batter for the last out of the ninth. Matt Chico was the loser for the Nats as he allowed four runs off eight hits in six innings of work. Rick Ankiel doubled and Brian Barton hit a triple. Cardinals 5 Nationals 4.

Game 3- Kyle Loshe pitched seven innings of shut out ball to push his scoreless inning streak to twelve innings in a Cardinals Uni. Flores, Franklin, and Izzy combined to complete the shut out the rest of the way. Izzy earned his third save in three attempts. Rick Ankiel homered again for his third of the season while he, Molina, and Glaus all had doubles. Ludwick had a triple. Nats pitcher John Lannan pitched 62/3 innings giving up two runs, seven hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. Cardinals 3 Nationals 0.

Thoughts
After completing the sweep of the Nationals, the Cardinals have won five straight since losing their opener to the Rockies. The starting pitching staff has looked incredible posting a .96 ERA in 372/3 innings. That’s a huge accomplishment for a team waiting on four starters to return from injuries. The Kyle Lohse signing has looked like a genius move as the cards have lost only two games dating back to spring training since he’s joined the team. Rick Ankiel has three homeruns to lead the team in the first six games and is leading the team in RBI, OPS, and Runs Scored. Does anybody remember that Albert Pujols guy? Well he’s still here and he’s still Albert. Big Al has not homered since the one he got taken away from him on opening day but his batting average is still .353 while getting almost nothing to hit as pitchers are too damn scared to pitch to him, and he’s been walked eight times already, which I’m not sure but I think means that he’s going to have somewhere close to 3,000 walks on the season. Glaus is still hitting a troubling .190 as a Cardinal, but he’s driven in two runs and has made some key plays at third. I hope he doesn't continue to suck this much the rest of the way.

While the big story of these opening games is the Cardinals surprising 5-1 record and the second coming of Rick Ankiel, there are still many other good things to keep in mind. Molina is contributing. Izturis is stealing bases and not committing errors, and Adam Kennedy seems to have finally figured out that he’s wearing a uniform and playing major league baseball as his defense and his bat have improved. Even Brian Barton is getting in on the action and actually started a few games in the place of skip Schumaker who is still nil for 14 at the plate as a lead off man. So the Cards are 5-1 and my secret jig is picking up in intensity. The only problem right now is the fact that the Card's April schedule is riddled with terrible teams, so the record is probably inflated and we haven't played a road game yet. The true test will begin today, though, as the Cardinals will play the next seven on the road at Houston and then San Francisco, although both are terrible teams. The cardinals need to continue to take advantage of the schedule and get as many wins as possible while waiting for the starters to mend before the competition really starts to pick up. The good news is one of the injured starters looks to be returning sometime during that San Francisco trip. Joel Piniero will be knocking someone (most likely Thompson or Wellemeyer) out of the starting job and back into the bullpen, but who knows with the way these guys are pitching so far he might have to wait for one of them to stink up the joint before he finally gets in. Let’s hope the rotation can keep up its good work thus far.

NL Central Division Standings

Milwaukee 5 1

St. Louis 5 1

Cincinnati 4 2

Pittsburgh 3 3

Chicago 3 3

Houston 2 5

Next Up: At Houston (3 Games)

156 games to go