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OOTPRealTime · 04-03-2014, 12:07 PM

We had plenty of time to think about that tough Opening Day loss with a day off in between the first and second games. I realize why MLB does it - to have a rain out day when the weather is typically still suspect (especially in Northern cities), but it’s kind of a buzz kill. Anyway, we got through it and the team has been here before. We have 161 more games to make up for it. In game two, we throw out Michael Wacha against their Mike Leake.

@dgold No Holliday or Cruz in Matheny’s 2nd lineup of ‘14: Garcia-Jay-Molina-Craig(LF)-Adams(1B)-Freese-Wong-Lagares-Wacha. Facing RH M. Leake

@Reds #Reds lineup 4/2: 1. B. Hamilton-SS 2. O. Infante-LF 3. Votto-1B 4. Bruce-RF 5. Mesoraco-C 6. T. Frazier-3B 7. Phillips-2B 8. Fellhauer-CF // Mike Leake-SP

CARDINALS BOUNCE BACK IN GAME TWO
by: Jen Ohgosh / cardinals.com

There were a few storylines that surrounded the Cardinals during Spring Training, not the least of which being the teams apparent lack of power, magnified by the loss of Carlos Beltran to the Mariners in the off-season. While Carlos didn’t do the team any favors by blasting three homers on Tuesday in just his second game for the M’s, the Cardinals are holding their own after recording just nine homers in Spring games, the team already has four already in two games when the games count. Cincinnati’s home of Great American Ballpark may aide these numbers a bit, but none of the four were as big as David Freese’s eight inning blast off of Sam LeCure to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish.

Michael Wacha looked sharp at times, and lost at times. He finished with a line of 6 ⅓ innings pitched, seven hits, two earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. Marc Rzepczynski got win in relief after getting two outs on five pitches in that key seventh inning.

“If we play every game against the Reds like this, I won’t have any hair left,” said a joking Manager Mike Matheny after the game.

The Reds got the scoring started in the bottom of the third when Votto drew a walk and Jay Bruce followed with an RBI triple over Jon Jay’s head in center field. Wacha regained his composure and didn’t let the Reds get Bruce in from third by retiring the next two on weak pop outs. That was considered a key by the Cardinals skipper, “Michael could have let things get out of hand there. But, he didn’t and that went a long way for us. Who knows how this goes if they grab a 2-0 lead or even more?”

After Reds starter Mike Leake got two quick outs in the top of the fourth and appeared to be cruising, Cardinals clean up man Allen Craig deposited the first pitch fastball from Leake into the left field stands to tie it up at one. The next three batters - Matt Adams (single), David Freese (single) and Kolten Wong (walk) all reached base, but Juan Lagares stranded them with a fly out to center field. Lagares, making his Cardinals debut in the starting lineup was a surprise to many. Matt Holliday struggled this Spring but hit a homer in the season opener. Matheny told reporters that this is an attempt to keep Matt fresh. He hadn’t had much success against Leake in the past and he really wanted to get Matt Adams in the lineup as well.

It wasn’t until the top of the sixth when Adams and Freese both singled to start the inning, but only managed to get one run in on a Lagares RBI ground out. This gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead which stood until the bottom of the seventh when Zack Cozart doubled off Wacha to start the inning. Billy Hamilton couldn’t move him over with a ground out and then Infante marked the end of Wacha’s day with a base hit. It was a rope to Lagares in left and the Reds did their homework on Lagares’ arm and held Cozart with just one out. With the feared lefties coming up (Joey Votto and Jay Bruce), Matheny went to Marc Rzepczynski. He got Votto to ground out but it was placed perfectly, allowing Cozart to score the tying run. “Zep” then struck out Bruce with Infante in scoring position to end the threat.

Enter David Freese. He hit a high flyball to left field that just snuck over the wall to give the Cardinals the 3-2 lead. Wong followed with a double but was stranded in a failed attempt to get some insurance.

With a 3-2 lead heading into the 8th inning, Matheny had a decision to make and in true Matheny-La Russa form, he went back to the guy who gave up the goods in the Opener, Mitchell Boggs to rebuild his confidence. Boggs got a quick ground out and fly out before Brandon Phillips doubled, putting the pressure on. He beared down and got Josh Fellhauer to ground out to Wong at second base. That put it in the hands of the Cardinals capable closer, Trevor Rosenthal, who got Cozart-Hamilton-Infante in order to even the series and the season record at 1-1.

--------------

These first two have been close, but glad to see we were able to get this one in W column.

04-03-2014, 12:07 PM	#171
OOTPRealTime Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 147	We had plenty of time to think about that tough Opening Day loss with a day off in between the first and second games. I realize why MLB does it - to have a rain out day when the weather is typically still suspect (especially in Northern cities), but it’s kind of a buzz kill. Anyway, we got through it and the team has been here before. We have 161 more games to make up for it. In game two, we throw out Michael Wacha against their Mike Leake. @dgold No Holliday or Cruz in Matheny’s 2nd lineup of ‘14: Garcia-Jay-Molina-Craig(LF)-Adams(1B)-Freese-Wong-Lagares-Wacha. Facing RH M. Leake @Reds #Reds lineup 4/2: 1. B. Hamilton-SS 2. O. Infante-LF 3. Votto-1B 4. Bruce-RF 5. Mesoraco-C 6. T. Frazier-3B 7. Phillips-2B 8. Fellhauer-CF // Mike Leake-SP CARDINALS BOUNCE BACK IN GAME TWO by: Jen Ohgosh / cardinals.com There were a few storylines that surrounded the Cardinals during Spring Training, not the least of which being the teams apparent lack of power, magnified by the loss of Carlos Beltran to the Mariners in the off-season. While Carlos didn’t do the team any favors by blasting three homers on Tuesday in just his second game for the M’s, the Cardinals are holding their own after recording just nine homers in Spring games, the team already has four already in two games when the games count. Cincinnati’s home of Great American Ballpark may aide these numbers a bit, but none of the four were as big as David Freese’s eight inning blast off of Sam LeCure to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish. Michael Wacha looked sharp at times, and lost at times. He finished with a line of 6 ⅓ innings pitched, seven hits, two earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. Marc Rzepczynski got win in relief after getting two outs on five pitches in that key seventh inning. “If we play every game against the Reds like this, I won’t have any hair left,” said a joking Manager Mike Matheny after the game. The Reds got the scoring started in the bottom of the third when Votto drew a walk and Jay Bruce followed with an RBI triple over Jon Jay’s head in center field. Wacha regained his composure and didn’t let the Reds get Bruce in from third by retiring the next two on weak pop outs. That was considered a key by the Cardinals skipper, “Michael could have let things get out of hand there. But, he didn’t and that went a long way for us. Who knows how this goes if they grab a 2-0 lead or even more?” After Reds starter Mike Leake got two quick outs in the top of the fourth and appeared to be cruising, Cardinals clean up man Allen Craig deposited the first pitch fastball from Leake into the left field stands to tie it up at one. The next three batters - Matt Adams (single), David Freese (single) and Kolten Wong (walk) all reached base, but Juan Lagares stranded them with a fly out to center field. Lagares, making his Cardinals debut in the starting lineup was a surprise to many. Matt Holliday struggled this Spring but hit a homer in the season opener. Matheny told reporters that this is an attempt to keep Matt fresh. He hadn’t had much success against Leake in the past and he really wanted to get Matt Adams in the lineup as well. It wasn’t until the top of the sixth when Adams and Freese both singled to start the inning, but only managed to get one run in on a Lagares RBI ground out. This gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead which stood until the bottom of the seventh when Zack Cozart doubled off Wacha to start the inning. Billy Hamilton couldn’t move him over with a ground out and then Infante marked the end of Wacha’s day with a base hit. It was a rope to Lagares in left and the Reds did their homework on Lagares’ arm and held Cozart with just one out. With the feared lefties coming up (Joey Votto and Jay Bruce), Matheny went to Marc Rzepczynski. He got Votto to ground out but it was placed perfectly, allowing Cozart to score the tying run. “Zep” then struck out Bruce with Infante in scoring position to end the threat. Enter David Freese. He hit a high flyball to left field that just snuck over the wall to give the Cardinals the 3-2 lead. Wong followed with a double but was stranded in a failed attempt to get some insurance. With a 3-2 lead heading into the 8th inning, Matheny had a decision to make and in true Matheny-La Russa form, he went back to the guy who gave up the goods in the Opener, Mitchell Boggs to rebuild his confidence. Boggs got a quick ground out and fly out before Brandon Phillips doubled, putting the pressure on. He beared down and got Josh Fellhauer to ground out to Wong at second base. That put it in the hands of the Cardinals capable closer, Trevor Rosenthal, who got Cozart-Hamilton-Infante in order to even the series and the season record at 1-1. -------------- These first two have been close, but glad to see we were able to get this one in W column. __________________ OOTP in Real-Time - St. Louis Cardinals View Current Organizational Depth Chart (dynamic)