September baseball has arrived, and despite everything that’s gone wrong for them this season, the St. Louis Cardinals are in first place.
But the race is far from over.
What St. Louis has going for them, among many things, is that All-Star catcher Yadier Molina has made his return, and his presence has been felt immediately both on the team and in the crowd.
Cardinals’ pitcher Shelby Miller has, to say the least, had an off-year. While he’s had many moments of strong performances, the struggles are more visible, and coming into Wednesday’s match-up against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miller hadn’t won a game since July 7th.
But he did his job, pitching seven solid innings, while getting out of a critical jam in the top of the seventh, and despite getting the no-decision for the game, St. Louis swept their rival Pirates in a 1-0 thriller.
Overall, when it came to the starters, the battle was as even as you could get. Miller allowed only three hits, no runs, walked three, and struck out five on 102 pitches. On the other side, Pirates’ starter Edison Volquez pitched 6.1 solid innings, allowing only three hits, walking two, and striking out five on 82 pitches.
Both offenses struggled throughout the majority of the game, both having multiple opportunities to score, only to come up short in the end. St. Louis had their best chance to score thwarted when, with one out, Jon Jay was caught stealing in the bottom of the seventh.
Carlos Martinez performed strong in the top of the eighth, shutting down the heart of the Pirates’ order, capping off the inning by striking out reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutcheon.
In the bottom of the ninth, and Pirates closer Mark Melancon on the mound, Matt Adams struck out, as did Jhonny Peralta, both on check-swings. Molina, however, kept the inning alive by drawing a walk. Jay followed with a single.
Peter Bourjos then stepped up the plate. His season has been far from perfect. But for one big moment, Bourjos launched a single up the middle, and Molina ran all the way home for the winning run, giving the Cardinals the 1-0 win after a thrilling pitching duel overall.
The win puts St. Louis at 76-63, and drops Pittsburgh to 71-68, and puts them five games behind the Cardinals in first place.
With a sweep of Pittsburgh, St. Louis now heads to Milwaukee, starting tomorrow night, for one of the most important series’ of the season, and they do so with a five-game winning streak on their side.
It’s not about being on top all season, it’s about being on top at the end of the season. And the Cardinals, through it all, have cemented their message that they have a lot left in them, and that September baseball is just starting to heat up.
(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
