Maybe it's too late for Chris Carpenter and Yovani Gallardo to settle down, given how poorly they pitched earlier. But what I can tell you is that, ever since Mark Kotsay - Mark Kotsay! - hit his solo home run in the top of the third, we haven't seen a runner cross the plate.
Cardinals vs. Brewers: Carpenter, Gallardo Settle Down?
Carpenter got himself into a little hot water in the top of the fifth. So okay, yeah, no, he hasn't settled down. Forget that whole first idea. He walked Kotsay for the second time in the game, and then intentionally walked Prince Fielder with two out. That brought up Rickie Weeks with the tying run in scoring position, but Carpenter whiffed Weeks with a low-away slider. It was his 89th pitch of the game.
Off we went to the bottom of the fifth, where Gallardo didn't get himself into as bad a jam as his opponent. Gallardo got Lance Berkman to pop out on the first pitch, and then got Yadier Molina to foul out on the fourth pitch. David Freese followed with a single and is now 3-for-3 in the game, but he died on the basepaths after Nick Punto struck out looking.
So Kotsay's homer made it 4-3 Cardinals, and it's still 4-3 Cardinals going to the sixth. And I've just now learned that Fernando Salas will replace Chris Carpenter on the mound. Carpenter's line:
5 innings
6 hits
3 runs
3 walks
3 strikeouts
89 pitches (48 strikes)
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