It’s a cold, uncertain world out there. You don’t need this sort of confusion. If the world isn’t an orderly place, everything could crumble down around you. So here’s how to cope.
Phillies Vs. Cardinals: Jaime Garcia Dominates Again, Cards Walk Off In Ninth
- Pretend that Jaime Garcia is a healthy Adam Wainwright.
- Pretend that Lance Berkman is Albert Pujols.
That’s it. If you really want to, you can pretend that Kyle Lohse is Jaime Garcia to complete the the progression. But these thought exercises are useful in order to make sense of this strange little game in this strange little world. They partially explain away the berserker that Garcia has become, though his crazy sinker might have something to do with it, too. Garcia was robbed of a win on Tuesday night, but he pitched another amazing game as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies at home, 2-1.
Roy Oswalt was fine in his return from injury, giving up one run in five innings, but Garcia was even better, lowering his ERA to 1.64 with eight strong innings. The only blemish was an unearned run that scored in the eighth after Tyler Greene dropped a Jimmy Rollins pop-up, a single moved Rollins to third, and Placido Polanco hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. Other than that, the sinkerballer was untouchable.
In the ninth, Ryan Theriot hit an infield single up the middle. Everyone in the park assumed Jon Jay was going to bunt, but the wily Tony La Russa did wily things, and he let Jay hit, which led to a single. Albert Pujols -- who earlier in the game hit his fourth double of the year, stretching his National League lead over Chris Capuano and Bronson Arroyo to two -- then blooped a single to right to load the bases with nobody out. After Matt Holliday grounded into a fielder's choice with Theriot forced out at home, Lance "Albert Pujols" Berkman did it again, roping a ball over drawn-in center fielder Michael Martinez for the walk-off win.
Of course, if you’re a Cardinals fan, you don’t have to pretend anything. You can believe that Jaime Garcia is this incredible, that Lance Berkman is this good, and that Albert Pujols will soon start hitting like he always does. The rest of us find that a little freaky, though, so let us build this house of cards in our mind.
The Phillies will host the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, with the Cardinals welcoming in the Houston Astros.
For more on the Phillies and Cardinals, please visit The Good Phight and Viva El Birdos
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