7 Thoughts on this Redbird Rundown from Game #3
- Lance Lynn hadn’t pitched since October of 2015.  Today was definitely a step in the right direction.  Lynn went 5 and ⅓ giving up just 5 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4.  Most of the trouble Lynn got in was against former Cardinals. Jon Jay, John Lackey (2 hits), & Jason Heyward had 4 of the 5 hits against Lynn.
- The game was looking promising with the Cardinals holding on to a 4-2 lead in the top of the 7th.  After Matt Bowman helped Lynn get out of the 6th, Matheny called upon new lefty Brett Cecil for the 7th.  After striking out Matt Szczur he reached first on a crazy play.  The pitch Cecil made to strike out Szczur bounced and got stuck in Molina’s chest protector.  By the time he was able to locate the ball Szczur was already at first.  That play should have been enough to let the Cardinals know that it wasn’t meant to be today. He then walked Jon Jay opening up Pandora’s Box.  Kyle Schwarber preceded to hit a 3 run blast to  swing the momentum of the game towards the Cubs.  This wasn’t the debut that St. Louis hoped they would get when giving Cecil more than 30 million over 4 years.  Cecil never even got an out as he gave up a walk and single after the homerun before being pulled for Miguel Socolovich. Â
- After the Cardinals scored 3 runs in the first inning they had 2 total hits between innings 2 & 8.  In the 18 innings the Cards batted against the Cubs in their last two games (losses) they only scored in 3 of the innings.  Not a recipe for success.
- The Cardinals had their best chance to come back in the bottom of the 8th when they had 1st and 2nd with only 1 out. Â Carl Edwards Jr. came in to strike out Grichuk & Gyorko halting any chances the Cardinals thought they had at rallying. Â
- Lost in the loss was Miguel Socolovich and Sam Tuivailala pitching 3 innings while allowing only 2 hits and striking out 2.  It will be important for the middle relievers to keep putting up 0’s while the offense searches for consistency.
- At the end of the day it’s not supposed to be easy to beat the World Champion Cubs.  It does hurt losing 2 of 3 at home – but it hurts even more after winning the season opener.  While the games were close – the St. Louis Cardinals aren’t a franchise/team who simply wants to be competitive. Â
- When you hold Kris Bryant hitless and Zobrist, Russell, and Rizzo, to a .182 average (6 for 33) in the series you expect to win more than 1 game. Â
The Cardinals welcome the 2-1 Reds to town for a weekend series, with Friday’s game scheduled for 7:15 at Busch.
Friday’s game features Amir Garrett a lefty who according to MLBpipeline.com is the Reds #2 prospect.  He’ll be making his major league debut.  A unknown lefty making his debut against the Cardinals typically would be good for most teams, but if history recent repeats itself will be kryptonite for the Cardinals.  Opposing him is former Red Mike Leake, who looks to snap the Cardinals 2 game losing streak.
A few Reds with great #’s vs. Leake
Zack Cozart batting .429 with going 3 for 7
Adam Duvall batting .385 going 5 for 13 with 2 HR & 8 RBI
Former Brewer Scooter Gennett batting .280 over 25 AB
Billy Hamilton batting .714 collecting 5 hits in 7 AB including a HR
Limited Success vs. Leake
Joey Votto has gone just 2 for 11 batting .182 against Leake. Â
Votto hasn’t gotten in on the fun against his ex teammate, presumably because he felt sorry for Leake with the way his team was circling the bases against him.
