Friday, September 20, 2013
It's Week 4 of High School Football in St. Louis & St. Charles Mo, as well as across the state. The High School Sports Caravan will broadcast the GAC Game of the Week on 100.7 The Viper. Troy Buchanan Trojans vs Frances Howell Central. You will also hear the game on KYRO, News Talk 1280AM with Paul Runge and Dennis Dunn. Pregame at 6pm. We will preview Troy vs Howell Central, and we will talk about all of the great action across the area tonight.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Hard 16
If any baseball club ever needed a dramatic extra innings win to jump start their season, it was the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday in Cincinnati. The Cardinals were riding a mild 3 game skid, and they had dropped 5 of their last 6 games. With time running out in the 2013 season, and the Pennant race heating up, the Cards' starting pitching has been suspect, and the bats have cooled. They're struggling to get back the big piece of chicken, known as 1st place in the NL Central.
Winning the division, as we are all aware, would definitely have certain advantages. It would keep the #Redbirds out of a one game, Wild Card playoff, most likely against the same #Reds they needed 16 innings to beat last night. The Washington #Nationals are barely treading water the Wild Card chase, but they will need an epic run in Sept., and a lot of help, if they are going to catch both the #Cards and the Reds. Everyone is currently chasing the #Pirates, who won their 81st game Tuesday night. The 1st place Pirates were defeated by the spoiler Milwaukee #Brewers last night 9-3, lifting the #Cardinals back to within 1 game of the division lead.
As the Cards plated 2 runs in the 4th inning, tying the game at 2, first baseman Allen Craig, crumbled to the ground while rounding 1st, after errant Joey Votto throw. It was called a base hit and an RBI, and a throwing error on Votto, but it would be the last positive thing for Craig on the evening. Craig, suffered what the organization is calling a "left foot sprain." He will be re-evaluated today, and will likely be day-to-day if the injury isn't too severe. The replay showed Craig badly twisting his ankle on the play, unable to even crawl back to 1st base. He would be tagged out, but more importantly, the Cards would have to finish the game without his bat in the line up. Craig (.315/13/97) has hit safely in 8 of his last 10 games, including 1-2 last night, before his untimely exit. Never fear Cardinal Nation, you've got a guy named Matt Adams on the roster.
Whatever nickname you choose, "Big City," "Big Country," "Big Nasty," or something else, the "Big guy" put the Cardinals on his back last night, and carried them to victory with not one, but two extra inning home runs.
Adams' night did not start off in such spectacular fashion. Stuck in an 0-14 slump entering the game, Adams was 0-3 last night before he launched his 14th inning homer, putting the Cards up 4-3. After striking out in the 8th, Adams let his frustration show, slamming his bat and helmet to the ground, shattering his bat to splinters. That move may actually have been the best thing that ever happened to the St. Louis Cardinals, as his new bat was loaded with two long range bombs in it's barrel.
Usually reliable closer Edwin Mujica, who had been strategically saved to that point, with solid work from the rest of the bullpen, gave up the lead in the home half of the 13th inning, uncharacteristically blowing the save, and prolonging the suspense in Cincy. The Reds had an excellent chance to close the game out in the 15th inning. They had runners on 1st and 3rd, with 2 outs, when an ill advised bunt attempt was botched by Chris Heisey, hanging Shin-Soo Choo out to dry between 3rd and home. Heisey has owned the mistake, taking the heat off of Reds manager Dusty Baker, who simply said after the game, "You're not going to try a safety bunt with two outs. Heisey thought the third baseman was back, he was bunting for a hit. Choo was going to try to score."
Dusty could only gnaw on his toothpick and watch what would happen next. The game stretched into the 16th inning, and hero Matt Adams once again stepped into a long home run, putting the Cards back on top 5-4. Excitement was obvious in the Card's dugout, but there were still 3 outs to record, before anyone could truly celebrate. Rookie Carlos Martinez took the mound in the bottom of the 16th, for his second inning of work, and he was able to close out the game, earning his second win of the season.
The Cardinals play one final game in Cincinnati today, followed by a weekend series back in St. Louis against the 1st place Pirates. The next four games could ultimately decide how the NL Central will shake out, and who will be the Wild Card teams. Last night's huge win, kept the Cardinals in striking distance of 1st place, and hopefully lit a fire under the team, which has been something less than the team once considered the best in baseball. When they were hitting on all cylinders, the Cards had a superior mix of pitching and hitting, that was unmatched until the pesky Pirates surpassed them shortly after the All-Star break. It will take a supreme effort the next four days, for the Cards to regain 1st place in the NL Central, and position themselves to avoid a Wild Card game. First things first, the Cards will send struggling Lance Lynn to the mound tonight, to try and salvage a split of this four game set with the Reds.
Lets Go Cards!
SPz Y
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