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 A miscue-filled, four-run first-inning, highlighted by Yadier
Molina's three-run homer, was all the Cardinals needed against a
Nationals team whose inept hitting and defense were mercifully
interrupted twice by a massive storm over the nation's capital. The
only suspense regarding the outcome concerned whether the game would
complete the necessary five innings to become official.
Eventually, the rain did subside, and the few hearty souls that
remained got to see the Cardinals complete a successful start to a
nine-game road trip. They also saw the worst hitting team in the
majors accomplish something they hadn't done since Friday: Score.
The Nationals' 22-inning drought, which included back-to-back
shutout losses at Arizona, ended on Ryan Langerhans' RBI groundout
in the bottom of the fifth.
The game's two delays totaled 2 hours, 40 minutes, but Cardinals
starter Kyle Lohse (6-2) returned both times to pitch the required
five innings for the victory. Lohse has won three straight starts,
allowing only two runs over his last 17 innings.
The dark clouds began to gather even as Nationals starter Odalis
Perez (2-5) began the game by hitting leadoff batter Brian Barton,
launching an inning of many misadventures. Two batters later, Perez
fielded Albert Pujols' grounder and threw to second, where Felipe
Lopez mishandled the ball for an error.
Then came Ryan Ludwick, who hit a routine one-hop single to left -- except that left fielder Langerhans let the ball bounce past him to
the wall. Langerhans' only solace was a gift from the official
scorer, who gave Ludwick a double and didn't charge an error.
Two batters later, Molina hit a first-pitch, three-run homer into
the visitor's bullpen in left-center, making the score 4-0, but the
comedy wasn't over. The next batter, Aaron Miles, reached base on a
routine grounder to second after Lopez failed to play the ball
aggressively, a play ruled an infield single.
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Perez was pulled after three innings, his shortest outing of the
year. The rain that had fallen much of the game became unbearable in
the top of the fourth, the torrents and lightning forcing a delay of
1 hour, 51 minutes
When play resumed, the Cardinals pulled off a double steal to take a
5-0 lead. During the rally, Pujols was hit in the left shoulder by a
pitch and immediately left the game for a pinch runner, citing
tightness in his left calf.
Then came another rain delay, this one interrupting the top of the
fifth and lasting 49 minutes. Lohse returned again and helped his
cause with an RBI single before allowing Washington's only run in
the bottom of the fifth.
Notes: Home plate umpire Dana DeMuth became an apparent victim of
the wet conditions when he slipped and somersaulted while running to
first base to make a call in the second inning. First base umpire
Lance Barksdale had run into right field to make sure of a catch by
Kory Casto, who then threw to first base to double off Cesar Izturis
-- with DeMuth rising to his feet just in time to make the call. ...
The assist was Casto's first of his major league career. Casto,
recalled from Triple-A Columbus earlier in the day, also made the
other putout of the inning on a fly ball. ... St. Louis right-hander
Mark Worrell pitched a scoreless ninth inning in his major league
debut. ... Todd Wellemeyer, who's scheduled to start on Wednesday
was named the National League Pitcher of the Month. He was 4-0 with
a 2.19 ERA.
[Associated Press; By JOSEPH WHITE]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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