A win for the Junior Varsity team
With AAA call-up Randy Keisler replacing the injured Chris Carpenter, Tony La Russa evidently designated tonight’s game in Pittsburgh as the one to all but give to the Pirates. La Russa has explained in the past that he’s in the business of winning season series and that, once he’s won the first two of three, he can give selected starters a day to rest for the next series. Yet after winning just the first game against the Pirates, he benched a pretty extensive list of starters (Molina; Kennedy; Edmonds; and Rolen, who was hurting). With these regulars sitting and a minor-league journeyman on the mound, the Cardinals were saving themselves for tomorrow afternoon’s chance to win the series.
But they were playing the Pirates.
And, although the Pirates’ starting pitcher logged seven brilliant, shutout innings (evinced by a staggering WPA of .441), their bigs bats weren’t doing their jobs, thanks in no small part to Cardinals pitchers Keisler, Hancock, Flores, Springer, Isringhausen and especially Brad Thompson (who earned the team’s highest WPA of the night at .286).
Moreover, the Pirates’ normally strong closer couldn’t keep Spiezio from driving in the top of the order to tie the game in the ninth.
Then in the 12th, losing pitcher John Wasdin couldn’t contain second-stringers Gary Bennett, Skip Schumaker, and Aaron Miles (who put up the game’s highest offensive WPA: .214). Or, more to the point, catcher Ronny Paulino couldn’t hold on to the ball after Bennett’s slide to the plate. O for a statistic measuring a catcher’s defensive WPA!
Even with their two most accomplished pitchers hurting, their two veteran outfielders ailing, and the B-team giving a number of lettermen the night off, the Cards beat the Pirates and tied them, along with the Reds, for first place in the division.