The Cardinals got away with less than perfect play again Tuesday night, edging the Braves 5-4. Their defense and starting pitcher repeated the blase performances of the previous game.

It looked like "another one of those nights" in the second inning when Brendan Ryan botched a forceout. With Troy Glaus on first, Jason Heyward grounded softly up the middle. Ranging across the diamond past second base, Ryan fielded the ball and prepared to tag the oncoming Glaus, who braked, causing Ryan to panic and throw to first. Glaus then resumed his run to second, beating Albert Pujols’s throw. Perhaps Ryan was being greedy in trying to keep the double play alive, but he should’ve simply tagged the lead runner. The dodgy defense continued when the next batter, Melky Cabrera, lined a single to center and Colby Rasmus spiked the throw home into the dirt behind second base.

After consecutive double-digit-strikeout starts, the only thing that Chris Carpenter missed was the strike zone, racking up three walks among the 25 batters he faced, while getting only five swinging strikes (four strikeouts total). But again, a home run — this one from Ryan Ludwick — awakened the team from its funk, almost like the signal for Batman to save them from their malaise, and the Cardinals pulled another win from a seeming loss.

Other notes:

• Carp appeared to pitch timidly to Chipper Jones. Looking at the head-to-head numbers, it’s understandable: Jones has a .500 OBP/.350 GPA against the Cardinal righty (though cleanup man Troy Glaus has a .343 GPA).
• With runners on the corners and one out in the fourth, Carp benefited from a wide strike-three call to McLouth to neutralize the Braves’ threat.
• If Albert Pujols gets more than Ryan Howard in his next contract, it won’t (or shouldn’t) be because of his baserunning acumen. Pujols is aggressive, yes, but to a fault: He has a bad habit of trying for third base on the second out, and was nearly nabbed in the fourth inning when he waited for Chipper Jones to throw out Holliday before dashing to third. He made it (barely), but it was a reckless decision, and fans shouldn’t reward it with unthinking cheers.
• La Russa batted the pitcher eighth for the first time this season, and who sparked the winning rally? None other than Brendan Ryan, batting ninth. Memo to TLR: The tactic works; keep it.
• Yunel Escobar made another fine play in the field, robbing Yadier Molina of a hit in the second. For all the trouble he gives Bobby Cox, he’s a solid and underrated shortstop: He’s one of the top five in the league in fielding, and his hitting — currently at .245 wOBA — will regress to his career level (.346).
• Colby Rasmus was victimized by a wide strike-three call for the second night in a row (caught looking with a runner on third in the fourth).
• La Russa was lucky he didn’t have to go to extras. Ryan Franklin was the only reliever left, and he was only technically available, having pitched the last two days. Perhaps now we know what role Aaron Miles (career xFIP: 6.48) will play when he is recalled.

This entry was posted by Pip on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 9:33 am and is filed under analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.