Cardinals more lucky than good Friday night
Sometimes, the old saying goes, it’s better to be lucky than good. After enduring a tough-luck loss Thursday night, such was the case Friday, when the Cardinals beat the Nationals 4-2, despite the Nationals outhitting the Cardinals 12-7.
So did the Cardinals get a bit lucky? Perhaps. Consider that in addition to the hits advantage, the Nationals also enjoyed six walks, two doubles, a triple and a home run — and still managed only two runs. In terms of an opponent’s ineptitude at converting runs — which one could measure by the difference between runs created and runs scored — the Cardinals witnessed a season-worst. Here are the "top" 10 on the year:
| Rk | Date | Tm | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | BB | RC | R | Diff |
| 1 | 8/27 | WSN | 43 | 37 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 8.0 | 2 | 6.0 |
| 2 | 7/22 | PHI | 44 | 42 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 5.7 | 2 | 3.7 |
| 3 | 6/11 | ARI | 45 | 37 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 5.6 | 2 | 3.6 |
| 4 | 6/8 | LAD | 34 | 31 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 4.3 | 1 | 3.3 |
| 4 | 6/20 | OAK | 37 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 6.3 | 3 | 3.3 |
| 4 | 5/19 | FLA | 44 | 38 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 5 | 8.3 | 5 | 3.3 |
| 7 | 4/25 | SFG | 35 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3.2 | 0 | 3.2 |
| 8 | 7/16 | LAD | 43 | 39 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 6.9 | 4 | 2.9 |
| 9 | 8/20 | SFG | 45 | 40 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 5 | 8.8 | 6 | 2.8 |
| 10 | 8/1 | PIT | 37 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3.7 | 1 | 2.7 |
It’s not even close. With their 19 total bases (the Cardinals hit two home runs yet had only 13 TBs), the Nationals created eight runs but scored only two, a difference of six runs that disappeared into the ether. The reason? Strikeouts (nine), a double play, a caught stealing and other unproductive outs. The Cardinals, on the other hand, created only 3.1 runs but scored four, aided by errors.
So the next time the Cardinals lose a game they seemingly should’ve won, it’s helpful to remember that they’re occasionally the beneficiaries of fortune, too.