| Judith A. Culp. 13th June, 2005 - 3:07 pm
 The Cardinals took two out of three against the Boston Red Sox last week.
It was somewhat redeeming to beat the defending World Champions and watch a struggling Edgar Renteria, though the Cardinals are too gracious to ever say so. By allowing Renteria to leave, his hefty salary freed up money to acquire three additional players -- improving the team dramatically over last season?s squad.
The Cardinals followed up that series by welcoming the New York Yankees to Busch Stadium for the first time since 1964 World Series.
Friday night?s game was a gem pitched by Jason Marquis, who improved his record to 8-3. Albert Pujols had a multi-hit game that included a monster shot into center. The Cardinals won decisively 8-1.
Saturday?s game was the Randy Johnson show. The Cardinals bats were silenced and the Yankees won 5-0. Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder is now 7-3 and has lost his last three starts.
Sunday?s game featured another strong outing by Matt Morris but the win went to Ray King. Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth, where he has been successful in 18 of his last 19 save attempts.
Also, Scott Seabol, called up when third baseman Scott Rolen went on the DL, hit his first major league homerun and helped seal a 5-3 Cardinal victory.
Both series were defined by great defense and hot Cardinal bats. Of course, the Yankees erratic defensive play helped the Cardinals tremendously. The Yankees $208 million payroll needs some retooling ? in the meantime, St. Louis is feeling pretty good about their Redbirds.
Notes: Scott Rolen expects to join the team Friday in Tampa Bay. |
