| Judith A. Culp. 20th June, 2005 - 4:08 pm
After dropping 2 of 3 in Toronto, the Cardinals headed to Tampa Bay and completed a rare sweep. The lowly Devil Rays are hardly a franchise that strikes fear in any team, especially not the Cardinals.
However, the series did provide St. Louis with several positives. Firstly, Mark Mulder returned to his winning ways with Friday night?s 6-4 victory.
Mulder had been the loser in his last three starts, so a win was a welcome sight not only for the fans but also for his esteem. A loss to a team as bad as Tampa Bay could be devastating to a pitcher of Mulder?s caliber. He is now 8-4 and seeking to regain his early season dominance.
Saturday?s game was retro uniform day. The Cardinals had on the 1982 sky blue uniforms from that championship season. The Devil Rays wore University of Tampa uniforms from the 60?s. Matt Morris improved his record to an impressive 8-0 as the Cards beat the Devil Rays, 5-2. Also, Scott Rolen returned to the line up after he had been out for several weeks with a shoulder injury. He went 1-4 but it was just great to see him back out there.
Sunday?s game was a Cardinal 8-5 victory. Jeff Suppan improved to 6-6, garnering a win after losing in Toronto. The win moved Tony LaRussa to fourth on the all time wins list with 2158. Jason Isringhausen has now successfully saved 21 of 22 games this season.
The Cards hold a 9 ? game lead in the NL Central. Their overall record is 44-24.
Next: The Cardinals open up a three game series at Cincinnati tonight. |