Sure, I'lll take the win. But the Cardinals are still failing to impress with an underwhelming offense that has struggled to score runs against some of the weaker starting pitchers in the National League.
What happens when they start to get into the meatier part of the schedule?
The Redbirds collected only seven hits in the come from behind victory. They were no-hit through three innings by Pirates hurler James McDonald and things looked grim after Kyle McClellan served up a double and a homer in the first inning to spot the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
But McClellan settled down and gave the Birds six innings with two runs allowed on six hits and one walk. He struck out seven before giving way to the bullpen.
The Cardinals scored a run in the fourth when Allen Craig singled in Lance Berkman and another in the fifth when Albert Pujols hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Ryan Theriot. But the home town nine couldn't score the go-ahead run until the seventh inning after McClellan had departed, so he was denied a win that instead went to Miguel Batista.
The winning run came on when Pujols singled to drive in Theriot. Tuesday marked only the second game of the season in which Pujols collected a hit. But, hopefully, his two RBI night is a sign that the offense is starting to come around.
Cardinals Star of the Game: McClellan
Cardinals Play of the Game: I know a sacrifice fly should be about as common as brown M&Ms. But, with the way the Cardinals have hit in the clutch this year, it's worth noting that someone came through when the game was on the line.
Lowlight: David Freese was 0-for-2 to drop his batting average to .133 for the young season.
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