The Pirates lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 at PNC Park Friday night, thanks to a barrage of extra-base hits by the Cards.

Eight of the Cardinals’ 15 hits went for extra bases, including three home runs. Albert Pujols went 4-for-5 with a homer and two doubles, and Yadier Molina went 3-for-4 with a homer and a double. David Freese also homered.

The Pirates managed 11 hits, nine of them singles, and scored four runs, although starter Chris Carpenter managed to stay in the game for eight innings.

New reliever Jason Grilli made his Pirates debut and allowed one of the Pujols doubles, but he also struck out Matt Holliday and got through an inning without allowing a run.

The Pirates and Cardinals are now tied for second place in the NL Central, and both are a half a game back of the Milwaukee Brewers.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

By Alex Fritz

– Contributor

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MARCH
DATE	TRANSACTION
March 31, 2011	Selected the contract of RHP Miguel Batista from Memphis (PCL). Placed RHP Adam Wainwright on the 60-day DL and INF Nick Punto on the 15-day DL, retroactive to March 22.

APRIL
DATE	TRANSACTION
April 5, 2011	Signed RH/LHP George Wheeler after manager Tony La Russa insisted on having an ambidextrous pitcher.
April 6, 2011	Released RH/LHP George Wheeler, who has been dead for 65 years.
April 13, 2011	Placed RHP Brian Tallet and RHP Bryan Augenstein on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Fernando Salas and RHP Eduardo Sanchez from Memphis (PCL).
April 17, 2011	Purchased the contract of Mayor McCheese, assigned to Memphis (PCL).
April 18, 2011	Released the rap album John Mozeliak: Trader, Playa
April 19, 2011	Placed 2B Skip Schumaker and OF Allen Craig on the 15-day DL, Schumaker retroactive to April 16 and Craig to April 17. Activated INF Nick Punto from the 15-day DL. Recalled 1B Mark Hamilton from Memphis (PCL).
April 22, 2011	Traded LHP Trevor Miller to Los Angeles Dodgers for UIF Aaron Miles. John Mozeliak severs the phone line in manager Tony La Russa’s office, forbids La Russa from imitating him. Traded UIF Aaron Miles to Los Angeles Dodgers for LHP Trevor Miller. Traded four dollars for a new box of tissues in La Russa’s office.

MAY
DATE	TRANSACTION
May 1, 2011	Signed Ted DiBiase. No reason, really.
May 2, 2011	Placed 3B David Freese on the 15-day DL. Activated INF-OF Allen Craig from the 15-day DL.
May 9, 2011	Activated Go-Go-Gadget-Arms.
May 17, 2011	Claimed RHP Jess Todd off waivers from the N.Y. Yankees. Transferred RHP Bryan Augenstein from 15-day to 60-day DL.
May 18, 2011	Placed INF Nick Punto on the 15-day DL. Recalled INF Pete Kozma from Memphis (PCL).
May 19, 2011	Placed into therapy for having to recall Pete Effing Kozma to the major league roster.
May 21, 2011	Claimed to have invented frozen yogurt.
May 23, 2011	Placed C Gerald Laird on the 15-day DL. Activated 2B Skip Schumaker from the 15-day DL. Recalled C Tony Cruz from Memphis (PCL). Optioned RHP Mitchell Boggs to Memphis. Announced Rule 5 draft RHP Brian Broderick was returned by Washington and assigned to Memphis.
May 25, 2011	Traded 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr for 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco, 1988 Score Gregg Jeffries, and 1993 Stadium Club Todd Van Poppel.
May 28, 2011	Placed SS Ryan Theriot into “timeout” for ten minutes following Icy Hot being found in Brian Tallet’s jock strap.

JUN
DATE	TRANSACTION
June 1, 2011	Placed RHP Kyle McClellan on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Lance Lynn from Memphis (PCL).
June 2, 2011	Placed OF Matt Holliday on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Maikel Cleto from Springfield (TEX). Set self on fire.
June 3, 2011	Recalled graphic childhood nightmare involving Judith Light, Dick Van Dyke, and a Capri Sun pouch.

Read More: Gerald Laird (C – STL), Nick Punto (SS – STL), Skip Schumaker (2B – STL), Miguel Batista (P – STL), Mitchell Boggs (P – STL), Mark Hamilton (1B – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), Allen Craig (LF – STL), Lance Lynn (P – STL), Tony Cruz (C – STL), Bryan Augenstein (P – STL), Brian Broderick (P – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers

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By Alex Fritz

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May 20, 2011 – You sit quietly in the beat-up pleather chair, rotating between skimming a three-month-old Sports Illustrated and checking Twitter on your phone. A muzak version of Stevie Wonder’s “Part Time Lover” plays from the ceiling, echoing down the linoleum tiles of the hallway. Next to you lies your friend, Larry “Tap” Kissinger, unconscious since a trick jell-o shot went horribly awry on New Years Eve. You’ve been here almost four hours, just in case he wakes up.

The nurse, a young Vietnamese immigrant named George Labrador, was in not too long ago to shave Tap’s facial hair into his trademark goatee. Tap’s been rocking the “goat” (as he calls it) since making varsity starting tight end sophomore year. My God, man, that was twelve years ago. It’s been six years since you and Tap graduated from Southwest Missouri State (Tap majoring in Marketing, or, as he liked to call it, being a “Professional Asshole.”)

George has been your only company today. You’ve been visiting Tap for six hours a day ever since the accident. Frankly, it’s getting old. “[beep] or get off the pot, Tap,” you thought to yourself earlier. Rick and Brenda, Tap’s parents, should be by to take your place around eight. The whole ordeal has been daunting for them.

A page comes over the intercom above his bed. Doctor Chet Housington is needed in surgery. Suddenly, Tap shifts and mumbles something about “Chad Sexington” under his breath.

“Tap! You’re awake!”

“Sup bitch! Whats the haps?”

“You’ve been in a coma since New Years, you idiot.”

“What? What day is it?”

“May 20th!”

“Whoa, brah! What happened?”

“You fell out of a window doing a jello shot.”

“I’ll be damned! So… whats in the news?”

“Well… We killed Bin Laden. That was cool; we all got drunk, for some reason. Oh, Donald Trump made Obama show his birth certificate. And we are kind of at war with Libya. Packers won the Super Bowl. There’s been a bunch of floods. Your wife left you. Albert Pujols plays third base now. The world ends tomorrow.”

“Wait… Pujols plays third base now?”

“Well, not always. But he has, yeah.”

“That’s kinda cool. What happened to David Freese?”

“Broke his hand or something.”

“Damn, that sucks. What else are the Cards doing?”

“Oh, that’s right, you’ve missed all that. Well, Wainwright is out for the year with Tommy John surgery. Albert Pujols didn’t sign a contract extension and is hitting like .260. Ryan Franklin has an ERA north of 9 and has been worth -0.8 WAR. He blew like six saves and lost the closer’s job, but Mitchell Boggs and Eduardo Sanchez blew some saves, too. Matt Holliday had to get his appendix taken out in the middle of April. Ryan Theriot is our shortstop, but he and Tyler Greene have combined for literally a dozen errors already. Colby Rasmus is afraid of walls now. Hell, Pete Kozma was called up after putting up a .568 OPS in Memphis!”

“Damn, that sucks. Is La Russa pissed?”

“Nah, he actually has a really bad case of shingles. Had to leave the team and go up to the Mayo Clinic. Almost didn’t graduate. Bing.”

“Now you’re just making stuff up and doing Ned Ryerson references, like that nerdlinger on SB Nation St Louis that’s always writing about dumbass doomsday scenarios.”

“No, I’m serious. He missed the Cincinnati series last weekend. We got swept and then the Reds broadcasters talked up a bunch of [beep] about Dave Duncan and Chris Carpenter.”

“I’m not surprised we got swept. This season sounds awful. Have we even won a [beep]ing game yet?”

“Oh yeah, we’re doing really well. First place, actually! Matter of fact, it’s not even flukey, we’re leading the league in run differential.”

“What? How?”

“Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday are setting the world on fire. Rasmus has been good. Jaime Garcia’s been real good. So has Kyle Lohse. The whole rotation has been more than cromulent, really. Everybody’s getting on base, taking lots of walks. Heck, Kozma even had an RBI double his first plate appearance! It’s been a fun team to watch.”

“Even without Wainwright?”

“Yup.”

“And Pujols and Franklin sucking and Kozma being on the team and all that?”

“Yup.”

“Huh.”

You and Tap stare at the wall in silence as he processes all that is new to him in this crazy 2011 world of ours.

Minutes pass, noted by the Lighthouse For The Blind clock hanging on the lime green painted cinder block wall directly across from Tap’s bed. A Muzak’d rendition of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” now plays from above. Tap breaks the non-Don Henley silence.

“My wife left me?”

“Yeah, she’s banging that bar-back from Milo’s now.”

“Well… good for them. Let’s go get a beer!”

“THAT’S OUR TAP!!!” Roars the studio audience in unison.

Star-Wipe out, roll credits. 

*A Sir Richard Cupcakes Production!*

Read More: Matt Holliday (LF – STL), Ryan Franklin (P – STL), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), Mitchell Boggs (P – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), Colby Rasmus (CF – STL), Tyler Greene (SS – STL), Eduardo Sanchez (P – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds

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Read More: Cliff Lee (P – PHI), Jake Westbrook (P – STL), Jimmy Rollins (SS – PHI), Nick Punto (SS – STL), Ryan Theriot (SS – STL), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), Yadier Molina (C – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), Fernando Salas (P – STL), Eduardo Sanchez (P – STL), Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals managed to scrape six walks from the typically stingy Cliff Lee and made three runs out of the resulting baserunners; that was all Jake Westbrook needed, as he delivered one of his best starts of the season, picking up 12 groundball outs in front of an infield that included Albert Pujols, starting at third base for the first time since 2002. Ryan Theriot, Yadier Molina, and Nick Punto had two hits each for the Cardinals, who got two scoreless innings from relievers Eduardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas. 

Jimmy Rollins doubled for the Phillies, who fall to 25-15 on the season. As for Pujols, the Cardinals double-switched him to first base, but not before he made some nimble plays around the bag and started a 5-4-3 double play. The team is cagey on its future plans for Pujols at the position, but he seems likely to appear there at least once more before David Freese’s eventual return to the active roster. 

Read More: Ryan Franklin (P – STL), Miguel Batista (P – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds

The St. Louis Cardinals had significantly less luck in Saturday’s rain delayed game against the Cincinnati Reds, falling 5-3 to their division rivals after the bullpen’s disastrous and rain-lengthened eighth inning. Miguel Batista, Trever Miller, Ryan Franklin, and a critical error by David Freese all contributed to the loss. Albert Pujols hit his seventh home run of the season for the Cardinals in the loss, which gave Chris Carpenter yet another no-decision in the season’s first month.

Batista got the first out on a soft grounder and struck Brandon Phillips out for the second, but in the meantime Drew Stubbs had reached on Freese’s throwing error. Joey Votto was intentionally walked to reach Jonny Gomes, who was hit by a pitch that loaded the bases for Trever Miller. Miller walked Jay Bruce to score the first run, and then Ryan Franklin was placed in an unwinnable situation. Franklin allowed a single to Miguel Cairo to put the Reds ahead for good, and without allowing a single earned run the Cardinals’ older half of the bullpen had engendered more than its usual share of fan rancor.

Aroldis Chapman picked up the win, going two-thirds of an inning with a strikeout. Francisco Cordero picked up his third save of the year for the Reds in the win.

ST. LOUIS, April 21 (UPI) — Kyle Lohse pitched a two-hit shutout and Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols hit home runs Thursday in a 5-0 St. Louis Cardinals win over the Washington Nationals.

Washington had just one runner get as far as second base against Lohse (3-1), who walked two, hit one and struck out six.

He retired the first 11 Nationals he faced before Jayson Werth singled with two outs in the fourth. Lohse ended up facing just four batters over the minimum.

Washington starter Tom Gorzelanny (0-2) also pitched well, giving up two hits and four walks in five innings. However, he walked Pujols with two outs in the first and Holliday sent a drive into the right-field bullpen for a 2-0 lead. It was Holliday’s second home run of the year.

St. Louis got to Washington reliever Collin Balester for three runs in the eighth. Colby Rasmus led off the inning with a walk and Pujols followed with a shot beyond the bullpen in left field for his sixth homer of the season. Holliday walked and reached home on a David Freese double to complete the scoring.

Read More: Matt Kemp (CF – LOS), Chad Billingsley (P – LOS), Ryan Franklin (P – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals found themselves just a little short of road-trip magic in the last game of their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, falling 2-1 after Matt Kemp hit a ninth-inning walk-off home run against beleaguered Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin. It was a rare save situation for Franklin and a rare pitchers’ duel for the Cardinals; Chris Carpenter threw seven scoreless innings, striking out six and walking zero, while Chad Billingsley went eight scoreless with 11 strikeouts to pace the Dodgers. Jonathan Broxton picked up the win afrter allowing a home run on an RBI single from David Freese, who drove in Matt Holliday with two outs after Holliday’s second double of the afternoon. 

Matt Kemp, who’s off to a while-hot start to his season, took Franklin deep to center field in Franklin’s first at-bat of the day. Andre Ethier had doubled off of lefty-specialist Trever Miller to start the inning. 

The Cardinals will have a day off before they return home to take on the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. 

Read More: Matt Holliday (LF – STL), Matt Kemp (CF – LOS), Jonathan Broxton (P – LOS), Chad Billingsley (P – LOS), Ryan Franklin (P – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers, Apr 17, 2011 1:10 PM PDT

Matt Kemp hit a two-run home run off Ryan Franklin in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-1 walkoff win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Dodgers, who also avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals. Jonathan Broxton, despite giving up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, picked up the victory for the Dodgers.

It seemed like the run by St. Louis in the top of the ninth off Broxton — an RBI single by David Freese, knocking in Matt Holliday, who had three hits and two doubles in the game — would be enough to ruin a great pitching performance by Chad Billingsley. The Cardinals had scored 66 runs in their previous seven games, including 29 in the first three contests this weekend at Dodger Stadium, but Billingsley shut them out for eight innings.

“He was great today,” manager Don Mattingly said of Billingsley. “I kept letting him go and he was clean all day. His stuff was good and sharp. That club is on fire, so to stop that momentum there was huge.” Billingsley had 11 strikeouts against just two walks on the day.

The Dodgers next host the Atlanta Braves for four games, beginning Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Ted Lilly will face Tim Hudson in the series opener tomorrow night.

For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on today’s game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.

LOS ANGELES, April 17 (UPI) — Allen Craig clubbed a three-run homer among his three hits Saturday and the St. Louis Cardinals smashed the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-2.

Craig’s fifth-inning blast put St. Louis ahead 5-1 and the Cardinals continued an offensive surge that has seen them rap out 95 hits for 60 runs over their last six games, five of which have been victories.

Ryan Theriot went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and David Freese added a pair of RBIs on a single and a sacrifice fly for St. Louis, which took its third straight from the slumping Dodgers.

Kyle McClellan (2-0) tossed seven innings of one-run ball to pick up the victory, allowing six hits while walking none and striking out two.

Clayton Kershaw (2-2) was lit up for five runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings as Los Angeles absorbed its fifth straight loss.

Andre Ethier went 3-for-4 with a run scored in for the Dodgers.

“You can’t get too worried about the way things are going this early,” Lohse said. “Obviously you don’t want it to turn into a trend. Most of us have been around long enough to know it’s not going to last forever. We just have to weather the storm and get through it and things will right themselves.”

Matt Holliday scored the go-ahead run and added an RBI single in his first game since undergoing an appendectomy April 1 to help the Cardinals win for just the third time in nine games this season. Skip Schumaker added a two-run double in a three-run sixth that gave the Cardinals the lead for good.

Barry Zito (0-1) walked five batters, including two who later scored, and the Giants were unable to complete their first three-game sweep of the Cardinals since 2001.

“All day I was battling my timing in the delivery,” Zito said. “The ball was getting up. That’s the core of my frustration in the outing was not throwing strikes. I’ve been throwing strikes all spring. It was a timing issue with the delivery. It’s just something that gets out of whack when you try to do too much.”

“You have to start somewhere,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. “You build a little momentum and a little confidence and you build on it. Hopefully this is where it starts.”

St. Louis also got the win despite another rough day for three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols, whose early struggles have played a big part in St. Louis’ slow start. Pujols, in the final year of his contract, went 0 for 5 to drop his average to .143 through nine games.

Pujols hit into a double play after the Cardinals put the first two batters on in the third and was taunted before his next at-bat by fans chanting “one-five-six” for his season average at that point.

Holliday added an RBI single in the seventh, giving him four hits and three RBIs in just two games this season.

Cardinals 6, Giants 1

St. Louis 010 003 110–6 11 0

San Francisco 100 000 000–1 6 0

St. Louis AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Theriot ss 5   0   2   0   0   1   .250   

Rasmus cf 4   1   1   0   1   0   .355   

Pujols 1b 5   0   0   0   0   1   .143   

Holliday lf 3   1   1   1   2   1   .571   

Miller p 0   0   0   0   0   0   —   

Craig rf 4   2   1   0   1   1   .231   

Freese 3b 4   2   3   3   0   0   .250   

Schumaker 2b 4   0   2   2   0   0   .281   

Laird c 3   0   0   0   1   0   .000   

Lohse p 4   0   1   0   0   1   .143   

Jay lf 0   0   0   0   0   0   .273   

SAN FRANCISCO, April 10 (UPI) — Kyle Lohse tamed the Giants on one run over eight innings Sunday and the St. Louis Cardinals cruised to a 6-1 victory over San Francisco.

Lohse (1-1) surrendered only five hits, walking none and fanning five for the Cards, who avoided a three-game sweep in a weekend series at AT&T Park.

David Freese went 3-for-4, socked a solo homer and drove in three runs for St. Louis, which also got two RBI from Skip Schumaker.

Giants starter Barry Zito (0-1) was tagged for four runs on six hits over 5 1/3 frames. The left-hander was wild, allowing five walks, with only one strikeout.

Pablo Sandoval drove in San Francisco’s only run with a first-inning single.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals decided not to put Matt Holliday on the disabled list Saturday, opting to wait a few days to see if the slugger can make a speedy return from an appendectomy.

The left fielder had the surgery Friday but the team believes the condition was caught early and he could be back before the end of a 15-day DL stint.

Manager Tony La Russa said the team would wait until Monday or Tuesday, hinting that Holliday might even stop by Busch Stadium on Saturday.

General manager John Mozeliak said Holliday would have no baseball activities for five days, and said early indications were positive.

“They’re saying it went well,” La Russa said. “That’s all I know so far.”

Losing Holliday for a longer period would be another huge early blow to the franchise, after 20-game winner Adam Wainwright underwent reconstructive elbow surgery early in spring training.

“Wainwright, that’s a totally different discussion,” Mozeliak said. “Whenever you lose somebody for the entire season, especially of his caliber, you reel from it, but we’ve all moved on from that.

“You take things in stride. It’s disappointing, but in my job you just have to think of what the next move is.”

David Freese batted in Holliday’s cleanup spot Saturday against San Diego Padres left-hander Clayton Richard, and Allen Craig played in left field. La Russa said he’d likely move Lance Berkman, a switch hitter who’s been more productive batting left-handed in recent seasons, up from fifth to cleanup against right-handed pitchers while Holliday is out.

Albert Pujols said he spoke with Holliday before the laparoscopic procedure and was optimistic he’d be back soon.

Story Continues →

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ST. LOUIS (AP)—The St. Louis Cardinals decided not to put Matt Holliday(notes) on the disabled list Saturday, opting to wait a few days to see if the slugger can make a speedy return from an appendectomy.

The left fielder had the surgery Friday but the team believes the condition was caught early and he could be back before the end of a 15-day DL stint.

Manager Tony La Russa said the team would wait until Monday or Tuesday, hinting that Holliday might even stop by Busch Stadium on Saturday.

“They’re saying it went well,” La Russa said. “That’s all I know so far.”

David Freese(notes) took Holliday’s cleanup spot against San Diego Padres left-hander Clayton Richard(notes), and Allen Craig(notes) played in left field. La Russa said he’d likely move Lance Berkman(notes), a switch hitter who’s been more productive batting left-handed in recent seasons, up from fifth to cleanup against right-handed pitchers while Holliday is out.

Albert Pujols(notes) said he spoke with Holliday before the laparoscopic procedure and was optimistic he’d be back soon.

“Obviously, his presence is going to be missed,” Pujols said. “When you look at that lineup, you’re expecting Matt to be there, and he won’t be there probably for the next week or so.”

Craig, who was batting sixth, and Jon Jay(notes) will get the bulk of the playing time. Craig has long been considered one of the franchise’s best offensive prospects, but has struggled in a bench role.

“I think that’s tough for anybody,” Craig said. “We always want to be in the lineup and be playing every day and it’s easier to make adjustments. But it’s part of my job, and part of the job for all the guys that aren’t playing a lot, to be ready.”

Craig got work at third base in spring training as a backup option for Freese, who is coming off surgery to both ankles last season. Craig doesn’t care where the Cardinals put him.

Craig started at all four corner positions last year, with 23 of his 27 starts in right field, two in left field and one each at first base and third base. La Russa said Berkman would stay in right field.

“It’s good to be good at a bunch of positions,” Craig said. “Then they can put you in the lineup wherever they need you.”

Freese batted cleanup once last year as a rookie, going 0 for 4 at Pittsburgh May 9. La Russa batted Freese fourth in spring games when Holliday had the day off.