Game Recap #26 Colorado Rockies @ St. Louis Cardinals

Many people believed that the defending World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, would be yesterday's news when the face of the franchise, Albert Pujols, left for nine figures and sunshine in Anaheim. Many people believed that they could crumble facing an uphill battle as their well-known manager Tony La Russa retired at the end of their run. People thought the team would lack an identity, and with many injury risks, not be healthy enough to challenge anyone in the often competitive National League Central division. Maybe to some extent, those people are right, but as the numbers go, these Cardinals that host the Colorado Rockies on the evening of Independence Day are just three games out of first in the division, with many players stepping up to lead one of the highest powered offenses in the majors. Trying to prevent the offensive breakout is Rockies starter Jeremy Guthrie. He didn't fare so well with that task in the first inning, walking Jon Jay before Matt Holliday doubled to score Jay. Guthire also struggled against the lower end of the Cardinals lineup in the second inning, allowing singles to breakout star catcher Yadier Molina, utilityman Skip Schumaker, and shortstop Rafael Furcal to load the bases before plunking Jay to force Schumaker home, as Molina was out at third when St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright grounded into a fielder's choice. This was all the damage that would come early, with Wainwright suffering the next show of offense in the fifth inning, as a Jonathan Herrera triple put him in prime position to score when Wainwright's counterpart Guthrie singled. Despite allowing Dexter Fowler on with a fielder's choice and Marco Scutaro and Carlos Gonzalez with singles, Wainwright would not allow the tying run to score. Both Guthrie and Wainwright finished their starting tasks at the completion of the sixth inning, with Guthire's line reading six hits and a walk to yield two earned runs while striking out two, and Wainwright showed up with eight hits and walk producing one earned run with seven strikeouts. Both Matt Reynolds of the Rockies and Maikel Cleto of the Cardinals pitched spotless seventh innings. St. Louis reliever Marc Rzepczynski also pitched a perfect eighth inning, but Colorado reliever Adam Ottavino, a former Cardinal, struggled against his old team, yielding a Holliday single with a stolen base, a Carlos Beltran single and another stolen base (with the only other stolen base coming an inning earlier from Daniel Descalso), and an intentional walk to Molina to fill the bases up, which backfired on a David Freese single that scored both Holliday and Beltran. After a walk to pinch hitter Matt Carpenter, Carlos Torres was called on to finish the inning, which he did without trouble. St. Louis entrusted Jason Motte with the ninth inning and a 4-1 lead, and while he did give up singles to Jordan Pacheco and Michael Cuddyer, he avoided a meltdown by striking out Fowler to end the gave and give himself a save while preserving Wainwright's win. Guthrie was stuck with the loss, and Cardinals got one game closer the division leading Pittsburgh Pirates.